# Can I Prep Pill Pockets In Advance?



## LakotaWolf (Aug 10, 2012)

Hi guys,

I'm going to be out of town for a few days next weekend, and I'm (begrudgingly) leaving my 17-year-old cat in the care of my family.

My cat has CRF/CKD, IBS, and was recently diagnosed hyperT. She is on daily doses of prednisolone and Felimazole.

My question is, can I prep her meds in Pill Pockets several days in advance so my family can just toss the Pill Pocket to my cat at a set time each day? TL;DR I don't exactly trust them to care enough to get the pills correct if I leave them to put them in the Pill Pockets themselves.

My concern is the pills will absorb moisture from the Pill Pockets and then will either make the Pill Pockets dry and crumbly, or that the bitter taste of the meds will leach into the Pill Pocket itself and my cat won't eat it.

Does anyone have experience prepping Pill Pockets in advance?


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## Mochas Mommy (Dec 9, 2013)

I didn't prep them in advance....I wasn't chancing the concerns with moisture ruining Mocha's meds. You might prepare the meds in containers and then they would just have to put the right container meds in a pill pocket at medication time.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

LakotaWolf said:


> the bitter taste of the meds will leach into the Pill Pocket itself and my cat won't eat it.


That would be my concern. But since you're not going till next week...why not test it out? Prepare one today and try feeding it in a few days.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

How big are the pill bits she gets?

You could ask at a local pharmacy if you could get some capsules, stuff the pills into the capsule. Then all your family would have to do would be wrap the capsule in pill pocket and toss it to the kitty. Not quite as simple, but you could be sure of the dosages and mixtures. If she gets different meds at different times you could get one of those little plastic pill organizers they have for seniors.

I completely agree with making things as idiot proof as possible  My mum is a nurse, but I still label each med bottle with the cat who gets it and how much before I go anywhere. If the bottle is labelled I know they won't get mixed up.


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

I've prepped them in advance before, and my catsitter was always so thoughtful that she used to prep a couple that I could just give when I got back from a trip, in case I was too tired to prep them myself. They were ok for several days, but I can't remember how I stored them. Oh, I think I put them back in the Pill Pockets package so that they'd stay moist. 

However, that was 3 or 4 years ago, before Pill Pockets changed their formula. I had always broken one pocket into several smaller pieces, but with the new formula, the texture was different - more crumbly and dry, so it was virtually impossible to get those smaller pieces wrapped around a pill. If the formula is the same, I wouldn't be surprised if the pockets didn't stay sealed around the pill if you prepped them in advance.


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## LakotaWolf (Aug 10, 2012)

Doodlebug, I'm a derp XD I can absolutely test it out myself this week. I didn't even consider that! I actually have a few different type of pill pockety things too - the Greenies kind, some Flavor-Doh, and Spring Pet Pill Yums, so I can test out the efficacy of all three kinds.

Wintressia is only on two medications at the moment - 2.5mg capsule of Felimazole a day (the pink pills) and half of a 5mg prednisolone every other day. The pred tabs were pre-cut by my vet.

So, my family would really only have to dose Win with the Felimazole every day, and the prednisolone every other day. Seems easy enough, right? :x 

But it's not really so much making it idiot-proof and labeling the capsules or leaving a note as it is that as my family just... doesn't really make pets a priority. 

My sister hates all animals, and my mom views pets in a very old-school kind of way - she thinks they don't need to eat all these expensive fancy foods and she thinks I'm "torturing" Win by taking her to the vet "too often" to get her hyperthyroidism treated. (facepalm) Plus, my dad is entirely bedridden/disabled (traumatic brain injury) and we take care of him at home, so he requires 24/7 care and it's likely my family will be busy taking care of him and will forget to feed/pill my cat and then say "oh well, we forgot to give it to her today, she'll live!" (the pred wouldn't be devastating to miss, but the Felimazole really shouldn't be skipped) 

I plan on sending text messages to remind my family about the pilling, but if I have the pre-pocketed pills all set out on the counter in little bags, my family won't view it as such a massive undertaking.

Maybe next time I'll just hire a vet tech or petsitter to stop by and feed/pill my cat XD Sigh... family!


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## tghsmith (Dec 9, 2010)

we have prepped pill pockets many times.. the pillpocket stuff doesn't seem to soften or dissolve the pills we were using(pred included). only using enough of the pocket stuff to hide the pill,(one pocket for 3-4 pills) having lots of used pill containers, a container is labeled for each day and has the needed coated pills and placed in the fridge..nothing resembling a treat can be left out in our house,(the one cat would check every day to see if we didn't tighten down the spin top lids on the food bins)


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## LakotaWolf (Aug 10, 2012)

Gonna post an update here just in case anyone has the same question I did, and wants to know my "experiment" results... XD

I prepped a bunch of pill pockets on Monday morning, one each of the three different pill pocket thingies I have (Greenies Pill Pockets, Spring Pet Pill Yums, and Flavor Doh).

Today I dosed Win with her Felimazole in a Spring Pet Pill Yum. No hesitation, she gobbled it up!

I also gave her her prednisolone tonight, in a Greenies Pill Pocket. Slight hesitation, but she ate it with no problems. Possibly she just doesn't like the Pill Pockets as much XD

She did not seem to "notice" any medicine-taste, and she didn't spit them back out, so I'm guessing that at least these two medications don't leech into the pill pockets.

I've yet to test the Flavor Doh, but as long as the Greenies and the Pill Yums work, that's good enough for me!  I'll only be gone for 3 days, anyway.

So, in conclusion, you CAN prep pill pockets in advance! Experiment success! :}


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