# Famotidine alternatives



## zuma (Nov 5, 2009)

My cat tends to get nauseous and she's been on famotidine (Pepcid) when needed. I have a cream that goes on her ear and it works great. Problem is she hates that cream more than anything. It's easier to shove a pill down her throat than to put the cream on. With pills or injections at home, she's back to normal behaviour as soon as I let go. With the cream she hides under the bed for hours. My vet said the pills are very bitter and the injection have a very short shelf life and would have to be ordered and picked up each time. Are there any alternatives I could use? 



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## wallycat (Nov 10, 2012)

Did they determine the cause of the nausea?

WOW that the cream is more bothersome than the pills. 
Does your vet have any alternatives? 
If she can take human pepcid and you can break the pills, that may be your easiest and cheapest option (generic even cheaper).

Sending good thoughts to you and your kitty.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I'm a bit confused...are you saying that the Pepcid doesn't work that well and you're looking for something better? Are the bitter pills the same stuff that is in the transdermal gel? I got around bitter pills by having a compounding pharmacy put them in a gel cap. You might even be able to do it yourself if the pills are small. I think I've seen empty gel caps on Amazon.


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## zuma (Nov 5, 2009)

They scoped her at a dental appointment a few years ago and the vet thought it's just acid reflux caused by having food allergies and throwing up a lot of cheap food for years before I adopted her. Now that she's on the right food, things have certainly calmed down, but it does flare up from time to time and she starts to hunch and dry swallow. Poor baby. The vet doesn't seem to understand the problem with the cream, she's apparently not seen a cat that's fairly easy to pill and such a pain to put a bit of cream on! 
I assume the human pills would also be bitter? I may just have to be quick about it and use pills. 


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## zuma (Nov 5, 2009)

Doodlebug, the Pepcid works great, but I'm having problems with the application. Yes, the vet said the famotidine pills are very bitter and she'd not recommend it. So I'm looking for either a different way to give the famotidine or a different product that may help with reflux. 
How big (or small rather) should the gelcaps for a cat be?


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## marie5890 (May 18, 2011)

Harmony was throwin up due to being hyperT (she has since been thru I-131 and that has stopped)

But what I did was cut the pepcid AC into quarters and but them in a gel cap, and administer that way. It worked for her.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I don't know about gel cap sizing...the compounding pharmacy would be able to help you. 

Another medication I used for nausea with Callie was Ondansetron (brand name Zofran). It's a human medication used for chemo patients. It was wicked expensive in the US (something like $25 a tablet...she took 1/4 per day). I ended up getting it from a Canadian pharmacy for less than $1 per pill when I bought 100.

One other thing that I found works really well for nausea is slippery elm. You can make a syrup and syringe it in about 1/2 hour before a meal. The syrup recipe can be found on Little Big Cat.


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## zuma (Nov 5, 2009)

Thanks for the ideas guys, I'll do some research on those. 


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I use Famotidine on MowMow. 5mg a day. I buy the 10mg generic brand from Kmart (or the dollar store if Im really hurting that month) and cut the pills in half. Then each morning I crush the 1/2 pill between two spoons and throw it in his canned food (along with his probiotic). 

He doesn't seem to ever notice it.

If he's already nauseous and I he isn't eating then I just shove it down his throat.


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## zuma (Nov 5, 2009)

So mowmow has no problem with the bitterness? Maybe I'll just get the pills and give it a shot first. 


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

He doesn't complain about me shoving it down his throat any more than any other pill he's had to have....

Each morning (with a few exceptions) he eats his breakfast with it in it... and never seems to complain.

I crush it super fine though, then add water, and smoosh it all together.


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## zuma (Nov 5, 2009)

Good to know! My vet made it sound like they're super bitter. I'll give the pills a shot first. If he takes it in his food it can't be too bad. Worth a shot in any case. 


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

There are THOUSANDS of kidney cat caretakers who give Pepcid pills by mouth every single day. It's just not that big a deal. The pills are bitter, esp. when cut in halves or quarters, as is necessary for feline doses, but the bitterness can be effectively masked either by putting it in an empty #3 or #4 gelcap, or a small piece of Pill Pocket. No biggie, REALLY.

Laurie


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## zuma (Nov 5, 2009)

I'm so glad this forum exists! Thanks everyone for the information. I just blindly trusted the vet on not recommending it in pill form. I'll get them and see how I go and whether I need the gel caps. 


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## koshechka (Jul 14, 2013)

For Mashka I bought empty gel caps online. I used this website: 
Gelatin Capsules, Empty - Thriving Pets

but you can find them elsewhere and compare prices. They are quite cheap. I used #5, but I had to fit two half pills in there. #3 or #4 should be fine for pepcid as laurief said. You can start with #4 and if it's too big, buy #3 next month.


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