So a couple of weeks has passed since Gaga came home from her "mis-adventure". Here's an update:
She's gotten much more tolerant of the medicine, and less "wobbly". To the point where I am more confident, letting her roam around the house at large (supervised) when I am home. And she hasn't had another seizure since all this has started, which is the big thing. Serafina is still putting up this big "show" of being unhappy with Gaga, with big theatrical growls and hisses, but it never goes farther than that. Gaga is a bit fearful and sad about this, but it's clearly just a show. Serafina will be hissing one minute, and eating inches from Gaga the next. So it's not going to be a problem long-term.
Neytiri's reaction is kind of strange. No hissing, no growling, no show of emotion at all. But sometimes when Gaga walks in close proximity to her, Neytiri will raise her paw, and give a single "whap" to Gaga (not real hard). And Gaga's reaction is kind of "wtf?".
Initially, giving her, her 2 pills a day was a cinch. Gaga is a very food motivated kitty who loves treats. Whenever I go to the fridge she sprints into the kitchen, jumps up on the island for a good look as the fridge opens, and then makes various meows and chirps to let me know she is there and to "share the love".
So giving her, her pills merely consisted of getting her favorite deli turkey, inserting the pill into a generous sized piece, and watching her chow down.
But unfortunately for me, Gaga is also a pretty smart kitty, and those pills are apparently pretty bitter. So now she is very mistrustful of treats, and can smell the pill in them. She now has gotten to the point where she will reluctantly eat a piece of turkey without a pill, and will turn her nose up at one with a pill. Same with the other treats I've tried, same with her regular food. I even tried some "stinky" food (weruva fish flavored foods), with mixed results. So I've had to resort to using the pill gun. And right now I really suck at using that
It's difficult, and of course Gaga is getting good at reading me and knowing my intentions, so that makes it doubly difficult.
So really my only choice (during my vacation, which I'm at now) was for me to take Gaga to the vet and "board" her there. They gave her a pretty big cage in a secluded part of the building. I brought her toys and food and one of her favorite cat beds. And they let her out of the cage to roam several times a day. I call them, or they call me daily and give me updates, which have so far been very upbeat and positive. Good appetite, active, and they aren't having much problem pilling her.
So the plan when I get back is to have them teach me how they pill her, and also look into "compounding" the medicine. I guess what specialty pharmacies can do is sort of crush it up and incorporate it into other things (like treats) in such a way that it will be less noticeable and more palatable for her. So this sounds like a great option that I want to explore.
Anyway, that's the update. 2 more days and I'll be back home and getting Gaga back home.