Update on my girls/need some advice

[Vermontcat]

I'm sorry I haven't had time to post many pictures of Milly and Izzy lately, here is a quick update and a couple of photos of them.

Milly has roundworms, she threw one up the other day after eating some grass outside. She also has gained over a pound since we got her two months ago and she eats like a little pig.
I contacted my vet today and got Drontal pills to give to both Milly and Izzy to treat the worms. When I first got Milly and Izzy in September, I took them to the vet to update their shots and get more frontline for their fleas but their fecal exam didn't show any worms at the time.
I'm really not surprised that Milly has worms because she used to be an outdoor cat at her old home and she would hunt and eat wild birds and mice.
So tonight with my husband's help we tried to pill both cats. I asked for advice when I got the pills at the vet's office and I also checked online and found tips and photos on how to give cats pills. This is something new for me, for 20 years Samantha never needed a single pill. I also wasn't sure how Milly and Izzy would react since I had never given them a pill before and I don't know if they ever had to take any pills when they lived with their old owners.

Milly was pretty good about taking her 1 1/2 pills, the first one went pretty well and she got a treat after. The 1/2 pill I didn't get far enough back in her mouth and she kept spitting it back out until it started getting slimy. Finally she got it down and we gave her a squirt of water to help.
We tried to give Izzy her pill but she is very squirmy and hard to hold on to, she struggled so much that my husband lost his grip on her and she scratched him pretty bad as she got away from him. He decided that he doesn't want to try to pill her again until tomorrow night and I guess we will try to wrap her in a heavy towel when we do it.
If anyone has any advice on how to make it easier to give Izzy her pill please let me know. I know they make pill shooters, we may try that if we can't get the pill down her throat tomorrow night. At least the vet said just the one time pill is needed and luckily we were able to get Milly to take hers so she can start feeling better soon.

Sorry I rambled on so long, here are a couple of photos of Milly and Izzy to make up for it.

I like the way Milly's shadow looks in this photo.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/vtcat/meezers/9mill24.jpg

She has gained some weight since we got her, she was pretty sleek when she first got here.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/vtcat/meezers/9mill25.jpg

Izzy in her cozy catbed.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/vtcat/meezers/9izz19.jpg

Izzy looking out the window.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/vtcat/meezers/9izz20.jpg
It is also hard to trim Izzy's nails, I was able to trim Milly's earlier today but Izzy only lets me do a couple at a time. So any advice on how to handle a squirmy little kitty like Izzy to trim nails and give pills would be appreciated.:)

[Moesha]

Did they say anything about trying pill pockets or smashing the pill up in some tuna juice or canned food to get her to it eat that way?

[Freedom]

I don't have a second pair of hands available and had to develop methods for one person.

1. Sit in the recliner. Wedge the cat in between me and the arm of the chair. I wedge in on MY left, as I am right handed. then I struggle to open the jaw - it is easiest if you apply pressure at the joint on either side, that is the weakest point. Then just get the pill down.

Doesn't matter how often you have to do the pilling, get the cat in this position in the recliner with you a few times a day, and have nice treat on hand. Some tuna fresh from the can works, she can smell it. That way, she never knows when it is pill time.

2. If you have a section of kitchen counter which is in an "ell" shape, that will also provide a place where the cat can't back out. Worked well in my apartment; not so good here as I would have to hold the cat with my right and use my left to get the pill in the mouth. I am right handed so it is all wrong for me. *shrugs*

I never had success with wrapping in a towel, yet I know others on here find that a good method.

Each person -- and each cat -- is different.

Cutting nails: if she lets you do a few at a time, be happy with that! Keep a trat handy, reward for what she allows you to do. If she will tolerate 4, try doing 3 and giving a treat and stop! It won't be a struggle for her and she won't fear it as much next go around. After a time you can work this through, as long as you don't really frighten her by insisting you are doing ALL of them NOW, whether she wants you to or not! It is hard to remember that they are not on our time schedule.

Even a cat who normally allows me to do all right through will once in a while show signs that "that is enough!" and I will stop, pick up where I left off another day.

[cassiesmom]

Oh, no, Milly! Roundworms are not good. And dear Izzy, I hope you and Meowmie get through the full course of medicine.

[Medusa]

I place a cat on the countertop facing right. (I'm right handed.) W/my left hand I place 4 fingers on one side of the head and my thumb on the other, tilt the head back, which automatically opens their mouth, and pop the pill in, then massage the throat. They're so accustomed to it that they don't even fight me any more. Trimming nails, well, that's another story. Some of them are docile enough to let me do all 4 paws. Some, such as my meezer Coco Puff likes to nip at my hand. He never really sinks his teeth in but it hinders me from getting a good clip. If I can do the front paws, I'm lucky. I don't think I've ever done all of Yodie's front paws, maybe 3 at a time and by the time I get to do the rest, the last 3 have grown back. Yodie's serious; she bites and swats, too! LOL Sorry that I can't be of more help w/the claw clipping. :)

[orangemm]

When we clip claws, it takes 2 of us. Jeff holds and clips, I hold the two paws that aren't getting clipped. Binky is a struggler, so while Jeff is clipping, I hold a troll doll and rub it on his face. It seems to calm him down a lot! Then after they are clipped, we reward with catnip party!:D

[sasvermont]

2 people
1 towel
1 counter top or a surface high enough for you to not have to learn over
cover cat with appendage out (head or paw) with one person holding on to that growling, squirming, furry thing that is in major league protest mode.

person #2 either works the mouth open with one hand, prying it open at the corners and back and with the other hand tossing the pill ALL the way back in the throat.....or if clipping, holding the squirming paw in one hand and clipping with the other...the angle is important...so that you can see how you are clipping. I often clip when they are napping in the sun and are relaxed.

The pill thing, well, since they catch on after pill one, I usually try to carry the pill around in my pocket and leap on them when the opportunity strikes...when they least suspect it. Then capture them in the towel and the race begins. If I can do it as one - I suspect you two can do it. Just be firm....but sweet, but IN CHARGE.. Mine are fine at the vets, because they know they cannot get away, but here, its another story.

I would also keep them apart while you are torturing the other one......they hear the howling etc. and then cat #2 is no where to be found..... I have found that hours can go by before cat #2 feels ok about coming around....and then I pounce.

It isn't pretty, but necessary. Miley, bless her heart, perfected the art of looking like she had swallowed the pill, and then would, minutes later, drop it on the floor..........little devil.

Good luck. Hehehehheheheh. Hope hubby's arm gets better soon!:eek:

[emily_the_spoiled]

The Pill Pockets are wonderful inventions (I have one cat who gets a pill every day). If that doesn't work, I have put the cat in a sweatshirt sleeve with their head out the cuff (the rest of the body is then trapped). That allows me to open their mouth and shoot the pill in.

To clip their claws I hold them between my legs and basically "sit" on them to hold them in place. Clip their front claws and then have some treats ready...(I don't normally clip the back unless necessary)

[moosmom]

Great advice everyone!! Another hint: when rubbing the cat's throat, blow in the cat's nose. It triggers their swallowing reflex.

When I realized that Izzy and Millie are both Meezers, I thought AHA!!!! Both girls are beautiful!!! My daughter's cat sounds like I'm skinning her alive when I clip her nails. It was such a hassle. We finally decided that it's worth $10 and the ride around the corner to the nearest vet and have HIM do it. I feel your pain, believe me!!!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Since I don't have any one to help me, I've been using the klaw control bag from Drs. Fosters & Smith so that my cats can't run away when I trim their nails. It can also be used when you medicate them too. With Sky, Storm, and Starr I also have to use a home made cat muzzle because they'll bite me if I don't.;)

I use the chicken flavored pill pockets which I cut up into 4 pieces and I roll them up into little balls. I then use one little ball and wrap the pill in it. Storm, Sky, and Sunny think that they're getting daily treats and look forward to getting their herbal pills each day. With Starr I'm able to crush his pred up into some baby food and he never knows it's in there. I've also used the pill syringe before but it's still a pain in the butt to use. Good luck.:)

[Taz_Zoee]

I had to pill Taz by myself. I got the pill shooter from the vet. I got on the floor and wedged him between my legs (or just to the side of me). Open his mouth and shoot the pill as far back as possible. Close his mouth, rub his throat and his nose lightly so he'll lick it then he has to swallow.
It was a bit of a pain and I only failed twice. Once he spit the pill back out and it became too slimy to use. Another he actually bit the pill in half.

As others said - each cat and person is different. So you've got multiple suggestions you can try until you find the right one for you and the girls. :)

[Emeraldgreen]

I use Pill Pockets whenever I can. And if the pill is bitter, which I think Drontal might be, I cut the pill up into quarters and then put a quarter into each pill pocket so it's harder for them to notice it. :)

I'm going to check out the Klaw Control Bag that Krazyaboutkatz mentioned. Sounds interesting!

[emily_the_spoiled]

The one other thing with Drontal is that you will have to re-pill any cat that was positively diagnosed with worms in three weeks. Sometimes you have to do it a third time after that. (I just went through this with my newest kitten Joseph).

[Vermontcat]

Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone. You have a lot of good ideas and I am very impressed with those of you who can pill a cat by yourself without having someone else help.

I did try to trim Izzy's nails when she was all cozy on my lap a while ago. I clipped one back claw and she tried to nip me. So that is one claw done for today and that may be all she lets me do. I wanted to trim her back claws because last night when we tried to pill her, when she jumped out of my husband's grasp she launched off with her back feet and nailed him in the stomach as well as scratched his neck a bit with the front claws. She is a real twisty contortionist when she wants to get away and she is fast.

We will try again tonight to pill her, luckily it is only the one dose the vet said they needed. Milly got hers done so we don't need to torture her tonight, just Izzy.
Emily the Spoiled, that is interesting about the Drontal needing more than one dose because when I looked up the treatment for worms online it said 2-3 treatments but when I picked up the pills at the vets office I double checked that it was one pill one time and that is what she said.

If we can't get Izzy to take the pill tonight, I will look into getting pill pockets or a pill shooter. I see that they are both available at Petco which isn't too far from me. Will they usually be available at a vet's office? It is much more convenient to stop by the vet's office in town instead of driving a long way to get them.

Moosmom, this time I will have to try blowing on Izzy's nose, I knew to rub the throat and hold the mouth shut but I didn't read about that until after I tried to pill her.

Sas, I know you were able to trim a few claws on one of my cat's when you came to meet them in September. I can't remember which one let you do it, but I do remember to try and do it when they are sleepy and relaxed.
Thanks for all the help, I will let you know how it goes later.

[catmandu]

I JUST WAIT UNTIL THE CAT TO BE PILLED IS RELAXED AND PRAY FOR THE BEST, WE PRAY MILLY IS ALL RIGHT AND THAT ALL OF THE WORMS ARE GONE SOON!!!!:eek::eek:

[carole]

Since Ash has become ill we have to pill him daily with two pills, it is not an easy task and does take two of us and a pill popper, do invest a few dollars in one , they are really helpful.

We do wrap him tightly in a towel, as he is a rather vicious kitty when challenged, even after four months of daily pilling we still get it wrong sometimes, he is very cunning and manages to hide it in his mouth, I always check his mouth afterwards though to see it has gone, and stroke his throat, to help it go down, I don't really think spraying water down there is necessary, as long as you have them on the right angle.

We found for ash we basically have to lie him down on his back,not that he likes that, but it is the only way it works, and the gravity makes it go down, hubby has to hold him rather tightly by the scruff of the neck,it may not be dignified and I am certain he finds it not too nice, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Good luck i am sure you will get the hang of it.:)

[krazyaboutkatz]

Here's the link to the klaw control bag that I bought from Drs. Foster & Smith: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3159. I actually ended up buying all 3 sizes but now the small one is too small for any of my cats. Pearl is my light weight cat at about 8lbs or so and she fits in the large bag without any problems. All of the rest of my cats need the extra large bag. I don't know why they don't make a medium sized one.

I also bought an extra large bag from a vet's office but I rarely use it because it doesn't have zippers on the bottom of it like the klaw control bag does. If I use it then I can't trim their back paw nails. It does seem more durable than the klaw control bag and I think that they do make them with zippers in the bottom but for some reason I they didn't order one for me. It's called a cat sack and here's a link to it:http://www.fourflags.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.3950/.f. As you can see they do come in 3 different styles and I have what's called the original style.

I also made a homemade cat muzzle out of a plastic cup and string. The string is getting a bit stretched out so I really need to replace it with elastic so that it'll stay on their heads better. I got the idea from this website: http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/ClientED/cat_restraint.aspx. Just scroll down to the bottom and it tells you how to make one. Here's my original thread about it too: http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=129971&highlight=cat+muzzle.

[Medusa]

I thought about buying one of these; the only furkid that I really have trouble with is Yodie. None of them like having their claws clipped but I manage; however, Yodie bites as well as swats at me. I'd have to muzzle her, too. I think that putting both contraptions on her would be too traumatic, so I may just do a few claws at a time. For people w/"normal" cats, I think this bag is a great idea. LOL