How to give a cat medicine

[Moesha]

Morgan was just given a shot of an antibiotic that lasted two weeks. Perhaps the vet could give him something like that and Maui wouldn't have to have oral medication. Morgan also gets a shot of benadryl at the vet's office before his vaccinations.

[Catty1]

Some medications can be compounded into a paste that you can apply to a cat's ear. :-) It might cost a little more, but you'll save a lot in terms of stress - yours and Maui's!

Ask your vet ahead of time and see if that can be done.

Would he stay in the bathroom while a hot shower is run and get a good steaming? That may help...especially if you have a vaporizer running and can put some Vicks in it.

Good luck!

[So-Crafty]

Some medications can be compounded into a paste that you can apply to a cat's ear. :-) It might cost a little more, but you'll save a lot in terms of stress - yours and Maui's!

I'd be afraid to do this as the other cat, Maddie, likes to give him baths His face is her favorite spot to clean! She'd injest it more than he would, lol.

The steam shower sounds good, I will have to try this. He enjoys having the bridge of his nose rubbed and it seems to help him breathe a little better after it. He'll sneeze and get all of that congestion out and then he's good for a little while. I have no idea if it's allergies or a cold (cats can't catch colds, can they?)

Whoever mentioned the claw bag thing, that won't be necessary. I've heard of them - and we're safe from his claws. His first owner did a 4-paw declaw on him

This is Maui (a Bronze Egyptian Mau)

and an older photo to show his spots:



This is Maddie (DSH)

[nepeta]

Despite your cat being declawed, I second the use of the Klaw Kontrol bag. It's a cat-sized duffel bag with a head opening (and comes in 3 sizes). With their feet completely confined in the bag, they can't offer too much resistance to you.

I think the close confines of the bag and the neck strap may also help settle them down. I used the bag to give meds and sub-q's to a recalcitrant cat (maybe not so much so as yours) and it made the difference between impossible and relatively easy.

[columbine]

Chlorpheniramine (brand name is Chlor-Trimeton, but make sure you get just chlorpheniramine and nothing else mixed in - I use generic chlorpheniramine) is less icky-tasting and supposedly safer for cats. Grind up a quarter pill (1 mg) in a bit of water, mix with chicken baby food, and smear on his fur (paws, face, tummy, anyplace he can reach is fair game).

Love, Columbine

[So-Crafty]

Thank you for that suggestion. I will definitely try that!

[happylabs]

I can sympathize with you on this one. My cat Kit-Kat had frequent urinary problems and was on meds off and on. Have you tried a pill pusher. I don't know if that is the correct name for it but it looks like a syringe only instead it just has a rubber end that you put the pill in and shoot it down their throat. (See photo) I believe I bought it at a pet store but I may have gotten it from my vet. Kit-Kat used to foam at the mouth terribly whenever we would try to give her a pill.



Good luck and hope she isn't too sick.

[So-Crafty]

The whole problem with an oral syringe and pill pusher is getting the object near his mouth. If we could manage to get anything in his mouth, we would just use our fingers.

We have no problem with Maddie when it comes time to give her anything, and we when we have to we always try to do it in front of Maui to show him that we aren't hurting her when we do it (a kind of "Monkey See, Monkey Do.")

Ugh and the Vet called, they have to reschedule his appointment. Not very happy. Monday afternoon he goes.

I'm going to try doing the other medication (Chlor-Trimeton). If it smells and tastes better than the Benadryl, I might be able to try the pill pocket again. Maui knows the box for the Benadryl and can smell the thing through the pill pocket. If that doesn't work, we'll mash it up and mix it in his cat food, or as a last resort, make it into a paste and put it on his paws.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry to hear that you're having so much trouble pilling your cat. When my RB Pepper was very ill, my vet did give me several syringes with antibiotics in them so that I could give him these at home. Ask your vet about something like this.

Have you ever tried giving him liquid medicine. Most meds can now be compounded into liquid form and they can also add a flavor to them to help them taste better. You may also want to buy a cat sack or a klaw kontrol bag. I have these and once you put the cat in them, they can't run away from you. Here's a link to them: http://www.fourflags.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.3950/.f and http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=3159. Good luck.