How To Give Your Cat Medication

Loving a cat means you’ve got a responsibility to take care of your cat. We all do the best we can to provide the best cat care possible to this furry animal that trusts us so much.

There are some common cat illnesses which need medical attention from a veterinarian. A cat will do its best to hide any signs of illness because that is its nature. As a cat parent, you will have to be observant of subtle changes which could be warning signs that you need to take your pet to the veterinarian to rule out, diagnosis or get treatment for a cat illness.

After you go to the veterinarian, and if you find out your cat is indeed ill and needs medication, a new level of stress arises. How do I get my cat to take medication?

If you can simply give your cat medication, you are very fortunate and not experiencing the same thing as many other cat parents. If you’re experiencing the stress of trying to help your cat and it’s rejecting everything you try, hang on, there’s still hope.
 

Administering Medicine To Your Cat Methods

Disguise

Disguising the medication in something is the easiest method. There’s a product called a pill pocket which can trick your cat into it at least the first few times. Unfortunately, with any of the methods, the cat quickly figures out we are giving them something that doesn’t taste good so medicating a cat can get more difficult each day.

Pill Your Cat

There is a remarkable product which allows you to pill your cat. You place a pill in and safely place the “piller” in your cat’s mouth. It is long enough to help keep you from getting bit. Depending on your cat’s personality, this may work once or it may work for its lifetime. It may also take 1 to 3 people to be able to pill your cat. These smart cats know we are telling them what to do and forcing something and they want no part of being told what to do or being made to do something.

 

Traditional

Your cat can sense your concern. Do your best to stay calm and gently tell your cat it needs medicine. Hold your cat’s head gently from the top tilting its head slightly back. This should make the cat drop it lower jaw open. At this time, drop the pill or capsule as far back over the tongue as possible and then immediately hold your cat’s mouth shut and blow on the cat’s nose. This will make your cat swallow. This is a method where the above-mentioned pilling device could be used instead of your fingers.

Burrito Your Cat

This is a method where you wrap your cat in a towel like it’s a burrito with only his head showing. This is protecting you more from being scratched. Once you have your cat bundled like a baby or burrito, you have a shot at getting medication into his mouth.

Liquid or Transdermal Medication

If you find it difficult to get your cat to swallow a pill or capsule, ask your veterinarian if there is a liquid form or gel that can be absorbed through the skin. Some cat parents find it easier to get the liquid medication in their cats than a pill or capsule and if there happens to be a transdermal form available, it may be worth the cost difference.

We wish your cat would understand that you are doing all of these efforts for your cat’s health. If you cannot medicate your pet, talk with your veterinarian as the medicine is important, Sometimes they will have appointments to provide a veterinary technician to administer medications. Another option would be to talk with your pet sitter as some of them have specialized training and can even come to your home to administer medications for you.

And yet another option is this Medication Method by Dr. Kristopher Chandroo, a Veterinarian practicing at Orleans Veterinary Hospital in Canada which has been floating around social media sites. It is www.IWillHelpYourCat.com. We don’t know anything about it or if it works or not and it’s not an affiliate program for us, so check it out on your own and form your own opinion.

After medicating your cat, be sure to check the house as these intelligent animals will sometimes be able to regurgitate the medicine and you’ll find a pill stack under the sofa.