Giving my cat medication without the stress

[noxcnx]

Mr. M has the feline herpes virus and has outbreaks that require eye drops 3x a day for 10 days. He has a neurotic personality already, but he freaks out when it is time for medication. For the 10 days he will run and hide every time I move or enter a room. He won't let me pet him at all or even come to me when I offer him treats. I have to chase him down every time and this creates a ton of stress for him, me and his sister too. I have to wrap him in a blanket when I give him the drops or he will attack me (he ripped my arm open and bit me really hard before). He and his sister will hide under the bed the entire 10 days and only come out if I'm sleeping, at work, at school or sitting quietly on the couch. This behavior continues for a couple of weeks even after I stop giving him medication, because he just doesn't trust that it is over. I hate seeing him so stressed out and I feel awful for making him feel that he can't trust me. I feel like a jerk, but I don't want him to lose an eye.

Does anyone have any advice for how I can make this experience less stressful for him? Should I keep him and his sister confined to a small area for those 10 days so I don't have to chase him (which I think causes a lot of the stress, besides the actual medication)? Or should I just put him in there? I don't want to keep him from the cat tower and the play area, but maybe it would be better? Or maybe he would just start to freak out every time I opened the door and try to run out? I don't want him to feel like he is being punished, but there has to be a better way to do this. I've tried using pheromones to calm him, but they didn't help and I also tried using positive reinforcement, but he just hates it.

Any advice? Or is this just a cycle we are going to have to go through and deal with?

 

[Draco]

Have you tried giving him treats right before and after giving the medication? It helped my Cassie when she had pink eye and I had to put ointment in her eye, and she's become much more patient and accepting now when I am treating her ringworm on her face (both Lysine pills in her mouth and cream on her face).. she looks forward to the treats after (and an extra meal after her medicated shampoo bath!)

 

[noxcnx]

Yeah, he is too smart. He won't come out for the treats and after I give him meds he won't eat them either, he just runs off. If I try to take some to him, he runs somewhere else. 

He's a tough one...

 

[speakhandsforme]

Yeah, this is hard

The best advice I can give you is to try to do it when he's asleep... that's what worked the best for Kramer when he had to have pinkeye drops 2x a day for 10 days. I just walked right up to wherever he was sleeping, pulled back his eyelids and popped the drops right in. Usually he was to sleepy to be pissed and just went right back to his nap. But from what i understand, he gets pretty wise pretty quick, so that might only work for the first few times with your boy.

Do the drops have to be kept cold? You can warm them up a bit if that will help. I imagine cold drops don't feel good on the eye.

Sorry, and I hope you find a workable solution.

 

[noxcnx]

No, they are kept at room temperature, but he reacts like they sting. I had to stop using the ointment because he would jerk so bad that he would jab himself in the eye. 

I'm thinking that he is just going to have to be confined for the 10 days, because chasing him is just causing more stress. He is so hypervigilant that he wakes up when I get anywhere near him and he sleeps under my bed for the duration anyway.

I might try just keeping the bedroom closed and only have to chase him through the rest of our place, but at least I can corner him (which I really hate doing). OR keeping him confined to one room with his favorite bed and blanket, a litter box and some food. I just worry that he will be even more stressed being separated from his sister, so maybe only confining him in between medication times....?

Yes, it is a tough one....I'm sort of at a loss. 

 

[kh1212]

Sounds like ur cat n my cat....r the same cat!! He has an eye ulcer and needs his gel eye meds every other day. He will hide for weeks on end, I bet he would hide under the carpet if he could! He is withdrawn from us, will avoid meals if he has to. He bolts when he hears us coming or sees us. I feel so bad and frustrated. He's a cat and his life should be much easier than this. I use a calming collar but still, no change. He love him as much as we can if/when he lets us. He gets treats and snuggles at medicine time, I just don't get it. It's a battle to get him comfortable. We too r at a loss!! Our kitty optomologist continually recommends we take him to a kitty shrink. It's just sad that he's so upset.