I feel hopeless - I can't give my cat his medication and it's such a stressful experience

Serenityinaz12

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My cat needs surgery in a week, they gave me liquid pain medicine to give him and it's been an absolute nightmare of an experience trying to give this to him to the point I'm just crying and feel absolutely hopeless. I've watched endless videos on how to give cats liquid medication and every example has this fairly well behaved cat just allowing the vet to give him the medication. It's infuriating almost to watch.

Just the sight of the syringe my cat will run off. Try confining him in a small room before giving it to him? How? The second he suspects I'm trying to do that he avoids. He hates being picked up and won't let me do that to bring him in. Just wrap him in a towel? I can't even get him on a damn towel so that I can burrito him he knows what's coming when he sees a towel too and takes off. Just a few times of giving him this medication has him actively running from me even when I don't have the syringe now so just me he is scared of now.

what do I do!!?..I feel helpless, hopeless and like a failure.
 

Caspers Human

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My father was a dog breeder when I was a kid and we had all kinds of animals like horses and goats when I was growing up.

When it's time to give an animal a dose of medicine, sometimes you just have to DO IT. Have you ever tried to give meds to a big dog like a German Shepherd? It's like a wrestling match!

You grab the dog. You sit on him. You open his mouth. You put the medicine in and hold his mouth shut until he swallows.

It's not fun!

With a cat, it's, pretty much, the same thing.
Grab the cat. Sit on him. Open his mouth and make him take his medicine.
If you need to throw a towel over the cat and roll him up... YES! Do it!

Casper is quite the recalcitrant pill taker. I've had several cats and none of them like taking their medicine but Casper is the worst of the lot. He fights and struggles the whole time!

I just throw a blanket over him, grab him, roll him up in it, sit on him and make him take his meds.

I hate like hell to do it but it's either that or I have a sick cat on my hands.

I'd rather have a somewhat pi$$ed off but healthy cat than a sick one so I just bite the bullet and do the deed.

Casper's Girl-Human (his main human) has a lot easier time giving Casper his medicine than I do.

She sneaks up on him when he's asleep, gives him his meds and she's done before the cat even knows what happened.
He gets this F.U. look on his face then goes back to sleep.

I don't know... Try it that way and see how it works.

Bottom line: Sometimes you just have to grab the cat and make him take his medicine. It's either that or else you have a sick cat.
 

ArtNJ

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As said above, its just a really difficult thing, especially if you don't have a partner to help you hold the cat. Wife and I have almost always had a tough time even with a team approach. So don't feel like a failure. You do have to get it done, and it may temporarily hurt your bond with the cat, but your not a failure.
 

Muggs

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Hello,

I have a cat who needed liquid medication and I’m with you, it was a nightmare! The kitty burrito with a towel didn’t work and most times I ended up wearing the medication. 😂😂😂😂 the only thing that worked for me was gently scruffing my cat. This seemed to make her relax and it was done and over with! This method caused less stress for both of us and eventually she got used to the medication.

Hope this helps!
 

klunick

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Is there any way you can get a transdermal medication instead of a liquid. When my former male cat was having thyroid issues, the vet gave me pills. That didn't work at all. We switched to a transdermal cream and it was a 1000 times better. It doesn't have to be precise. Quick smear in the ear and you are done. And yes, sitting on the cat had to be done a few times in the beginning. He just accepted his fate after a while.
 

es1234567

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My cat loves treats and can usually be distracted long enough for me to put his transdermal medicine on. If he sees us with the medicine he will hiss and run. He actually loves ham (and I know that he is not supposed to have it because it can cause stomach issues but he just really really loves it, so we just give him a tiny peice) and we use that to reward him while he gets his medicine rubbed in.
 

FeebysOwner

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When I have had to give Feeby meds, I always use either baby food meats (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut), just enough to mix with them so I know she takes the entire dose. Or, I do the same with the 'juice' from canned tuna or chicken in water, and then give her a piece of the tuna or chicken as a treat afterward. You could even try Tiki Cat Mousse, which I have also used.

As long as there is a food to successfully mix with the meds, I wouldn't even dream of giving Feeby her meds in any other fashion.
 

Juniper_Junebug

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I am totally with you on those videos with the placid cats. Drove me nuts. As a cat novice, I really struggled, and came close to putting the meds in food, but I was worried about what would happen if she wouldn't eat the food then.

Here's how I (barely) managed: I would burrito my cat with her favorite heavy blanket, right as she was waking from a nap (basically, i would just throw the edges of the blanket she was already sitting on around everything but her head). I walked around with the syringe in my pocket so she didn't see me getting it and I always had it at the right time.

My technique still sucked and my kitty
would foam some of the meds back up, it got all over her fur, etc. But I ended up getting most of it down her, and I was convinced the vet gave me extra, counting on some spillage. And each time, bribed her to forgive me with a freeze dried chicken heart.
 

CatladyJan

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I’m sure we all feel your frustration. Lots of great ideas here. How about some catnip or food on a blanket?
 
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Serenityinaz12

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Hello,

I have a cat who needed liquid medication and I’m with you, it was a nightmare! The kitty burrito with a towel didn’t work and most times I ended up wearing the medication. 😂😂😂😂 the only thing that worked for me was gently scruffing my cat. This seemed to make her relax and it was done and over with! This method caused less stress for both of us and eventually she got used to the medication.

Hope this helps!
I called and talked to the vet and this is what they told me too. They said never pick up a cat by scruffing but doing it just to give a medication is sometimes necessary and not a big deal. That worked, was able to give the medication today twice and while he was kind of pissed afterwards within 5 minutes he was back to normal and not acting scared of me.
 

Muggs

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I called and talked to the vet and this is what they told me too. They said never pick up a cat by scruffing but doing it just to give a medication is sometimes necessary and not a big deal. That worked, was able to give the medication today twice and while he was kind of pissed afterwards within 5 minutes he was back to normal and not acting scared of me.
Thats wonderful! I’m glad it worked! Once she realized the meds weren’t bad, all I had to do was place my hand on her back while she sat on the counter and it worked! It’s tough to do it (I don’t like scruffing) but meds are important! I’m glad it worked for you!
 
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