How to give pill to a cat
Phoebe has kitty irritable bowel disease. Don't ask me why, but it causes vomitting in cats. The treatment is anti-inflammatory pills (prednisone). We generally go through a nightly pill-taking ritual which is a three step process:
Step one: grab your cat and position her so you have access to the mouth end. Have husband get a pill out of the bottle.
Step two: pry open cat's mouth and throw the pill in (preferably towards the back of the throat, or it will be too easy for her to retrieve it with her tongue and spit it out). Hold mouth partially shut with your hand so that her tongue range of motion is limited. If the tongue is thrusting forward, the mouth is open too far.
Step three: once a swallowing motion is detected (generally followed by lip smacking), give praise and reward with some scratching under the chin before releasing.
15 comments:
LOL!, Did you learn that technique in nursing school? "Alternate method to medicate a patient?" :o)
gmj- you are funny. tracy, that doesn't sound like fun. how long will she be on the medication?
Looks like the other kitty, in the background, is totally unconcerned. That's loyalty for ya.
tee hee - she is so fluffy - I like her...
Thanks for the tips ;)
Is that a sleeveless shirt you're wearing? What's the temperature there in Oregon now, 80something?
Poor kitty, at least she gets a treat afterwards. That's something for her to look forward to. Don't you wonder if she wonders why you do that to her and never to Monica?
GMJ, Yeah! That would be quite a trick to do to a person...
Kris, She has to take it forever. if we stop, then she starts to vomit regularly. The vet gets worried if she vomits more than twice a week.
Martha, Monica doesn't think much about it. Afterwards, though, she does try to groom Phoebe to make up for it. I'm sure she's very glad that it is not her that has to take the pills. She would be a much worse patient.
Rachel, I was in my pajamas (but don't tell anyone) shhh... Phoebe has learned that she can't get away with anything, so she might as well just swallow without a lot of to-do (most of the time) She does get a bit put out when I comb her or clip her nails. I think she figures that the pill taking is enough torture and she shouldn't have to have any other abuse.
You can read about what Phoebe thinks of her pill taking on her blog. Her post was titled "pet peeve #2" in March.
Phoebe reminds me of our big, fluffy, gray cat, K.C. We've only had to give her liquid medicine, almost like kids' amoxicillin, which she loves! Ling, our Siamese, on the other hand......
Hi Tracy,
I'm sure you tried this, but what about mixing it in with her food? I thought that my dad did that with the cat we had growing up. Maybe not, but I would think that with all the health care that pets have now that there would be something out there which would be easier for them to take.
Brian Slind
If she's anything like a normal cat...mixing it with her food won't work. She'll eat everything and the pill will be sitting all by itself in the bowl....left behind.
Cute pj's by the way!
you are so gental with your cat!
gilbert will not yeild whats so ever! stubborn!
Priscilla- Shhh about the pjs!
Oh...sorry!
Poor Phoebe! I am going to start studying IBS in cats. Maybe I can find a cure for you.
Dr. Daisy
Shhh... I knew they were PJ's anyway... shhh.
Looks like Pheobe may actually like the attention?
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