Struggling To Get Your Cat To Take Medicine? We Have Tips!

If you have a cat who likes to take its medicine, you should chalk yourself up as one of the luckiest people in the world. If you have a cat who hates taking medication, join the club. Cats famously hate taking their medicine, and if there's anything we know about cats, they can be pretty stubborn when they want to be. And, when they want to be stubborn, it's unlikely that you will be able to out stubborn them.

With medicine, you don't have much of choice. They help our feline friends live better lives, so we must give them the medicines they need. Here, we will provide you with advice on giving your pet their meds without putting up too much of a fight.

Types Of Medicine

Believe it or not, giving your cat medicine can be difficult, no matter what type of medicine it is. However, there are different tricks for different kinds of medicines. First, we will go over how to give your cat a pill. There are a few strategies to do this. Let's take a look.

How To Get A Cat To Take A Pill

Getting your cat into the habit of taking medicine can make the process that much easier, but generally, that means getting your cat started early. However, if your cat doesn't require any medication until they are older, it might be tricky at first (even vets have a hard time giving cats medicine), but it is a process you will be able to master, and your cat should get used to it as well.

Before we dive into the method we'd like to teach, it should be mentioned that it's worth attempting to put the medicine in your cat's food. Many cats can taste and spit it right out, but it's at least worth a shot. Here's a step-by-step guide if that doesn't work:

• Cat on the lap. The first thing you want to do is to hold your cat on your lap. Maybe give them a few extra pets just to make them nice and comfortable. If your cat is especially wiggly, wrap them in a blanket or a towel so that just their head is poking out.
• Ready the medicine. For this part, you will need what is known as a cat pill popper. This is because cats generally view our hands around their mouths as a threat, so to save yourself the pain and the cat some trauma, using one of these devices is your best bet.
• Open your cat's mouth. This can be the tricky part. You want to get them to open by lowering the bottom jaw. Don't be too forceful. Simply use a finger to pull down on the bottom jaw.
• Administer and hold. Place the pill into the cat's mouth. Once done, you will need to keep their jaw shut. Again, you don't want to be too forceful with this, but you also want to ensure that your cat doesn't spit out the medicine. To help encourage swallowing, you can lightly pet your cat's throat, and eventually, they will swallow.
• Treats! This isn't a fun process for you, and it's probably even less fun for the cat. Reward them with a treat or two, so they know you're happy with them. This could also help make the process go more manageable in the future. Additionally, engaging your cat with a favorite DIY cat toy after the process might help distract and soothe them, turning the experience into something more positive.

How To Give A Cat Liquid Medicine

Your cat pain meds might come in the form of a pill, or they might come in liquid form. You would think that administering liquid meds would be easier than pills, but that might not be the case. However, there are a couple of ways to go about this. You could put the meds in their food and mix it up. Unfortunately, if they figure you out, they will likely not eat their food.

Or, you could have them in your lap like the above process and use a syringe to administer the medicine. It would be the same process as with the cat pill popper. You want to ensure to administer the drug slowly so your cat has plenty of time to swallow it all.

If you have questions about cat medications, please contact Forever Vets today!