What Makes the (cat) Medicine, "Go Down "?

[Ed Burke]

I just dropped 800 buckaroos getting my huge (not fat) dometic shorthair cat's digestive system back on track. One of the near impossible feats that I must now perform is exactly how do I get 4 eyedroppers full of pink anti-biotic medicinal liquid down the gullet of " Norman " when he does everything in his considerable power to avoid swallowing it, and spewing it all over me instead ?

[Tiger]

My uncle he would put a little tuna fish in water on the tip of the eyedropper and that is how his cat would take his medicine (liquid)

[Ed Burke]

I'll try anything, but the whole idea of him allowing me to put the eyedropper in his mouth so this antibiotic might actually work, is a discussion he seems unwilling to consider.

[Ed Burke]

I might add that this very strong, very large cat has all his claws, and they are formidable when he chooses to employ them to discourage this daily medicinal exchange. He weighed in at the vet, at 24 pounds, and he is about the thinnest I've ever seen him, owing to the digestive problem that has now been corrected. Translation, Norman is in Great Physical Condition.

[Lauren]

I've been able to hide the pink antibiotic is a teaspoon of vanilla ice cream. As you stir it up, it pretty much melts and my cat loved it.

[Ed Burke]

I am heading to the store for some vanilla ice cream now. I'll let you know how it works out. Thanx !

[Cynthia]

Ed, I volunteer at a shelter and used to work in the volunteer coordinator's office where they usually housed the sick kittens, so I've got pink spatters all over my volunteer clothes. It sounds like they gave you Amoxil. Anyway, check to see if you have a compounding pharmacy in your area, and if your veterinarian will write a prescription to have the meds compounded by the pharmacy into something Norman likes (my kitty Schmoo liked liver-flavored vitamin drops). Many compounding pharmacies will work with you to get something your kitty likes.

Be careful with the vanilla ice cream if your kitty has digestive issues. Despite the old myth about cats and milk, most felines are lactose-intolerant, and with some cats, any milk or milk products give cats diarrhea.

When I've had to give my cats drops, I kind of squat over them when they're turned away from me, trap them between my knees and thighs, tip the head back, open the mouth and squirt it down their throats, then I release them and run. The whole "wrap the cat in a towel" never worked for me. To this day when my cats see a towel, they run.

[Barbara]

Does the medicine have to be liquid? Maybe you could give a tablet more easily, if you used a "pill stick" (a long plastic stick with a split rubber tip that holds the pill, and a plunger on the other end).

[Ed Burke]

Based on easier cats i've medicated with pills, I like the liquid. Even though I end up wearing some of it he can't spit it all out, the way the pills often are. After each cat wrestling bout I can always throw the clothes in the wash, and take a shower. It's the claws that require the most concentration, and I'm getting better at avoiding the blood letting, my blood letting.

[Lindsay]

My vet thinks i'm crazy, but i ALWAYS find that pills are easier to get down because once they are in, they are down and gone. If you have a pink liquid it could either be Amixicilan or Zithromax. both are antibiotics. That does NOT come in pill for form cats as far as i know because i asked. I had to treat 3 cats for Bartonella, the ONLY cure is Zithromax. It was awful and i still have pink splatters on my hardwood floors and walls. I almost scrubbed the paint off trying to get out a dried spot.

ANYWAYS> i found that with liquids, it is A LOT easier, and equally as safe and effective if you take the correct amount of liquid up in the syringe - make sure theres no airbubbles. THEN run your tap water until it is hot (the liquids are refridgerated so they will be COLD) then suck up about 1-1/2 cc of water into it, then suck up a tiny air bubble and shake it until it is all mixed. Basically, cats generally HATE cold things (unless its icecream or something else super yummy) but most wont eat refridgerated canned food, ect. So this warms up the meds. it also makes it MORE liquid-y and that means its harder for them NOT to swallow it when its in their mouth. The warm watery fluid goes down A LOT easier and doesnt OOZE out of their mouth like the goop that it comes as.

I hope this helps you..

also, in order to get your cat's mouth open, there is a fool proof way i have figured out (i have some big cats all with claws)

I basically get on me knees with my cat between them straddling over the cat. The cat's head should be facing away from you and their backside underneat you. DO NOT SIT ON THE CAT, SIT ON YOUR HEELS IF YOU HAVE TO. THen you hold the cat by it's scruff and cross your feet (this is so they can not back out from under you) then you take your one hand and put you thumb and forefinger on either sides of their mouth with the palm of your hand over their head and gently pull their head up and back so that its like they are looking up at you. Dont pull back too far because you can hurt them. This should automatically make your cat's mouth open because of the tendons in the neck. If it doesnt then you can use gentle pressure to make them open their mouths. Which their mouth is being opened with one hand, and their body is undercontrol with your legs, you can take your other hand (or have someone help) and put the liquid as FAR back as possible and close the cat's mouth right away..

Stroking in a downward motion will also help the cat swallow. When you hear the GULP, then you are pretty much doneand give the kitty a treat.. you should give him LOTS of love after wards..

I did, however, learn NOT to give them love right before because my cats started associating me coming into the office and loving them with getting hteir pills.. So i give them treats and love after.. usually some cream cheese, or in your case some YOGURT would be good.


Another little side note. There is an OTC suppliment called BENE-BAC. It works WONDERS on cat's who are having digestive issues. It is basically a live bacteria culture that replaces the GOOD bacterias in your cat's stomach. It is GREAT to give to cats who are on antibiotics because even though antibiotics work GREAT on infections, they also kill good bacterias so you need to help your cat replace them dailiy while they are on their meds.

This stuff is the ONLY stuff on the market that actually has LIVE VIABLE bacterias, there are powders out there that CLAIM to have it, but they do not. Anything that is powdered and dried out is NOT alive.

Again, its called BENE-BAC. They sell it packaged for dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, and small animals, but no matter WHAT it says on the packaged, its all the same stuff inside, my vet assured me of this. So if you go to the store adn they say they dont have it, look in other departments.. GOOD LUCK TO YA

[Ed Burke]

Vanilla, chocolate and strawberry from Haagen Daz each went untouched. . . . Medicine unconsumed. Back to the wrestling with the huge cat method of medication. I've used the alternative fish flavored approach to small medicinal doses, but four eyedropper loads a day of this antibioic aren't gonna go down even if they taste like fish. Besides some cats don't like fish, and based upon the more favored foods he prefers my friend Norman is one of them. I've had cats who always wanted the water from tuna fish cans, this fellow won't touch the stuff when i put it in his favorite food bowl sans medicine.

Thanks for the ideas, I am truly at wits end over this. The vet has no clue about the difficulty of doing what he demands since when Norman was in residence at the animal hospital he was at least partly sedated which is a distinct advantage over 24 pounds of fully alert cat with four paws of claws.

[Jo]

Oh boy, it sure is a challenge to medicate cats. One small idea.......instead of an eyedropper, I've had better success using a syringe. It squirts faster and you'll have a better chance of getting more into your cat. As Cynthia described, hold the cat facing away from you. It would help if there were an extra pair of hands to help you. But if not, be ready to do this quick. Squirt on the roof of the mouth to be safe from it going down the wrong pipe. lol!

[Adele]

Hi - my last cat sounds like Norman and when I had to administer a liquid I would stand behind him and kind of hold on to him with my legs and push the dropper in the side of his mouth and squirt. Good luck.