Okay, best way to give liquid antibiotic

Ripley is a very laid back kitty and he is pretty passive. I can clip his nails (got him at a year old) and he will try to get away but has never scratched or bitten me.

I gave him the antibiotic by basically holding his head, slipping the dropper in the side of his cheek and emptying it in there. He shook his head and lost a tiny bit, but I think most of it got in there. Is there a better way?

He certainly did NOT enjoy the taste at all. Can I mix it in food at all or is that a no-no? I must say, it is certainly better than a pill, but I could tell he thought it tasted nasty. Gee, only 19 more times to go.

Funny of you to ask (just gave my Stumpy a dropper full 30 seconds ago).

I do the same unless they are really wiggly. Then I kneel on the floor with my ankles crossed under my butt with the cat between my thighs - head facing towards your knees. You grab their head with one hand and squeeze the dropper in the side of the cheek with the other. Your thighs and ankles prevent an escape.

I have mixed liquid into wet food but only if I know for certain that they will eat all of it. Clavamox hides well but I know that there are other antibiotics where the food won't cover the smell of the medicine, in which case you are dumping out the food and syringing them after all.

I had to use a liquid antibiotic (Clavamox) for a laid back ragdoll twice a day for a week and it was very difficult! It was really hard to do this at first, but I got quite skilled at it towards the end. My vet gave me a syringe feeding mechanism instead of a dropper. If I try holding his head and he saw the syringe, he would squirm so I stopped holding him in any way and instead, surpised him by hiding the syringe behind me, petting his head, then squirt the syringe in his mouth when he least expected it. One time he actually shook it out of his mouth but it worked for the most part.

I hope that helps!

That's pretty much how I feed my cat in addition to crossing my legs so I can wrap her body around to avoid her getting away. I think she had the Clavamox and I had a syringe instead of a dropper. I think the syringe does a better job because I tried to feed her pain medicine after her surgery with a dropper, it was a mess! I'm sure you can ask the front desk at your vet office for a syringe instead of the dropper for free.

I would just call up your vet to see whether it is okay to mix food or water with the medicine you are giving to your cat. I'm sure water is okay. I know I just treated my cat right after giving her the medicine, which the vet was okay with it.

I use a syringe - you can never be sure they will take it all if you mix it with food.

Originally Posted by jennyranson

I use a syringe - you can never be sure they will take it all if you mix it with food.

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Yeah, that. If you squirt it in their cheek, it's quicker and you're sure they got it. Half a dose of antibiotic can be worse than no antibiotic. Bella clenches her teeth, so the dropper goes between her cheek and teeth. A quick rub on the neck triggers the swallowing if she didn't already. Then we give a treat immediately after.

I think I have a syringe type thing from giving my kids meds when they were younger! I will go find it and see if that is easier.

Ooh my goodness. I have to give both my kitties a syringe of meds once a day for 21 days. Piccolino just clenches his mouth shut but eventually he'll lick or something and that'll open his mouth and I squeeze the liquid in quickly but slow enough to where he has the chance to swallow it all. I like to sit him on my lap in a cradling position. But he doesn't squirm.

Merlynn, on the OTHER hand, is a super squirmer. She'll wriggle and twist and try to jump on my should er to get away. Lately, I have been sitting her on the floor in front of me with her butt toward me (because they back-peddle to get away) and holding her head up with my hand on the top of her head (fingers near her jaw on the left, thumb over her ear on the right) and I squeeze the medicine in the gap in her teeth on the side.

But it's definitely not easy and I feel so bad that she finds it so horrible every time we do this. But right after she gets a treat and she is just fine. Oh, and then I brush her...she just LOVES that.

I will definitely try the "thigh-hold" tonight.

Good luck with your kitty.

The only way I can give my male cat Brandon medicine is in gerber baby lamb meat no. 2. He is very big, I am very small, and he hides after one encounter with me and the syringe or pill popper. He is presently on 20 days of antibiotics for bartonella which the vet had suspended in liquid with chicken flavor and I mix it with the baby food. TG he eats it that way. He usually eats almost all of it. I don't think this method is too good for his weight issue though.

I've found that if you put it in a small amount of food that you know they like (wet, of course, and the juicy kind is best), and then put them in a seperate spot (may not be necessary for a one cat household), they will eat the small amount with the meds, getting all the medicine. Just don't make the mistake of putting it in a large amount of wet, or they might not eat it all.

I did that.. a few times.... :cough:

With Bird's thyroid meds, we had the liquid for a few months (now have a small pill that I hide in a chunk of canned food with gravy), the pharmacy mixed the liquid med in with chicken flavor too, and then I added that to the canned food, but I used the chunky kind with gravy, as she will lick the bowl dry for the gravy .

The quicker the better, but you want top make sure they get the meds in them as well. Better to do so when they are calmer, cross your legs and sit them in the center. Give them a nice rub down, petting, finger toward back of jaw quickly insert dropper and release meds toward back of throat with head tilted back, hold head slightly back and light rub down throat to help intake, remove dropper. More often you do it, quicker you get, better and easier it is for them and you. The trick is to not even let them taste it, this is what freaks them out. Even just opening their mouths a little, let them trust you to touch their teeth, helps.......

Scruff the cat. They cannot move or get away and rarely put up a fight, plus it is quick and simple and done with. I don't know why more people don't just scruff the cat to give meds. It is not mean, it doesn't hurt them, no big deal. Just holding their head is not going to work in most cats.

merlynn's mom: what type of meds were you prescribed for 21 days? That seems like an awfully long time for one medication.

Originally Posted by Jen

Scruff the cat. They cannot move or get away and rarely put up a fight, plus it is quick and simple and done with. I don't know why more people don't just scruff the cat to give meds. It is not mean, it doesn't hurt them, no big deal. Just holding their head is not going to work in most cats.

merlynn's mom: what type of meds were you prescribed for 21 days? That seems like an awfully long time for one medication.

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Agree with this if light and quick if necessary to keep still while giving meds,

Scruffing works on the other ones, but.. the Bengals seem immune to this, or maybe they're just more determined. Scruffing does absolutely nothing but put their moody emotional tails in a twist. Even the vet laughs at them. Thankfully, he's got a good sense of humor with the Bengal brood. They're **bad** Don't know if this is a Bengal thing or not, but it is definitely a Bengal thing for this household. The little brats... as the F3 spotted boy jumps three feet in the air over the little marbled menace and takes off through the house.. there's more attitude in this house than there is square feet.

However, scruffing does seem to work for any *other* cat, and is often the way to go if you're having problems. I second (third?) that it doesn't hurt them, and works very well.

I'm so curious...what's scruffing?

Holding the cat by the skin on the back of their necks like the mother cat does when they are kittens. You don't even have to pull up, just hold it and the cat, well most cats, will be still.

Originally Posted by Jen

Holding the cat by the skin on the back of their necks like the mother cat does when they are kittens. You don't even have to pull up, just hold it and the cat, well most cats, will be still.

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OOooooooooh. Got it. Thanks!

Originally Posted by jiazzi

I'm so curious...what's scruffing?

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The pocket of skin on the back of their necks. You can pick kittens up that way as mom cat does, with older cats if you just hold them there they usually stay still, its a instinctual reaction from mom picking them up like this as babies.

Originally Posted by cheylink

The pocket of skin on the back of their necks. You can pick kittens up that way as mom cat does, with older cats if you just hold them there they usually stay still, its a instinctual reaction from mom picking them up like this as babies.

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Awww that is so cute!