My cat hates me!

Joey is on Buspar now for his behavior problems... But the problem is, how in the heck do I make him take it? The past 2 days I have just shoved it down his throat. I have lots of practice doing this with dogs at work, so its not that hard. But now when he sees me coming at him he runs from me even when I just wanna pet him! He hates cheese, and I got him some moist treats, thinking I could stuff the pill in it but he turned his nose up on those too...

Originally Posted by capt_jordi

Joey is on Buspar now for his behavior problems... But the problem is, how in the heck do I make him take it? The past 2 days I have just shoved it down his throat. I have lots of practice doing this with dogs at work, so its not that hard. But now when he sees me coming at him he runs from me

even when I just wanna pet him! He hates cheese, and I got him some moist treats, thinking I could stuff the pill in it but he turned his nose up on those too...

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Hm... wet food?


My DH takes Buspar

we have tried a lot of brands of wet food. Joey and Chablis both will not eat it. They wont even lick it... Kahlua on the other hand adores it!

Tuna- will he eat that in place of wet cat food? Or baked chicken.

Is it a capsule or a pill? If it's a capsule- split it open and pour it into the tuna (or chicken) then stir it up. If it's a pill- get a pill crusher and crush it up first then mix it in the food. Using a really strong smelling food like tuna will mask the taste/scent of the pill if it has one. This is much easier than trying to force a pill down your kitties throat and a lot less stressful!. If your kitty won't do that- try cat milk!

I have heard that certain types of baby food are great treats for kitties. Although I would research that because some types of baby food have things in them that are bad for kitties.

Maybe spend more time petting him and giving him treats and put the medication on hold for a bit. If you pet him & feed him a half-teaspoon of treat 5 times a day and only try to medicate him once then he won't be as wary...at least...I hope so! X)

Maybe you can try putting him in the position to give him the pill but instead give him a treat....get him used to the idea of accepting the pill.

Just an idea!

Buspar is a pill. How much & are you giving it 2x a day?

The good news: Once you get going on Buspar he'll mellow out-tons! Opehlia is on it.

The bad news: that could take a few months.

When you are shoving it down his throat, how exactly are you doing it? Ideally, scruff him, pop his mouth, toss it in, then hold his mouth closed until he swallows. Then be ready with some treats or something special, if he's a dry junkie have a special dry for post-pill time.

we tried giving it to him and letting him try to take it it didnt work very well. And he gets lots of love, he just goes to my boyfriend or mom for it instead of me now. And the meds need to be twice a day, so slowly getting him into this isnt really an option, we need to get this fixed ASAP! But I will go to walmart tomorrow and get some tuna, or chicken or something. I hope the tuna works, and I will probably try to grind the pills up if he doesnt take it in a tuna chunk.

Can you buy emty gel caps and put the pill in one? That's what I did when Raven was on Amitriptylene. It was so bitter and cut up that it never went down right without the gel cap. You can moisten it with butter or water and it slides right down their throat--no bitter taste or anything.

Empty gel caps can be bought at health food stores and online. I can't remember where I bought ours (it was 4 years ago) otherwise I would give you a link. I bought the smallest size I could.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Buspar is a pill. How much & are you giving it 2x a day?

The good news: Once you get going on Buspar he'll mellow out-tons! Opehlia is on it.

The bad news: that could take a few months.

When you are shoving it down his throat, how exactly are you doing it? Ideally, scruff him, pop his mouth, toss it in, then hold his mouth closed until he swallows. Then be ready with some treats or something special, if he's a dry junkie have a special dry for post-pill time.

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Our vet recommended we start with 5mg 2X a day. She suggested it to help with his behavior and stress. He has been peeing on things he shouldnt and its not a uti.
And yea thats the way I was doing it. I just sit in the floor and love him for a second then hold him tight pop is mouth pop the pill and hold it closed while petting him until he swallows it. And I try to give him some extra rubbing after the pill but most of the time he is too busy bathing himself and giving me a dirty look. Granted this is only the 2nd day with the pills

Give it time. He'll hate you, but it'll become part of the routine. Ophelia no longer attacks me. She sleeps on the bed at night. It's been a LONG time since she bit me. She's finally.....happy. It was a rough road at first, but things got better.

Originally Posted by dauntingfire

I have heard that certain types of baby food are great treats for kitties. Although I would research that because some types of baby food have things in them that are bad for kitties.

Maybe spend more time petting him and giving him treats and put the medication on hold for a bit. If you pet him & feed him a half-teaspoon of treat 5 times a day and only try to medicate him once then he won't be as wary...at least...I hope so! X)

Maybe you can try putting him in the position to give him the pill but instead give him a treat....get him used to the idea of accepting the pill.

Just an idea!

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If you do baby food- it needs to be Stage I (preferably gerber) and it needs to be turkey or chicken. The bad thing about using baby food is that it can cause diarreah in cats, so it shouldn't be used too often.

You can also try mashing up a pill and dissolving it in water, and giving it to her with a pressure syringe in the mouth. Basically you squirt it down her throat so she has to swallow it. But check with the vet first. Some medication shouldn't be diluted with water. That is how we used to give Monster her phenobarbital, but we found out diluted phenobarbital isn't as affective, but some medications are.

I agree it takes time. We've been medicating Monster for over 3 years, and she sometimes still puts up a fight, but she knows when it is time for her pill, and if we are up late (like tonight) she will come and find us to let us know it's time.

Good luck. It will get better.

Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

If you do baby food- it needs to be Stage I (preferably gerber) and it needs to be turkey or chicken. The bad thing about using baby food is that it can cause diarreah in cats, so it shouldn't be used too often.

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Thank you! I knew there were specifics involved with it, my brain has totally died tonight and I couldn't remember.

Jordi, good luck! I'm sorry you're having so much trouble with it but I'm sure given some time it'll get easier....Cats are great at making you feel rotten for doing something they don't like. But he'll get over it. He still loves you!

I have found out (as bad as it sounds) its best to sneak up on him when he is sleeping... he doesnt fight very much at all. But I feel really bad for doing that! I am going by walmart after I get off work tonight and grabbing some tuna and maybe a few others options like some sandwich meat and maybe some chicken that we can try. I'm hoping that sticking the pill in some tuna will work because that will be easiest! Seesh I would much rather pill a dog at work than a cat! They just gobble down the treat and dont even know the pill is in there!
Well I'm off to give him his morning one! Thanks for your help guys!

Our vet showed me how to pill Zoey. He told us to hold her body parallel to the ground. Put the palm of your hand on top of of his head, with your thumb and index finger going forward to the side of your cat's mouth to grip gently, but firmly. You are going to basically turn your hand on its side, with the edge by your pinkie finger down and the thumb and index finger up. This should result in the cat's nose facing the ceiling, with the mouth slightly ajar. Pop in the pill, sligtly lower the head so the mouth closes, but hold the mouth closed (loosely enough that the tongue can come out). Stoke the throat gently if needed, until the tongue comes out and swipes the nose.
if was gentle, quick and zoey didn't hate us.

... ok arent all cats supposed to attack tuna? Well Kahlua ADORES it! I havent seen her this happy in a while! Chablis it took a minute but he liked it. Joey, turned his nose up and walked away...
I tried to win his trust by giving him some tuna without a pill in it, and to make up for the past few nights. So much for that idea. Is he just weird? Or should I be worried that my cat doesnt like tuna?

Originally Posted by capt_jordi

... ok arent all cats supposed to attack tuna? Well Kahlua ADORES it! I havent seen her this happy in a while!

Chablis it took a minute but he liked it. Joey, turned his nose up and walked away...
I tried to win his trust by giving him some tuna without a pill in it, and to make up for the past few nights. So much for that idea. Is he just weird? Or should I be worried that my cat doesnt like tuna?

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I wouldn't be. Some cats don't like ANYTHING fishy. AND...he may adore it tomorrow. You know how they are!

Some cats don't like fish. Maybe try canned chicken? I've never met a cat who didn't love it - although I'm sure there are some. Or the baby food idea might work. Try different flavors.

If he just won't take any kind of wet food, you might buy a dry food of a different brand from usual. You can use that as a treat after pilling him. When I had to medicate my cat Niko recently, it really helped to give her special treats and lots of petting immediately afterwards. I also made a point of giving her treats and attention at other times, without any nasty meds. She was a little wary of me for a while, but she got over it.