Giving meds

I know there has to be an easier way to give Popsie his lactulose. Right now I kneel behind him and try to hold his head still. When I finally get him to open his mouth he'll move his head all around as I'm squirting in the medicine. It gets all over him and me. Anyone have any useful tricks?

I've had to give Junior meds on 2 separate occasions already. I'm sure more experienced owners on here have other methods but this is how I've managed it.

First, I pick him up and put him on the kitchen counter. Since the surface is smooth and slippery, it makes it much harder for him to back away from the syringe/dropper. Plus the counter is only 15-18" deep which helps as well. Cleaning up any drips is also easier.

Second, I grab the scruff of his neck as high up as I can. My thumb and index finger are right up against the base of his skull. I also grab as much of the scruff as I can side-to-side.This helps limit his head mobility. I also press down on his back so his belly is on the counter. I don't press too hard, just enough to keep him down. Junior meows if I grab too much or press down too hard so I know to let up just a bit.

After that, it's just a matter of getting the syringe/dropper into the corner of his mouth and squirting. It took me several tries to develop just the right way to hold him. The key is to limit his mobility as much as possible without hurting him. A lady at the shelter said to grab an ear when I scruff him but I couldn't figure out a way to do.

I also had a treat sitting on the counter ready to go so that when I let go Junior would start eating it rather than running off and hiding for a bit. At the end Junior really didn't fight the med too much because he knew the treat was right there.

Mez

edit: At first I would put the syringe in his mouth two or three times without squirting to get him used to it. That cut down on the spillage. At the end it wasn't necessary anymore.

I have been giving an adult (15lb!) cat and two kittens oral meds for the last month, so I'll tell you how I do it (and how my vet showed me to do it).

1. get the meds ready (in syring, or whatever on the floor) and have a very tasty treat ready too.
2. get the cat and sit down indian-style on the floor beside the meds(legs crossed).
3. Face the cat away from you and put the cat's hindquarters between your legs and hold them with your legs.
4. scruff cat with left hand, pull head back while scruffing, and inject stuff with right hand. OR, use left hand below chin and press gums into teetch (so that he has to open his mouth and can't bite you without biting him gums) and inject meds once mouth is open.
5. Release kitty immediately (if not struggling) and give him said tastey treat and praise.

I would suggust putting the syringe as far back in his mouth as possible before squirting and make it as fast as possible (less chance of wriggling).

Also, if your cat is prone to spitting up the meds, as one of my kittens was, hold his head with his chin pointed up and stroke his throat to initiate swallowing and keep his head tilted up for a while. It also helps not to feed right after if he is prone to throwing up the meds.

I always try to give a treat or an entire meal soon after meds so that the cats knew that they mgiht have to get meds, but they would be rewarded after.

HTH,
Art
p.s. if you are really having a hard time (with head thrashing, trying to bite, etc, I highly reccomend welder's long gloves...this saved me when I was first giving my 15lb (notoriously hard to give meds to) cat. He could try to close his mouth, but I was not worried because I had thick rawhide gloves on.