Coccidiosis & Scourban

Hi everyone.

It's been an expensive week for me with vet trips. Monday I took my cat Marmalade to the vet, she'd been throwing up and getting diarrhoea. I just thought it was the fact that the fish I gave her, didn't agree with her stomach.

She kept it up for another 3 days after that, so I decided that I would take her back to the vet and get her properly checked out. They kept her in overnight and did some tests on her and discovered she has Coccidiosis.

Now, i'm not a "new" cat owner as such, but this IS the first time i've ever had to look after a cat without my parents help and guidance. The vets told me that I needed to give her a medication called Scourban that apparently makes her froth at the mouth.

I tried my best to give her the treatment last night, but I ended up wearing most of it, and so did my floors.

I enlisted my Mothers help for it this morning, and this time Mum managed to get more in her mouth than I did last night. However, we still got a fair amount of it on the floors and doors lol.

My question is this: CAN I mix this Scourban stuff that i've been given in her food... or MUST it be given via the syringe? It's highly traumatic for my 9 month old cat/kitten... and both my Mum and I got ourselves half scratched to death. It'll be my Dads turn tonight lol. (I have no way of contacting my local vet until Monday now and I can't find any information about it on the net).

If I cannot do this, how is it best to restrain my cat? Should I be wrapping her up in a towel and grabbing her by the scruff of the neck and forcing her to have the medication that way?

Thanks!

Melissa

I always wrap in a towel. I put it over kitty's back and then wrap it in front of the front legs. I kind of pick her up that way and wrap it tighter with the other end of the towel. Instant yowlilng mummy cat! And then squirt little bits at a time into kitty's cheek. Good luck!

With our barn cats, my vet taught me a neat trick- if you pick them up by the scruff and hold them up to a tree they'll grab on with their claws, thus allowing you to medicate them without losing any body parts! Make sure they have a good grip, though, you don't want to leave them dangling there. If you do it while kneeling that gets rid of the chance for kitty to fall a long way. I'm not entirely sure how well this will work indoors, but you might give it a try if you have an unfinished basement or somewhere that there are wooden beams.

Good luck!!

Originally Posted by Kas

I always wrap in a towel. I put it over kitty's back and then wrap it in front of the front legs. I kind of pick her up that way and wrap it tighter with the other end of the towel. Instant yowlilng mummy cat! And then squirt little bits at a time into kitty's cheek. Good luck!

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That's what we pretty much tried to do this morning... except my cat is a FIGHTER hahaha. She turns into the devils spawn. She's a little ginger, and does not hesitate to claw OR bite if she can get to you. I think i'll try to wrap her in a towel again... though she is going to be much harder to catch now... and she doesn't want to sit on my lap or be held at all lol. Doesn't surprise me

A friend told me of another way to get her to take the liquid medication. She told me to either put it on her paws or on her tummy, and then she'd have no choice but to lick it off... is this a good idea?

Does anyone know if i'm able to mix the Scourban in with her food? If I can, that'd be much easier.

Think about something nasty and bitter you've had to take before. Like cough syrup. If someone mixed up something that awful tasting in some of your food do you think you wouldn't notice? Then take into consideration that cats have a better sense of smell than we do and use that to determine if their food is safe to eat.

Now answer your own question: Will your cat fall for this trick?

In general it's better to leave your cat's food alone lest you make them start avoiding their food and refusing to eat.

The correct way to give liquid meds is to wrap the cat up tightly enough in a towel to keep the front legs containted. Sit on the floor, put your wrapped cat in your lap facing away from you. One hand holds the syringe and the other, her mouth.
Here is where you're messing up: you must get the medicine back passed the tongue. Aim towards the back of the throat and only give a cc at a time to prevent choking. Again, keep the medicine off of the cat's tongue!

I'm surprised your vet hasn't given you Baycox for the coccidia, since it's labeled for cats in Australia.