How to give eye ointment to a feral cat??

Hi all,

My 3 year old kitty Pavel has an infection in both eyes. Technically he is only semi-feral (he was a 10-week old feral kitten when I took him in), and usually he acts very sweet and tame and adores being petted. But this morning when I tried to put him into the carrier to go to the vet, he went all Cujo on me. He was really freaked out, violently upset and terrified. It was a MAJOR ordeal to get him into the carrier, and the vet had to sedate him in order to do the exam, bloodwork, etc. (I took him in because both his third eyelids were way up, he was acting fine and eating otherwise).

The good news is that he only has an eye infection (well it's both eyes, so I guess that would be infections). I pick him up from the vet in a few hours from now, and I am supposed to put ointment in his eyes twice daily, starting tonight. I live alone. How the heck am I going to do this???

I KNOW he's going to freak out big time the moment I grab him to put in the ointment. He is a slender boy, but it's all muscle and he is very strong, not to mention fast and agile. The vet says he can get by with no ointment tonight if need be, but I MUST find a way to give him the medicine tomorrow.

I am open to ANY suggestions at all that could help make this easier. Thanks for reading.

It will be a 2 "man" job!!!

rap it in a think towel.

SOmetimes if you are quick you can do amaxing things by scruffing them, leaving only their back legs to support them on a table or the floor. Once you have got him like that with one hand he will be so surprised that you should be able to squirt the ointment in with the other hand. I did Persil's ears like this for a while until she got used to it. I got so that I could do the whole thing in under 20 seconds and she hardly had time to think about what her reaction was going to be! And there was no doubt that she hated having ointment on her ears.

Thanks for the replies.

EMB, that's just the problem. I live alone. I MIGHT be able to get somebody to come over and help me with this once, but not twice a day, every day. I'm not sure how long Pavel will need this medicine, but I'm assuming for several days at least. I do really appreciate your reply though.

Catguy, I will try the towel. I think one of my biggest problems will be catching him in the first place. You know how sometimes cats just KNOW that you're up to something - that you want to pill them or take them to the vet or something similarly "evil" - and they refuse to trust you or come anywhere near you? That's Pavel. He is an extremely sensitive boy and after this morning I think it's going to be a good long while before he starts trusting me again.

Good lord how I'm dreading this

Hi Jenny,

That's an interesting suggestion. You mean grab him by the scruff and hold him up, so that only his back legs are on the floor? It's worth a try. I think you're absolutely right that the quicker I do this, the better. Less time for him to think and get freaked out. I just know I'm going to be sooooo nervous and anxious the first time or two I try to give him the medicine.

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You got it! When they are scruffed they are sort of helpless, and if you hold them so they are just supporting their own weight you have a few seconds in which you can dab them with nasty stuff or even pop a pill into the mouth (usually you need another person to help with this one though)! But it does have to be fast or they can twist and do a leap to get away from you. Get everything ready and grab them at the last moment. And do it as if you mean it - get a really good handful of fur at the back of the neck - it doesn't hurt the cat as long as you don't suspend him in the air and it helps you.

Originally Posted by Lilydilly

Hi Jenny,

That's an interesting suggestion. You mean grab him by the scruff and hold him up, so that only his back legs are on the floor? It's worth a try. I think you're absolutely right that the quicker I do this, the better. Less time for him to think and get freaked out. I just know I'm going to be sooooo nervous and anxious the first time or two I try to give him the medicine.

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Be careful of those back feet, they can do as much hurt to you as the front. You also might want to give him some catnip 30min. before and after it does calm them.

Wait until he is relaxed and sleepy, or better still, in the middle of a deep sleep.

I agree about the feet. But you can do it so htat the cat is balanced so that his feet can't come forward easily. But like I said, you only have a very limited amount of time!

I had an unsociable cat who needed eye ointment, and I also live alone. What helped me was she spent 99% of her time in a cardboard box, so it was relatively easy to corner her at the back of it to get them in. The only problem was she was pure black and the back of the box was dark, so I was never 100% sure it got in her eyes!!

Okay, thanks again to all. Right now I'm just going to try and relax and calm down. I'm still shaken up from dealing with the Exorcist Kitty this morning. As long as I'm still nervous and freaked out, Pavel will pick up on that and it will make him feel even more nervous and freaked out.

I'm curious about your comment that your cat "spends 99% of the time in a cardboard box".  Is that what you meant to say??

Creesey said:

I'm curious about your comment that your cat "spends 99% of the time in a cardboard box".  Is that what you meant to say??

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Hi and welcome to TheCatSite!

I'm just letting you know that this thread is from 2005, so I'm not sure if she will respond to your question.,