Tips for administering liquid meds...

Hi there. I found this great website while trying to research some information for one of my cats. I hope nobody minds this post from a newbie. I have two cats Tucker and Loki who are ten and seven. They are both indoor cats and I have never had any health problems with them. On Thursday, I noticed that Tucker was licking his bum a lot. And I found some blood on my carpet. He wouldnt let me near him to look at it, though. On Friday I was able to sneak a quick peek and found that there was a big sore in his bum area. I rushed him to the vet and they told me that one of his anal glands had ruptured. They gave me some liquid antibiotics to administer to him twice a day for a week.

Tucker is a one person cat (I am the lucky one person) and is very...willful. Even the vet was unable to get a thorough look. He put up quite a fight in the office. They told me that if it doesnt clear up that they will have to sedate him just to take a look at him again. I have had the unfortunate experience of having to give him a pill in the past. Luckily that was a one time only situation. Because he was so freaked out on Friday night I decided to let him calm down and give him his first treatment on Sat. morning. It really didnt go well at all. The first time it wasnt as bad. But his second dose was traumatic...for both of us. Does anyone have any tips on giving him his meds this way? I am really worried about it because I dont think that he got the full dose either time. He is pretty smart, and when I pulled the dropper out for his second dose he was instantly wary. I am doing this by myself...because schedules arent allowing me to get anyone to help me. And holding him down and prying open his mouth one handed is not going so well. I didnt want to try and wrap him up in a towel, because I tried that before and it seems to make it worse because he is upset at being in the towel. Actually, I have done it only twice in his ten years and he wont even let me near him with the towel...even when he fell in the bathtub a few months ago. He really doesnt like being picked up or held at all, although sometimes he will crawl up in my lap...but only on his terms.

If anyone has any tips for me, Tucker and I would greatly appreciate it!

i have a 4 month old kitten who i have to give a dose of Lysine paste to. she absolutely hates it. after trying a couple of times with the suringe i wised up and hid the paste in a very small amount of her her favorite flavor of soft food (so i knew that she had ate it all) and it worked like a charm! and if this doesnt work your vet usually has alternatives or good advice on administering the meds.. good luck!

Yikes! I've had cats like that and the scars to prove it!! You've just described my OTB Tigger to a "T". I got exactly 2 pills in him the 9 years he graced my life.

The only way that I've been successful with a cat like this is this: Get the meds measured out in advance. Kneel on the floor with your ankles crossed under your behind. Place the cat between your thighs with his head facing outward. Hold his scruff with your non-writing hand. Bring the syringe up to his mouth from the side so he doesn't see it, insert it into the corner of his mouth so that it is on an angle towards his throat and squirt it in quickly. If you can't get the syringe into his mouth, place your non-writing hand over the top of his head and use your thumb and index finger to gently pry his mouth open just a little bit before squirting in the fluids.

I have had cats where I had to take them to the vets for medicine. A long lasting antibiotic shot given a few times sometimes replaces the need for regular medicine doses. While it is pain to do so, if the cats life depends on it and you have no other way to do it, this may be your only option.

I wish you a lot of luck!

We have had to give our two cats liquid medicine actually quite frequently trying to clean up a breeders mess. Thats another story. But one of our cats .. Chaka is combative when it comes to meds. I have wounds to prove it. It takes two of us and we both get cut up. I read about restraining cats and was warned to create the least trauma for the cat. I have tried it both ways. Hold the cat tight and force it upon him and using a restraint device, I used a "soft' lunchbox and cut a 3 1/2" hole in the top of the lid near one end. (you can buy one of these for about 8 bucks).. I put the cat in the box and poped his head through and zipped him up. He really didn't like it but I was able to give him his medicine without getting cut up. I did this twice by myself! I gave the cat a choice after the second box method and held him down and he was much softer in her ways. She's a real Howler!

My meish isn't a pill cat so when she gets ill I ask for the liquid.

Get the medication ready and set it on the counter.

I always set her up on top of the counter so she is eye level with me (I think it is less threatning to her). Then I get a few cat treats and set them right next to her and give her one and leave two sitting beside her. Then I wrap an arm behind her with my hand around her face. (Cats tend to backup when they are scared). Then I take the med, open her mouth with the hand that is around her and just stick the syringe in the far back of her mouth and squeeze quickly. Once she swallows I give her the other treats to reward her for being so good.



(Its a lot easier than when i was trying to sit on her.......)

We once had a cat who's mouth we couldn't open. He was a sweet stray, but he wasn't too trusting at the time. We ended up getting him t take it by putting it on his muzzel. It took a while because if we put too much it would drip off. He would lick it of though, so he eventually got his meds that way.

i mix liquid medicine in with tuna juice and maybe a bit of the tuna itself (just a small amount). the tuna stink covers the odor of the medicine, if there is one, and the tuna flavor does a great job masking the medicine flavor.

I have one cat with whom the only way he will take any medication is if you kind of drip the liquid onton his lips, then he licks it off, thinking he's grooming himself. Probably not the BEST way to do it, but it gets the vast majority of the medicine in him, versus none when I try any other way.

Thanks ofr all of these tips. I need to write all of them down for the next time I have to give my furbabies some medicine.

Originally Posted by lionessrampant

I have one cat with whom the only way he will take any medication is if you kind of drip the liquid onton his lips, then he licks it off, thinking he's grooming himself. Probably not the BEST way to do it, but it gets the vast majority of the medicine in him, versus none when I try any other way.

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Thank you for all of your advice and help! I tried a few of the tricks and was able to get a lot more of the meds down! I really appreciate it!