My cat, Mr. Mackey, came home from the vet yesterday after having his left rear leg amputated. He has a huge line of stitches, so I'm worried about leaning him on me or on the floor, or even picking him up!
They sent me home with pills I have to give him twice a day for 13 days! Today I have to give him his first and am looking for any experienced advice first. One more thing ... he's a large cat (18 pounds before the surgery) so he's not that easy to manipulate ... and the pills are larger than a Tylenol. (round but slickly coated)
There is another thread I posted when it happened if you're curious on that end of the situation; and I just posted a picture on that thread of him when he came home.
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-291843.html
Ask the vet if it is ok to crush the pill. If it is, crush it and mix it into his favorite food. Maybe tuna or something extra special like that.
I feel really bad for your cat I read that story and was starting to tear up! Anyways, we have three cats and two of them took pills fine at the vets office and one of them was so bad she brought it back up with a mouthful of foam four times and then the vet gave up! I do know that whenever we had to give our cats medicine at home say when they were declawed and we had to give them pain medication it was in a liquid form in a syringe and then we just stuck it right at the back of their mouth on their gums and they opened automatically enough for us to shoot it down into their throats ... maybe you could ask your vet if you can get those pills turned into a liquid? I hope someone can help you with this so your kitty isn't in pain ... good luck!!
I feel really bad for your cat I read that story and was starting to tear up!
.... a liquid form in a syringe and then we just stuck it right at the back of their mouth on their gums and they opened automatically enough for us to shoot it down into their throats ... maybe you could ask your vet if you can get those pills turned into a liquid?
Thanks for the emotion! You're sweet.
I ALSO have a liquid to shoot in through a syringe. She said the pills DO come in a liquid form; but because of the size of the dose, it would be a LOT of liquid. They thought it would be easier to get the pill down. I still haven't attempted it yet! I keep waiting for advice!
When I have to give pills to my dogs I open their mouths & shove it in as far back on their tongue/throat as I can. Then hold the mouth shut & rub their throat to make them swallow. Sometimes they'll fake me out and I think they've swallowed it but then they spit it right back out - so I have to catch them & try again 
With dogs a lot of the time you can hide pills in cheese or peanut butter, but I don't know how well that would work with a smaller cat & big pill.
-Lisa
For my kitty that needs meds, if I have to give it to him myself, I crouch on the ground and put my toes together so he can't escape, and sort of hover over with him on the floor between my knees. If that makes any sense in writing.
So he's enclosed on three sizes, and I hold him in place by his shoulders in case he tries to run forward.
If I have help, one of us just holds him tight and the other swoops in really fast, opens his mouth and medicates.
I've had the most luck crushing pills in the smallest amount of milk that will just barely dissolve it, and giving it with a syringe.
Good luck! You kitty is beautiful!
I did it! First I searched the internet and found a few videos of people giving their cat pills. Some were easy, some not so. This one was hillarious.
This guy gives four cats pills, the first three were easy, the fourth one ... you see his little tongue poking and the pill come flying out about 12 times! If you want to watch it, you can just forward over the first 3 cats and watch the fourth one, black with a white patch on his chest.
Anyhow, Mr. Mackey wasn't an easy one. My DD got it in his mouth OK when I pryed open his teeth; but it was getting him to swallow that took a lot of patience. (he spit it out twice)
The liquid med was a piece of cake. (although, he is still on morphine too! This might get tougher.)
You are far braver than I! Pills in this house don't go over well. There is something called a "pill shooter" you can get at Petsmart--it makes it easier to get the pill into the back of the troat without losing your fingers.
I'm at the point where I ask for an injectable version of the drug. Unfortunately, my cat has lost 3 teeth and his face is swollen, and the best antibiotic isn't available in an injectable so we're dealing with a liquid. Not fun when it ends up in your hair and smells like tuna!
Good luck with kitty!
When I've had to give my big 20 lb cat that's in my avatar pills, I wrap him up tightly in a towel(just like you would wrap a newborn baby only instead of laying the cat on his back, you just put him down on top of the towel that's spread out on the floor, and then wrap him as tightly as you can. Make sure you get all four paws enclosed in the towel. Then I crouch down over the top of him, just like czyadgrl described. I wish you luck with the meds. I'll be praying for your precious kitty.
When I've had to give my big 20 lb cat that's in my avatar pills, I wrap him up tightly in a towel(just like you would wrap a newborn baby only instead of laying the cat on his back, you just put him down on top of the towel that's spread out on the floor, and then wrap him as tightly as you can. Make sure you get all four paws enclosed in the towel. Then I crouch down over the top of him, just like czyadgrl described. I wish you luck with the meds. I'll be praying for your precious kitty.
That's just what I was going to suggest. I used to help my friend get her dog to take her meds (yorky) and I had the bright idea of swaddling her so she wouldn't be able to move. It sounds mean but it really works and is much quicker.
Ask the vet for a pill plunger. It's a syringe-style thing that holds the pill on the end. You put it down their throat quickly and all in one motion push the plunger. The pill is dispensed deep into their throat and the plunger is out before they even know what's hit 'em! I work with the Humane Society, and we use those exclusively for giving the cats and dogs their worm medicine and valium for operations, etc. Works like a charm!
~m~
Ask the vet for a pill plunger.
I might do that. I read lots of things on line about giving a cat a pill. So many were humerous that I came to realize that it just isn't easy to give a cat a pill! Sunday morning's pill too 19 minutes ... it was in his mouth, but the little stubborn bugger refused to swallow! I was holding his mouth shut the whole time ... the circulation had stopped in my legs and I had to roll over and lie down next to him while I got my blood back! Finally, somebody got me a cup of water and I dropped drops of water off my finger into his mouth so that he would want to swallow.
Sunday night, I had the water ready. It was several minutes; but not that great.
This morning I tried putting the pill in a glob of butter as suggested on a couple of web sites. The pill went down better this morning; but it's such a struggle still! I hug him many times a day and lie down next to him. I don't want him to come to think that every time I approach him it's for medication!
After you're done with his medication regimen it might take him a few days to forgive you, but he will. In the meantime, how about approaching him with a piece of tuna everytime you approach him, whether it be for meds or for lovins. When it's for meds, give him the pills first, and then the tuna, even if you have to follow him into another room. Maybe he'll learn that even though it might be unpleasant to get medicine, the treat afterwards is great. I wish you luck. That pill plunger might also be your best bet since it makes the procedure so quick. If he's not swallowing, gently run two fingers, one on either side if his esophagus, down his throat several times. This will trigger a natural instinct to swallow. LOL, it works on children too.
Try coating the pill in butter/margarine. It really makes it easier for them to swallow it. I also wrap a towel around the animal and open their mouth then, put the buttered pill in the mouth, hold hand on muzzle, and stroke their throat. Works every time for me.
was just wondering how you and your kitty are both doing?
was just wondering how you and your kitty are both doing?
Thank you, Cakerator. I gave him his last pill this morning! We were both fnally getting good at it ... even though he still didn't like it!
He has lost some weight, which is a very good thing for him. He is carrying himself around very well-balanced. He still hasn't jumped to heights. He's an indoor cat; so that's one battle I didn't have to deal with (keeping him inside while healing).
He gets his stitches out Monday. (What he hasn't taken out already!) I will try to remember to have him weighed at the vet. I think he's looking much thinner. (healthy thin). Thanks for asking.
well I am glad that you both survived ... my former boss's sister had adopted a kitten from the animal shelter and he had lost a leg as well due to being up inside a car engine when it started .. but she told us that the cat got around better and faster then her other ones with all four legs! Again glad to hear everything is working out 
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