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Giving tablets to cats


Meg

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I am trying to give our cat her antiinflammatory and antibiotic tablets. She has a broken jaw so can't do the usual hold the mouth open and shove them in trick. I have been grinding them up and put them on chicken last night onto cat food this morning. She won't touch either and so has missed first two lots. She is  hungry.....but still refuses.

Any other ideas?

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Would you be brave enough to inject her?  Your vet let you and  show you how, in the circs.  Or he/she may be able to give you the same drug in liquid form so you can use a pipette to do it - just until the jaw is heeled.  I'd certainly go back to my vet' for advice if I were you.
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Have you tried marmite?  I had a cat that was potty for it and would take a crushed tablet if mixed with marmite.

Did you know that a broken jaw in a cat is a sign of a big fall.  They land on their feet but the head comes forward and BAM! broken jaw, quite common apparently.  Hope she mends soon.

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When you break cat medicines up into powder or little bits they can actually smell this on the food rather than being given whole. Ours have always been tricked by little bits hidden in small balls of tinned tuna which they adore and greedily eat without chewing. Our siamese used to take a tablet but spit it out when we let him go and then he would hide it under the kitchen mat. Whilst your cat has a bad mouth/jaw it is very hard to get them to take it without a bit of force so I would be inclined to pay out and get the vet to do it by jabs to make sure they are getting dosed. Good luck and hope the cat is better soon, I am a "mum" of three..
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You could try hiding a whole tablet inside a small piece of chicken. Or you can buy a 'pill-pusher'  (we got ours from our vet). It's like a syringe which you fill with water, and instead of a needle it has some plastic jaws to hold the tablet. Into the mouth, push the plunger and the tablet is washed down the cat's throat. Well, that's the theory... you know how cooperative cats are!

M

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It is a nightmare trying to give a determined cat a tablet that they do not want! Our elderly lady could hold it in there for 5 mins and the minute you let go of her mouth out it came! Yes we too went back to the vet and paid to give her the injections each day!
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Pate or cheese works for us.   Cheese is the absolute one which never ever fails - for three years all tablets have been given in cheese.   As other posters say, only works if tablet is whole.    I find cantal does it for my cat (!).   take small ball of cheese, squish it around to get it nice and soft and pliable, stuff tablet inside, and mould around the cheese.

Now have ready two other similarly treated bits of cheese but with no tablet in.   Give first bit of cheese, with no tablet, if he likes it, give him second bit really really quickly, while he is still in 'greedy' mode.   Wait couple of seconds and give last bit so his last memory (or hers) is the pure cheese with no taste.

Has never failed with my cat, but then again they are all different aren't they ?

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When I have to give my dog her worming tablet I grind it into powder between two spoons then mix it in completely to some tinned terrine dog food which she wolfs down no problem.

I also did the same with my kitten and his worming tablets - no problem, but only give a very small protion of the terrine to make sure that he eats it all up.

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Pate..no Cheese....no (even a bit on its own with no tablet!) I don't think she wants anything that she has to open her mouth much for.

Some progress with milk though, just ground up and sprinkled on....she drank half, but had already not long had some milk! Although most of it is on her chin and round her mouth along with dribble and gunk and cat food. She's can't wash yet, and i can only gently dab it with a towel (Bless her she has spent the last 2 nights sleeping on my pillow......dribbling goo! [+o(] )

I shall persevere, if not back to the vet tomorrow...............I am happy to give her injections if they let me. Don't think i could get a pipette in her mouth.

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Oh I am really sorry, I was a bit thoughtless there - I did read ref the broken jaw, but as I have never experienced it with an animal, I probably didn't think properly about how painful it probably is.     

Hope she gets better soon ..

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Hey don't worry LE.............you were only being helpful! But yep a broken jaw does hurt a wee bit....and I can't even give her a straw! Funny though.... how well animals just cope and get on with it. She seems quite active now.....even attempted a wash a while ago!

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The other thing that could work is crush pill in pate then smeared on top of paw, cats will lick anything off their paws because they like to be clean.  Ours love marmite so that's what we use.  Fortunately recently one of our cats actually agreed with our vet when he said the AB's were palatable, avoided an awful lot of trauma.
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For the last few months of her life, we had to give our clever cat 5 different pills a day, two of which had to be taken whole.  While she was feeling OK, this was not too much of a problem, but as she began to feel less well, it became a game of "cat and mouse" to try to get her to take them.  We tried wrapping in cheese, in corned beef, in Philly cheese, in ham, and various combinations of the foregoing.  Some days, it would work but on other days, she was suspicious of anything we put near her mouth.

We had "lessons" from the vet about using a pill popper but didn't actually use that method in the end because she reacted badly to the vet using it and us amateurs didn't have the skill to do it quickly [:(]

Our neighbour swore by prawns to get her cat to eat pills - she just hid the pill in the body of the prawn which he ate very quickly.  Ours, of course, would not look at a prawn.

It is a real game and so frustrating.

Our clever little cat died 17 weeks ago yesterday and I still miss her.

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How to Give a Cat a Tablet
(Or Why We Own Dogs)

Pick the cat up and cradle in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth pop pill into it, allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind the sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.

Retrieve cat from bedroom and throw soggy pill away.

Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.

Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call partner in from garden.

 Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get partner to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.

Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from the foil wrap. Make note to buy a new rule and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered 'Dolton' figurines from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

Wrap cat in large towel and get partner to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pull in end of drinking straw, force cat's mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

Check label to make sure pills not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply plaster to partners forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

 Retrieve cat from neighbours shed and get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon and flick pill down throat with elastic band.

Fetch screwdriver from garage and put door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus jab. Throw t-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

Ring fire brigade to retrieve cat from tree across the road and apologise to neighbour who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid the cat. Take last pill from foil wrap.

Tie cats front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed and pry cat's mouth open with a small spanner. Push pill into mouth followed by a large piece of fillet steak. Hold head vertically and pour a pint of water down throat to wash down pill.

Get partner to drive you to ER and sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearms and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call at furniture shop on way home to order new table.

Arrange for RSPCA to collect cat. Ring local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.
 

How to Give a Dog a Tablet
Wrap it in bacon!

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[quote user="Thibault"]

Our clever little cat died 17 weeks ago yesterday and I still miss her. [/quote]

Horrible, empty pain isn't it; nothing ever fills it.

Our clever little cat died 2 years ago today and I still miss her.

She hated taking tablets and was devious in the extreme; remembering her antics makes me smile. There is still a TP size hole in my heart, I guess there always will be.

Sue

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You think giving tablets to a cat is bad?

I had a 3ft monitor lizard a few years ago, my lovely Homer, but he had to have some tabs for something or another and was not best pleased to take them either.  Hence,

Place lizard on lap in armlock.   Another person grabs his head with the intention of prising open his jaws, only he does not wish to do this and thrashes about like a crocodile, whacking you with his tail and hissing angrily. After several attempts and being clobberred by a muscular tail you resolve that the only way to do this is to trick the beast because if nothing else he was darned greedy.   So you take tablet and hide it in a knobble of cat food, et voila!  He has scoffed the lot.

Of course if I'd had the stomach for it I could have got one of his frozen mice and put tablet into the mouse's mouth, but yuk no thanks!  And then the wretched Vet says "Oh I could have given it by injection of course.................."    Cheers!!

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