Whenever a cat owner takes their cat to the vets the one sentence they hate to hear is "and I will give you some pills for the cat." All cat owners know that trying to give a pill to their animal can be nothing short of a nightmare. You are going to face a battled of wills that make trying to get your teenage children to tidy their rooms a walk in the park.
No matter how much you tell your cat it is for their own good, it will not believe you. It is going to fight tooth and nail to prevent it. That lovely gentle creature that normally likes nothing more than sitting on your lap purring, will at the site of a pill turn into a fighting banshee. The simple truth is that they do not want that small round thing shoved down their throat and will do everything in their power to stop you doing just that.
If you want to try the direct approach you could drop the tablet into your cat's mouth. Ideally you should aim to drop the pill in towards the back of the cat's throat. Then holding its jaws firmly closed tickle its throat to encourage it to swallow. From my experience this can work although cats are very clever at storing the tablet in the side of the mouth and spiting it out as soon as you let it go. One of the few times my cat has ever scratched me was whilst I was trying to do this.
For many cat owners the only answer is to try and fool your pet into taking its medicine. One way is to crush the tablet either using a pestle and mortar or by putting the pill in between two spoons and crushing it into a powder form. Then mix the powder into some wet cat food. This method can be particularly effective for cats that normally having nothing but dry food as they see this change in the diet as a treat and may scoff it down. This method will not work if a result of its illness your cat is off of its food.
There is a devise known as a "pet piller" which you can get from your vet. This consists of a plastic tube and a plunger. You put the pill into the tube and the idea is that you then fire the pill into the cat's mouth. When you read the instructions that come with the instrument it all sounds very simple. Putting it into practice is quite another matter.
When using a "pet piller" your first problem is to get your cat to open its mouth. If you have tried opening a stubborn cats jaw with one hand whilst holding a "pet piller" you will know it is no easy task. It is amazing for such small creatures how much strength and power they can generate when they turn their mind too it. In fact it really is a job for two people.
I have now found a solution which suits both my cat and me. As a conscientious cat owner I do not give my cat fresh cow's milk. All the experts seem to agree that it is not good for cats. However, my cat has never read the reports and just loves fresh milk. All I do is crush up his tablet and mix it with some fresh full fat milk. Put the bowl on the floor and both the milk and the tablet are gone in a matter of seconds.
I figure a little milk is not going to hurt and it save n awful; lot of aggravation between me and my cat.
Dave Bromley has had cats for the last 35 years. He now shares his semi retirement with his 12 year old cat Jack and runs http://www.cat-lovers.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment