How to give a cat a pill
Contents
Before giving a cat a pill
To properly give a cat a pill, you need to keep everything you need at hand.
Be sure to weigh the pet and carefully read the instructions for the drug, calculate the amount shown to the cat or cat.
Next comes the preparation of the drug to be given – take a pill or draw the liquid drug into the syringe in the required amount.
We draw water into the syringe – after giving the drug, it is important to give it to the animal so that the tablet does not get stuck in the folds of the esophagus and thereby provokes an inflammatory process.
For a particularly aggressive cat, it is better to prepare a blanket – an ordinary blanket is enough to swaddle it and prevent injuries both from its side and from other participants.
The room for the procedure should be quiet, calm, without any unnerving factors, such as the sound of water or barking dogs.
How to give your cat different types of medicines – 4 ways
Let’s discuss various options for how you can give a cat a drug in different forms – tablets, drops, suspensions. The drug is always given in a calm environment. The pet is soothed with soft strokes and calm speech. If the cat is aggressive or overly excitable, it is first recommended to properly swaddle it in a soft blanket. Manipulation should not look like punishment or suppression, each time the resistance will be more and more aggressive. The consequences of stress can result in stress-dependent cystitis, pancreatitis, etc.
How to give a cat liquid medicine from a syringe
What medicines are suitable for: tablet crushed and dissolved in water, suspension, drops.
From the syringe, the cat is given not only liquid versions of medicines, such as, for example, drops.
Some versions of tablet preparations are water-soluble, which in itself indicates that they can be crushed and mixed with water. You can clarify the option of dissolving the drug in the instructions or with your veterinarian.
So, in order to properly give the cat medicine from a syringe, it must be thoroughly crushed.
So it will dissolve better and faster. Then it is poured into a clean, empty syringe, after removing the piston from it, then the required amount of water is poured in, the piston is inserted back and shaken well. The pet’s head is fixed behind the temporomandibular joint on the right and left with the fingers of one hand, the syringe is inserted between the teeth from the side, the drug is poured in gradually in small portions to avoid spitting out. Thus, you can easily give the cat medicine – suspension, drops, dissolved capsule.
forced method
What medicines are suitable for: dense form of the drug – tablet, capsule.
The forced method of introducing the drug into the mouth is one of the most effective. And although it is called coercive, it is important to carry out the manipulation humanely and calmly. If all the steps are clear and confident, then in this way it will be possible to give the pill to the cat, even if he constantly spits it out. We hold the pet’s head with one hand, while the body is wrapped in a blanket or fixed in the hands of another person. With the second hand, we throw the pill into the mouth, trying to get on the root of the tongue, and then close the mouth. We introduce a syringe with water (a cannula without a needle) into the corner of the mouth and slowly pour water into the cat, thereby provoking and facilitating the swallowing of the drug.
“Tasty” pill
What medicines are suitable for: flavored tablet – this information is indicated on the package.
Sometimes, getting a cat to take a pill is incredibly difficult. Manufacturers of medicines thought about this too – they were puzzled by the taste properties of their drugs, masking the bitterness and unpleasant taste behind meat and cheese additives. When taking such medications, the pet has minimal resistance, and some even eat them on their own as a treat.
Give the drug with a treat
What medicines are suitable for: tablet, capsule.
We preliminarily keep the pet on a starvation diet so that the interest in food is satisfactory. Next, you need to prepare the drug. As a delicacy, minced meat or pate is usually used, its small fragments are rolled into balls, inside of which the drug is placed. Such balls must be fed to the cat, the tablet is eaten quickly and with pleasure along with food.
Please note that the treat is used in small quantities, because the goal is not to feed the pet, but to mask the taste of the drug.
How to use a tablet dispenser for cats?
The tablet dispenser is shaped like a syringe and works in a similar way. In place of the needle is a movable silicone tip, in which the tablet is fixed. One hand holds the head of the pet, while the other places the tablet dispenser in his mouth at the root of the tongue. With a sharp pressure on the piston, the air flow and the plastic tip provoke the tablet to fall out exactly in the required area. Thus, using a tablet dispenser, we give the cat a tablet comfortably, quickly, and most importantly – stress-free.
How to give a kitten a pill?
The principle of giving the drug to a cat and a kitten is fundamentally the same, the difference is only in a more accurate and careful attitude towards the baby, due to its fragility and size. Small pets are given mainly drugs in liquid form. Fixation may also involve pinching the skin at the withers. Please note that we do not hold the entire weight of the kitten by the withers, but simply hold this area of skin, thereby activating the reflex developed by the mother cat.
How to open a cat’s mouth to give medicine
To open the cat’s mouth, first you need to fix it on your hands in a free state or wrapped in a blanket. Between the thumb and forefinger of one hand, the right and left temporomandibular joints are fixed. With the same fingers, gentle pressure is exerted just above the zygomatic bone in the region of the chewing teeth. Further, the head rises slightly upward, as a result of which the cat reflexively opens the oral cavity.
This is a success, you can give a pill!
Veterinary advice
Any manipulation can frighten the cat and, thereby, provoke an aggressive response to any attempts to help the animal in the future. Therefore, it is important to approach the issue with responsibility and appropriate preparation.
In the room in which the manipulations will be carried out, there should be no extraneous noise that unnerves the animal.
It is necessary to choose the most convenient way to give the drug. To do this, you can check with your veterinarian what options he will offer, whether it is allowed to grind the drug or mix it with food / water.
It is necessary to prepare all the necessary equipment for the procedure – a towel / blanket, a syringe with water, a calculated dose of the drug, clear a hard surface for ourselves on which we will place the animal.
In no case should you indulge in aggression or panic, yelling at your pet – this will not lead to anything good. The cat will be afraid and resist even more.
In the case of liquid medicine, in order to give the cat the right drink, it is important to do it slowly, in small portions, without provoking spitting out or getting the drug into the respiratory tract. It is important to give the animal time to inhale and sip.
If possible, you need to accustom the kitten to giving drugs from childhood, alternating medicines and treats in such a way that the kitten gets used to the goodwill and pleasant sensations from your contact.
If the cat is holding the tablet in its mouth, gently massage the neck in the pharynx or blow on the nose – this will provoke a reflex swallowing reflex.
After giving a tablet or capsule, it is important to give a portion of water to drink so that they do not stop in the folds of the esophagus. Given the diameter of the cat’s esophagus, this is quite real.
If the cat needs to be given a bitter pill, then the option with treats and dilution in water may not be effective. It is better to administer such preparations to the root of the tongue and immediately give it to drink with plenty of water. The sharp taste sometimes even provokes vomiting.
After the manipulation, be sure to check the result – whether the pet swallowed the drug. To do this, just open his mouth and carefully examine. Otherwise, the cat can easily cheat and spit out the pill around the corner.
Answers to frequently asked questions
March 16 2022
Updated: April 15, 2022
