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We have something called the piller. We put the pill in this turkey baster looking thing, hold the cat with her mouth held open and inject the pill into her mouth. There is some fuss, but it usually works.
I have one of those but this is a liquid so I used a syringe. By the 5th time she was to get her medication, I tried to open her mouth she went totally berserk. Hysterical. Scruffing doesn't work well with her. As already mentioned my husband was badly clawed and she was hysterically trying to bite us. We couldn't calm her until he set her in her back down. She had herself worked into a frenzy. This was totally out of character for her.
I have a pill popper too, and I'm currently using it to give meds to my senior cat Stormy. The problem is you have to squeeze the back of the jaw a bit to get the mouth open enough, and if the cat fights at all it's very easy to get bit (ask me how I know).
This is so true. When we first got Zephyr and had to medicate her every day for a week for an URI she bit my thumb as deep as her teeth would go. It was horribly painful - like banging your finger with a hammer. That's what if felt like. Fortunately I didn't get infected, probably because she was on antibiotics, but my thumb was sore for a week. It was right on the pad of my thumb that touches anything handled.
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My cat is very easy going & gentle and has gotten used to being pilled, so he doesn't protest that much. But with a half-feral that the OP is dealing with, I can see it being a struggle, even with an extra pair of hands to help. I think the best idea is grinding up the pill and mixing in her food as suggested. Less stressful for everyone concerned as long as she's eating good.
Clindamycin is a liquid, not a pill or capsule. The vet gave me a syringe to medicate her with. I wouldn't try to pill Sheba or give her anything by mouth again. There is no real way to restrain a cat that isn't immobilized by scruffing.
This is so true. When we first got Zephyr and had to medicate her every day for a week for an URI she bit my thumb as deep as her teeth would go. It was horribly painful - like banging your finger with a hammer. That's what if felt like. Fortunately I didn't get infected, probably because she was on antibiotics, but my thumb was sore for a week. It was right on the pad of my thumb that touches anything handled.
Clindamycin is a liquid, not a pill or capsule. The vet gave me a syringe to medicate her with. I wouldn't try to pill Sheba or give her anything by mouth again. There is no real way to restrain a cat that isn't immobilized by scruffing.
Yeah. You might have to take her to the vet; the only thing is, I'm not sure if a vet would charge for those services.
Clindamycin comes in tablet form. I would ask for the pills. I don't know why vets always dispense liquid first. Pills are so much easier.
In my case it depends on the cat. Stormy takes the pills fairly easy & I don't have to scruff him to hold him. But Angel gets very upset if I try to pry her mouth open, so liquids meds work better for her. I don't have to pry her mouth open to get the syringe in, so I scruff her & she doesn't struggle much. I don't have an extra pair of hands to help me, so I can't scruff them & pry the mouth open at the same time. I can do one or the other, but not both.
This is so true. When we first got Zephyr and had to medicate her every day for a week for an URI she bit my thumb as deep as her teeth would go. It was horribly painful - like banging your finger with a hammer. That's what if felt like. Fortunately I didn't get infected, probably because she was on antibiotics, but my thumb was sore for a week. It was right on the pad of my thumb that touches anything handled.
Clindamycin is a liquid, not a pill or capsule. The vet gave me a syringe to medicate her with. I wouldn't try to pill Sheba or give her anything by mouth again. There is no real way to restrain a cat that isn't immobilized by scruffing.
Have you tried mixing it into a small portion of her favourite wet cat food?
My Doc said this was OK to do, the only worry is that the cat wouldn't eat all the food, and thereby the dose would be incomplete.
I'm so sorry you and Sheba are having such a problem with this. My Fiona would be fighting just about that bad, just from being terrified. Poor Sheba! I hope you find something which works.
Have you tried mixing it into a small portion of her favourite wet cat food?
My Doc said this was OK to do, the only worry is that the cat wouldn't eat all the food, and thereby the dose would be incomplete.
I'm so sorry you and Sheba are having such a problem with this. My Fiona would be fighting just about that bad, just from being terrified. Poor Sheba! I hope you find something which works.
That's the risk of mixing medication in food. One way to do it is to mix up a small amount of food that you know the cat will eat all of. But that also increases the chance of the cat being able to smell or taste the meds, then refuse to eat it. I've never had much luck mixing meds in food with my cats. It has worked for me a few times, but is rather iffy at best. Now I would much rather give the dose directly so I know they're getting all of it.
So sorry to hear about the medicine dispensing issues :-(
The only way we can give liquid meds to ours is for my husband to swaddle them in a blanket like you do a baby where their paws are totally covered like a mummy. My husband then holds them sideways on his chest and then I take one of my palms and press their head against his chest and then take the syringe and slowly disperse on the lower side of their mouth. They don't open all the way but they got most of it in.
I sure do wish the pharm companies could make the meds a beef or chicken flavor chewable! They make the liquids for children now in flavors (bubble gum, grape, etc).
Yeah. You might have to take her to the vet; the only thing is, I'm not sure if a vet would charge for those services.
There is no way I can drive her there twice a day and you can be sure it wouldn't be free. She let me look at her teeth today but for only a few seconds. She starts to tense and I'm not going to terrorize her - terrorizing her is how she sees it. Her teeth are nice and white with almost no gum swelling. The infection where the broken fang root was removed looks to be totally gone with little redness and no swelling. It's amazing how fast they heal.
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You might have to take her to the vet; the only thing is, I'm not sure if a vet would charge for those services.
My Fiona would be fighting just about that bad, just from being terrified. Poor Sheba! I hope you find something which works.
