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This Page: Medicating Cats and Contents List for Cat First-Aid Kit
Next Page: Rescue Remedy, Paw Soak, Vaccinations, When Do I See the Vet?
Ear Drops
I use the sneak attack. I open the medication bottle and keep it close at hand. Then I wait for my intended victim to come for cuddles. I get a vigorous petting session going and, once the cat is relaxed and really getting into it, I reach for the bottle. I grab one ear and pull it up toward the ceiling, zap a couple of drops into the ear, and resume vigorous rubbing of the head and ears paying particular attention to the ear I just treated. Once the cat is relaxed again, I do the other ear the same way. If you're really sneaky, you can manage to medicate both ears and kitty won't figure out what you're doing!
Liquid Medication
This can be a fairly easy procedure; once you've done it a couple of times you get pretty good at it. I just place my cat on my lap on the left leg so it's right side is up against my stomach. Then I place my left arm around the cat so I can use my elbow to keep kitty from squirming, put my left hand under kitty's chin and raise the head so the nose is pointing at the ceiling. I slide the dropper into the corner of one side of the mouth, and work it in through the opening in the teeth and squeeze the dropper (or the plunger on a syringe). Then I usually rub the cat's head as reward before I let go.
Pills
This is the tough one. Whenever I can, I dissolve the pills in a little liquid and use a dropper or syringe. I hate pilling cats! If I can't turn a pill into liquid medication, I hold the cat the same way as I do for liquid medication except I grab the scruff of the neck right up under the base of the skull and pull the head back. This will cause the cat's mouth to drop open and should give you a good target area. Put the pill as far back in the throat as you can, close the cat's mouth and hold it closed, and blow gently in the cat's face - this will cause kitty to swallow. Hold the cat until you're sure the pill has been swallowed.
Some cats will not cooperate with you. For these tough cases, I do things a little differently. I take a heavy bath towel and swaddle the cat snugly so its legs are immobilized. Then I place the cat either on the floor or on the bed on its back (with the edge of the towel under its body so the towel doesn't come loose), I straddle the cat and use my knees to keep it immobile, and then I have two hands with which to pry open its mouth and drop the pill in. Again, you have to wait until you're sure the cat has swallowed the pill before you release it.
Hiding a pill in some food has never worked for me - they always manage to eat the food and spit out the pill. Smashing the pill up in food doesn't work for me, either - cats can smell the medication in the food and will rarely eat it. And if they only eat a little, you don't know whether or not they got the full dose. It helps to have an extra pair of hands when you need to pill a cat - someone to hold the cat while you do the medicating. Four hands are better than two!
Eye Ointment or Drops
Again, position the cat the same way you do for liquid medication. You can use your left hand under the cat's chin to lift it up, leave the middle, ring, and little fingers under the cat's chin, put your index finger over the nose to immobilize the head, then use the thumb of your left hand to gently pull up on the top of the eye. Use the middle or ring finger of your right hand to pull down the lower lid, and squeeze the tube or the bottle with your right thumb and index finger. The faster you can do this, the more successful you'll be!
