Medicating your cats

Medication and how to apply it. Warning cats are dangerous and medicine must be applied with great care. In fact we are surprised the health and safety police have not regulated cat medication yet.



Have you ever tried to give medicine to a cat, you will probably need therapy if you have. One of us is currently sporting a bite from Socks who took offence when they tried to give him a tablet for a urinary infection. 22 years of cats and we still have not found a fool proof way of giving medicine.



Its not just medicine, flea powder, aerosols and pump action sprays can cause havoc. Before the days of flea drops powder was the preferred method. First of all you find a large bath towel and liberally sprinkle it with flea powder and approach the unsuspecting cat. Here is the first error, unsuspecting is not a word in a cats mind from the moment it sees you it knows you are up to something. This is a two person job, one grabs the cat and the other quickly wraps the cat up with the towel and rubs the powdered towel vigorously over the cat. You have to be quick if you want the towel or yourselves to survive a Freddy Kreuger type attack with the claws. Let the cat go and it dashes off to a safe distance, if looks could kill we would have been gone long ago. The trailing clouds of powder have you choking coughing and spluttering, if your eyes are not watering from the powder they should be from where the cat inserted it's claws. Once this is done its the next cats turn but it is too late, even though the other cat was not in the room it knows. Yes it knows, there has been some sort of telepathic communication and all other cats have fled to the highest most inaccessible point in the house or have dug their claws in so deep to the carpet furniture or bedding that they make Velcro looks like an ineffective application. By the time you have cornered the cat wrapped it up and suffocated in the fumes you are hot sweaty and leaking blood from many scratches and punctures.



We had a cat flap put in for the cats convenience and for a short time it helped in the application of flea powder, How? Well it was the sort that could lock four ways and was double glazed. As soon as they realised it was flea powder time they would make a dash for the flap which we had had the foresight to lock so that they could get in and not get out they would run headlong into an immovable object. A stunned cat is easier to administer too and much less harmful. Of course this only worked once or twice because the cats wised up to it.



Then the flea spray was invented whoo hoo we thought, flea spraying the cats would be much easier we didn't have to grab and wrap. I think we only ever bought flea spray once if we thought towel wrapping was dangerous we just hadn't lived. The memory of the first cat we ever sprayed is embellished in our minds permanently. One of us had lulled the cat into a false sense of security and had the cat cornered the fur had been ruffed up so that it was all standing on end and the other then proceeded to spray. The cat leapt up into the air up above head height still being followed with the spray it came back down to earth jumped again and rotated itself 180 degrees and dug all four paws deep into the arm holding the spray there were screams and hissing. The can was dropped the cat let go and sped off. The human dropped to its knees and needed medical aid for twenty deep lacerations. Next time we used the spray gauntlets and full body armour was needed. For years and years afterwards any of the cats heard an aerosol can being sprayed they would dive for cover so deep was the trauma.

The next invention was the pump action spray it was sold as being cat friendly much quieter than any spray. It was about the best, you could sneak up on the cat with the pump fully primed pump once or twice before the cat realised what was going on and ran off.

Then they invented the drops, whoever invented them should be knighted. No more trips to the hospital no more tetanus boosters whay hey. All our cats are none the wiser just a cool spot on their necks which they don't mind.



Tablet are still a problem though. Giving tablets to a cat is not for the fainthearted. For those of you now saying well I don't have any problems with my cat, we hate you its not fair. Often people would give you advice telling you what was the best method the mummy method is probably the most effective following are the instructions:

The mummy method

• Using the trusty towel again wrap your cat up quickly with the towel until they look like a mummy.


• It must be tight to contain the cat


• Once wrapped turn the cat on its back


• Open the mouth and pop in the tablet


• Close the mouth while stroking the cats throat


• When the cat has swallowed it can be set free.

This is an effective and easy way of giving tablets to your cat.

Ha, in your dreams it is. the following is more like it.

• Grab the cat before it knows what is happening. Try and warp the struggling bundle this may take a few goes before you get it tight enough so it will not be able to use its claws to slash its way out and you in the process.


• Once wrapped turn the cat on its back it takes two of you to force the mouth open.Throw the tablet in while you have got the chance. Avoid the teeth they can easily bite through a human finger.


• Hold the mouth shut quickly stroke the throat taking care to keep your hands away from the claws as they are shredding the towel.


• Wait until the tablet has been swallowed. Allow cat to open mouth and double check that the tablet has been swallowed. It is wise to wear glasses as cat can spit a tablet out with great accuracy. Once you have double checked the tablet has gone, you can let the cat go.


• Watch the cat take three paces and then spit the tablet out.


• Repeat the above as neccerssary


• Keep a good supply of tablets as by the 3rd attempt the tablet has turned to a mushy mess.

Oh the joy of cats, some of you will be saying why don't you mix it into their food or in a special treat Oh we have and have wasted more tablets food and treats than we care to mention. Cats are not thick It only takes one cat to wise up and tell they others and they will all thwart your methods for years. We have tried crumbling medication mixing it with water and syringing it into their mouths. Saying that Socks has to have painkillers all the time because of his arthritis and I used to mix it with his food which he seemed to like but if he didn't eat it all he wouldn't have a full dose. Then some one told me that cats like the taste of it and to use the syringe. They were right and now when I get up in the morning I have Socks waiting for his medicine and if I should forget it he starts to wail. At the beginning of this blog we mentioned that Socks was having tablets for a urinary infection, he has it sussed. He is an old cat and is riddled with arthritis and we can't wrap him in a towel because it would hurt him. At first he would take the tablet if I coated it in his pain killer, then he wised up, he took the tablet licked off all the painkiller and spat the tablet back out. So now we hold his scruff pop the tablet in and try and avoid him accidentally on purpose closing his mouth with your fingers still inside. Its revenge for all the towel wrapping years.