Best way to give a cat medicine??

Question

I have to give my kitten antibiotics with a medicine dropper. He HATES it, and wiggles and refuses to open his mouth. I end up getting the medicine everywhere. Any suggestions??

Answer 1

I have a lot of experience in this field and I can totally understand how you feel. We had three kittens at once who all needed antibiotics. Just be glad you are getting him to take the liquid and not a pill.

First and foremost! The experience that you will have with your kitten and getting him to take his medicine will have a lot to do with your own approach. If you make it a big ordeal, he will definetely think that it is one. In his mind, forcing this thing into his mouth and squirting it down his throat seems like an attack. Whatever you do, wait until you feel relaxed and calm before you approach him. I noticed myself that I had a lot more success this way. Then, when you are ready, get the medicine prepared and approach him very quietly and gently. You might spend a little bit of time coddling him at first and gently speaking to him quietly and stroking him. Tell him that you only want to help him and that you are doing this for him to get better. I think animals can understand .

Then you put your (left hand if you are right handed) on the top of his head pushing his ears back and hold firmly but gently. Have the medicine squirter in your right hand. Then again with your left hand, pull his head back no more than 90 degrees (no you won't hurt his neck) and gently pinch apart the place where his jaw bones come together (close to his mouth) with your thumb and middle finger which are now on either side of his head. His mouth should open wide. You won't have much time. Quickly give him the medicine. Then you can close his mouth and if you need to keep him from spitting it out, just keep his jaws pressed gently together until you can feel him swallow. In vet terms this is "pilling a cat". Then follow up by reassuring him and loving him. Maybe even give him a favorite treat so he learns to associate it with this. If you have trouble with the procedure your vet should be able to demonstrate this for you the first time. It's definetely adviseable and helpful to have the hands on demo.

If that doesn't work, then you may need someone to help you. Either they can hold him and you give the medicine or vice versa.
Unfortunately my female black kitten was so wild and resentful of this even when I tried so hard to be patient and gentle with her that I did have to wrap her in a towel to adminster the meds. If you MUST do this, get an appropriately sized towel. Put it over her back and push the front legs down toward the belly. Wrap the towel snugly around the whole body so that the kitty is immobile. I had to put her between my knees face down and then give her the meds using the "pilling the cat techique". It was truly awful but it was the only way. I hope you have better luck.

If he already doesn't like it... and most cats don't.. the best thing you can do is just keep it as non-chalant an experience as possibile, minimizing the trauma of it for them. You don't want him to be afraid of you so like I said your own attitude is the most important factor in all of this. You have my sympathy.

Answer 2

The extra skin on the back of the cat's neck is a great place to hold him/her while lying your pet on their back at an angle. Insert the dropper into the side of the mouth by the molars and squeeze the dropper as usual. This extra skin is used by the mother to grab her kittens and move them around. The reason this works so well is the cat has an automatic response, put there by nature, to freeze or hold still when held in this manner. This automatic behavior allows the mother to grab her kittens and move them without the bothersome wiggling and writhing about. I assure it does not hurt and if you try to hold the kitten inches off the ground to test, you will see my point. I have been a Veterinary Technician for ten years and have assisted in surgery for the last six. I hope this helps. Please keep giving the antibiotics and do not give up. Also remember, the kitten has a natural response to salivate profusely when something bitter is in the mouth so if this too happens you are not doing anything wrong. Just keep trying.

Answer 3

Using a towel to hold/wrap your kitten in might make things easier for you. I usually put the cat on my lap with the cats head facing out. That way it is harder for the cat to scoot backwards. Then use your thumb and pointer finger at the corner of your kittens mouth to gently open his mouth. Once you got his mouth open aim the dropper to the inside of his cheek and good luck. If that doesn't work, maybe mixing the medicine with the water that comes from a can of tuna. Your kitten might lick it off of a saucer.

Answer 4

Hold the cat in the crook of your arm in a towel or little blanket. With that hand, also, squeeze it's jaw at the hinge(not really hard, just hard enough to get it to upen its mouth. Get the syringe as far in it's mouth as possible and shoot it in there. Then try to hold it's mouth shut. You should always load a little more medicine than you need in the syringe, expecting that the cat won't get all of it in the mouth. Not saying that this is absolutely going to work all the time but it's the best way that I've found to do it. That was my job at the humane society.

Answer 5

Put the medication in a syringle (without the needle, obviously) and place it between its teeth and near the back of the throat, ease the medication in slowly, not all at once, so the cat has a chance to swallow the medicine and not have the urge to spit it out or vomit. That always works for my cats.
And it also helps if you wrap your cat with a towel or something, to avoid being mauled by their claws.

To open you cats' mouth you have to your hands, put your thumb and ndex finger under it's bottom jaw and with your top, the same, and gently pry its mouth open to insert the dropper.

Answer 6

Shake the bottle well and draw the prescribed dosage into the dropper.
Hold the cat securely in your left (non-dominant) arm, while gently grasping the sides of his cheeks with your left thumb and forefinger.
Tilt his head back until his mouth drops open slightly.
While holding his head securely in this position, using your right hand, place the tip of the dropper into the side of the cat's mouth and squeeze about half the liquid onto his tongue.

Answer 7

Try scruffing and putting the syringe at the back of the mouth squirt in at a steady pace, not to fast as it may choke the cat. If scruffing the cat does not work well, then try little blobs of can food or cheese, squirt a little medicince in each bite, this way the cat gets all the meds, no mess, and no resistance.

Answer 8

hold the cat by his scruff (back of neck) and put the dropper in his mouth. HOlding the scruff with his paws facing away from you will give you control, also wrap your other arm around his body .

Answer 9

The best way is to cradle kitten on his back... hold tightly his scruff, bend head back, open mouth and shoot eyedropper at the back of the throat... kitty will not choke. remember it is for his own good.... if you have a ravenous kitty, you can try mixing with food, but i wasted a lot of meds this way...and remember, it can only do its work if we get it down his throat... he will forgive you!

Answer 10

you're able to desire to hold the top up severe lower back so as that the drugs can not bypass lower back out. you're able to desire to hold the top lower back with one hand- with the different hand placed the syringe 0.5 way into her/his mouth (no longer only the top of the syringe yet like a third in.. and quite quickly enable the drugs bypass into the mouth and save conserving the top lower back for yet another few seconds.. dont enable the cat bypass till she has swallowed the drugs ( which she will in case you save conserving the top lower back for some greater seconds and not enable it bypass on the instant away). stable success ( and only be sure you trim her claws so she cant combat you too easily lol :):)).