Medicating your cat
What should we think about when medicating our cats?
Always check with vet if you can put the tablet in the food - sometimes the food could absorb the tablet and effect the efficacy of the tablet. If the efficacy isn't affected than you could pop the tablet in a treat and pop it in their bowl.
Try allowing your cat to eat the medication out of your hand- a lot of pharmacy companies have made tablets more palatable and tasty.
If your cat hates the feeling and smell of spot on treatment you can purchase flea treatment that is edible. It's called Credelio. The flea treatment tablet is a very small oval shape and there has been alot of success in cats eating them. Talk to your vet about options.
Using a pill shooter very gently maybe a good idea if you think your cat may bite you. Giving your cat food straight after may help soften the blow of giving them a tablet.
Some tablets can sit in the cat's windpipe - this means that they can't travel to the cat's stomach and do their job. Pop a blob of butter on your cat's nose so they lick it - this can help the tablet to travel down to their stomach. There has been studies researching this butter technique - 100 % of tablets went down to the cats tummy with this technique! Use butter that is a little bit hard. If you don't wish to use butter you could try tuna pate (without onions and garlic).
Easy pill cat putty is very good for some cats too. Licky lick’s can entice a cat to eat too and you can sometimes hide liquid medication in there - but again check with your vet to ensure this won’t affect the efficacy.
If your cat is on more than one medication you can pop it in gelatine capsule and combine it - that means your cat can just be medicated once. Check with your vet to make sure that the medication can be combined.
Pill Assist by Royal Canin may be a good idea. Cat soups can be a good way of hiding liquid or a tablet - just again, check with your vet this doesn't affect the medication dose. Cats have an incredible sense of smell so try not to hold the pill assist in the same hand that has handled the medication.
Add the medication when your cat isn't looking - they're always observing us!
Chat to your vet if you're having problems, they may be able to offer alternative medication such as liquid based ones or one's that are applied to the skin - it's absorbed through the skin and body.
Reference: Sarah Caney , Medicating Cats,
Vet Professionals, https://www.vetprofessionals.com/site/cat- professional