Sigh, must give cat distasteful medicine.

[Gogi]

He's 13.8 pounds of muscle and won't eat anything he can smell this medicine in, which is everything! He's got some more bad teeth, too. Good luck cleaning them! He snapped at the vet when he examined them and the vet discouraged me from trying to clean them. How do you solve a problem like T-Rex!

[BlueJazz]

1. My Friend soaks her Cat in Tuna fish oil first...

..then hides it in the food.
But maybe you've tried to fool kitty before and he's caught you at it...

[redstateblues]

2. Hold Him By The Scruff Of the Neck and pop it down his throat

I've done that many times although never had a cat that big. Good Luck!

[Gogi]

3. I tried sardine juice.....

and I could smell this antibiotic. If Sneaking up on him only works twice and then he runs away when he sees me coming. He was well on his way to being a feral cat when when I got him.

[skygazer]

16. My cat would go ballistic

If I soaked him in tuna oil and buried him in cat food!

[Ivan Sputnik]

4. Maybe kitty needs a tranquilizer.

Which raises the question of how you get him to take one of those, I guess.

[miss_kitty]

5. i used the snug Towel wrap method

it pretty much immobilises the dears and you can work it with your knees holding the towel shut tight and have both hands free, so you can make calls on your cell phone. if you do it right, they cannot scratch you. stand back when you let Mr Muscle go

[fudge stripe cookays]

11. This works well...

if you get the technique down. You really have to watch the front feet to make sure they're completely held down inside the towel.

But the back feet can slip out and cause damage too.

It helps to have an assistant. One to make sure the towel is secure; the other for dosing.

Other than this I recommend a full set of body armor.

FSC

[miss_kitty]

12. yeah, mr big slipped out once or twice when i wasn't well focused

on the task at hand. but i was amazed at the control i had over 25 lbs of reluctant feline. i actually did it solo-but you really have to pay attention!

[fudge stripe cookays]

13. You named your cat Mr. Big?

That's hilarious!

:D
FSC

[miss_kitty]

15. He was a rescued cat

he had belonged to some asshats who'd decided a cat was "too much trouble" (I saw her later at the vets with a full grown rottweiler puppy-he was about 1 year old a nearly pulling her arm out of her socket. There was eye-rolling among members of the vet staff).
He was-large and crabby when i got him, but he'd lived 2 months in a cage at the vet. he came to live with me a few months after my avatar kitty died. He was diabetic. He was 3 and lived 10 years after i brought him home. He was the most popular cat in the 'hood; i had people coming from West Seattle at the beginning of spring yelling "Mr Big! Mr Big!" outside my door, saw Japanese tourists stop and take pictures of them with him, heard all sorts in the way of nicknames for him: Cow Kitty, Sumo Cat, Thanksgiving Kitty, 'Lookit That Cat!' 'Fridge' and 'Mookie' are some. He lived to hang out in crowds of people chatting and stopping to talk to him and to have his head patted. Even though he died in '96, people still remember him-i still get called 'Mr Big's Mom' and i am proud to be known that way!

[kestrel91316]

6. Advice from DU unofficial cat vet here.................

If your vet says he needs his teeth cleaned, but won't do it, find a vet with more confidence in his/her abilities. Dentistry, to be done CORRECTLY and THOROUGHLY, must be done under light anesthesia, which is normally VERY SAFE. Dental disease is a serious medical problem which can shorten your cat's life considerably and cause terrible pain. You can't clean your cat's teeth any more than you can clean your own (brushing and cleaning are not the same thing). As far as pilling the cat, place on kitchen table or counter,hold by scruff of neck, hold pill between thumb and forefinger of other hand, open cat's mouth with middle finger, shove down. Keep holding on. peek and if you see the pill, shove it a bit more. Work fast.

[barb162]

7. I had a cat that was solid muscle, built like a little tonka truck

or mack truck. He was impossible to pill; too strong and too smart. I'd go to the deli and get shaved polish ham or shaved beef or shaved honey ham. Buy way less than a quarter pound of each. Give the cat a tiny piece of the shaved whatever and put a piece in your mouth at the same time and say "yum-yum-yum' to the cat like it is the greatest thing on the planet. After the cat downs the tiny pice and wants some more, stick the pill in a second piece of the shaved whatever and completely cover it so the smell can't get out. Of course, one say they may like the polish ham and in the evening, they don't so get very small portions of the various deli things as they usually keep changing their minds.

[pansypoo53219]

8. can't you get that chicken flavor enzyme toothpaste?

my cats LOVE it. even get the oldest to lick the kittens heads.
of course she growls as she does it, which is hilarious.

[steely]

9. There's a small pill 'gun' available -

it looks like a hypodermic - and the pill snaps out the end.
It was too big for our 8 pound furball.
We lucked out later since they put the med (some antibiotic) into a form we could stick in the food - and she really ate it! It was for her liver enzyme level.

I'm always afraid pills will go down the wrong pipe if I administer it.

[grasswire]

10. some people swear by squatting over the cat...

...as if you are going to ride it horseback (ha!) and hold it with your knees. Then hold the scruff of the neck and pop it in, etc.

I've had luck swaddling the cat in a towel, holding it like a baby. Then I moisten the cat's mouth with water from an eyedropper. Then if you take one hand and apply pressure to the jaws, kitty will open its mouth. Drop the pill to the back of the mouth, and then hold the mouth closed. Stroke kitty's throat to make it swallow.

HOWEVER, many cats will just hide the pill away and spit it back out.

If the med is really critical and kitty can't be pilled, you can get a rx for a compounding pharmacy to prepare the med in an oil that can be rubbed on the skin of the cat's ear and the med will be absorbed that way.

Gee. My two elder cats have passed away in the past ten months (one just last week). I'm free from pilling for a while, hopefully.

[LDS Jock]

14. Try this method

How To Give A Cat A Pill



If you have ever tried to give a cat a pill you know

how difficult it is. The following instructions are fool proof!



1. Pick up the cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm
as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either
side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while
holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth.
Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from under chair. Cradle cat
in left arm and repeat process.



3. Retrieve cat from bedroom and throw soggy pill away.

4. Take a new pill from foil wrap. Cradle cat in left arm holding
rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill
to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.



5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top
of wardrobe. Call spouse in from garden.

6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between the knees. Holding
front and rear paws, ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse
to hold cat's head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler
into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.

7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap.
Make a note to buy a new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully
sweep shattered figurines from hearth and set aside for gluing later.

8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with it's head
just visible from beneath spouse's armpit. Put pill in end of drinking
straw, force cat's mouth open with pencil and blow down straw.

9. Check label to make sure that pill is not harmful to humans. Drink
glass of water to take taste away. Apply band-aid to spouse's forearm
and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.



10.Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Place cat in
cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force
mouth open with spoon, flick pill down throat with elastic band.

11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put door back on hinges. Apply
cold compress to cheek and check records for last tetanus shot.
throw t-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

12. Call the fire department to retrieve cat from tree across the road.
Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid
cat. Take last pill from foil wrap.

13. Tie cat's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly
to leg of dining room table. Find heavy duty pruning gloves from garage.
Force cat's mouth open with small trowel. Push pill into mouth followed}
by large piece of fillet steak. Hold head vertically and pour 1/2 pint
of water down throat to wash pill down.

14. Get spouse to drive you to emergency room. Sit quietly
while doctor stitches finger and forearm and removes pill remnants
from right eye. Stop by furniture store on the way home to order
a new table.

15. Arrange for vet to make housecall.