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Medicating Cat Is Hurting Trust?

scrape

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Yesterday, I took my cat Buddy to the vet. Something was wrong. He has a UTI. They have given me syringe medication twice a day for three weeks. He is a sweet friendly cat, used to be an outdoor cat. I am worried medicating him is hurting our trust. I don't want him to run away when it's medicating time or hurt me. He has been a bit shy, but I know a part of that is he's uncomfortable. I have been giving him treats afterwards and I will make more time to spend with him. I will also buy some canned food for a treat. I read you can give them medicine without opening their teeth so I will try that. I know he wouldn't try to hurt me, but I am still cautious of his instincts. Does anyone have any advice regarding making the experience tolerable for him? Or any advice on feline UTI in general?
@GoDucks ?
 

Toy

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You could try mixing the meds in a tiny bit of canned food. My neighbors cat was recently dx'd with thyroid disease. He couldn't get the meds in him. He asked me if I knew any way to do it. I suggested canned food & it's working. He only gets the canned food with meds, so the cat thinks it's a treat. You only want to use maybe a teaspoon, so the cat eats it all & none is left behind. Try a couple flavors & use the one he seems to like best. Mix the meds in well before offering it to your cat.
 

scrape

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You could try mixing the meds in a tiny bit of canned food. My neighbors cat was recently dx'd with thyroid disease. He couldn't get the meds in him. He asked me if I knew any way to do it. I suggested canned food & it's working. He only gets the canned food with meds, so the cat thinks it's a treat. You only want to use maybe a teaspoon, so the cat eats it all & none is left behind. Try a couple flavors & use the one he seems to like best. Mix the meds in well before offering it to your cat.
I hadn't thought of that, thank you! He loves food so that might be our ticket.
 

Lady Jane

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I developed a unique way to give Inky dental care and meds when needed. She loves purina dentalife treats. So i bought a breushless tooth gel sold by chewy. Every night she gets two treats with the gel on top of them. She licks off the gel first then eats the treat.

When she was on a medication for sneezing i put the pill in the gel on top of the treat. She licked the pill and gel off together. very easily done.
 

scrape

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I developed a unique way to give Inky dental care and meds when needed. She loves purina dentalife treats. So i bought a breushless tooth gel sold by chewy. Every night she gets two treats with the gel on top of them. She licks off the gel first then eats the treat.

When she was on a medication for sneezing i put the pill in the gel on top of the treat. She licked the pill and gel off together. very easily done.
I will have to try that. Thank you! Reminds me of when I had to give my other cat lysine paste so I would smear it on his front paws.
 

Sparkles99

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If none of the above works, kneel on the floor. Sit cat down facing away from you (butt & tail on floor; chest off floor. Put part of cat by tail base against & slightly between knees. Using your non-dominant hand gently use thumb & pointer finger to open mouth at mouth base (where jaw bone meets). It may take some practice, but it makes the cat unable to close their mouth. Using dominant hand insert pill. Using syringe add water. Close mouth. Keep head up. They have to swallow. If the medicine is liquid you may not need water, unless they spit it out. It’s a bit complicated to explain, but is truly simple & if something goes wrong, their teeth & claws are facing away.

Disclaimer: I’m not a vet/ tech. Just someone for whom this has consistently worked to the disappointment of many cats. Do at your own risk. AKA: Don’t sue me. ;)
 

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I had my vet show me how to open the mouth safely. The other thing you might want to do is to analyze the patterns of your medication and then only use that pattern for medication so (for example only have them go into the bathroom when you medicate him.) The cat WILL develop an aversion to that spot but then learn to trust that it is the ONLY place where it happens. I only bring out the mean medicine towel at that time, etc. I prefer to use a place I don't want them to be in anyway although that usually backfires.... They use the same technique in children's hospitals. (they never do painful procedures in the room where the kid sleeps so they feel safe in their room). That being said, I try to opt for the least amount of doses as possible (ie shot vs pills, medicine that works in 7 days vs 10 days). The other option is find some su... I mean friend.... who will come do it for you and pay them well!!! Then they are the bad guy:rofl:.
 

scrape

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I tried the canned food. He would take a few bites but wouldn't eat anymore. I tried again this morning after they go without food all night. Same thing. I'm going to try a different brand and less canned food next time.
On the bright side he hasn't been spitting anything out.
I will start taking him to the bathroom. Or possibly the no-cat cord corner? It will be good for the other cats, too. I have to take Ihop in another room because she goes after Buddy for yowling. ...Learned that the hard way...
If he becomes difficult to handle, I will have to persuade a "friend".
 

scrape

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I realized I never updated this thread.

We went through his medicine without issue. When I posted this thread I was stressed about him being sick, and had a hard first time medicating him. I was worrying too much, because things went smoothly. Taking him to the bathroom and treats afterward.

With one exception. He still has his UTI. He did improve a lot, but he is still showing symptoms. We are doing another treatment of the drops. Hopefully this will clear it up for good.
 

Shannan

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I'm glad things are improving and that the suggestions helped. You might talk to your doctor about a special diet to reduce UTI's and possible obstructions. It made a world of difference in our cat. Cats are notoriously hard to give medicine to so kudos to you for hanging on. I hope your cat continues to improve. We also found a fountain increased his drinking and that helped too.
 

Sylvi_

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Yeah, giving meds to cats can be a real hassle! I’ve always opted for injected antibiotics or mixing meds with food for my male and female.

I’ll put in a good word for Hill’s Prescription Diet c/d, also called Urinary Care wet food though. It honestly saved my male cat Benji.

A couple years back, he was on a popular grain-free dry diet and unfortunately suffered a total urinary blockage. Thankfully he pulled through but I immediately had to do a 180 on his diet, as he needs a lot of daily hydration to prevent another blockage. Now he gets two cans, one in the morning and night, with two tbs of dry. I also add some warm water for additional hydration. He’s never had another blockage since, thank god.

So I’d definitely ask your vet about it. Urinary issues are a real headache. Best wishes for your boy.
 

Shannan

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Sounds like the same story with our cat. C/d is a life saver. Be hi and our cat Nunere have a lot in common.
 

Sylvi_

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Sounds like the same story with our cat. C/d is a life saver. Be hi and our cat Nunere have a lot in common.
Have to ask.. was yours on Blue Wilderness dry food?

Whenever my Benji had his blockage, nearly everyone at my vet would shake their head and tell me they’ve seen so many male cats come in with blockages on that food. Now I steer clear. So glad your Nunere is okay!
 

Sparkles99

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Anecdotal evidence at best, but that brand caused my sister’s kitten to get a UTI & my late cat to develop sudden food allergies that lasted the rest of her life (10 years). Apparently there’s too much protein.

There are too many stories like this involving that food. They’d have been better off on Meow Mix. I’ve heard their advertising budget is astronomical & their research budget is next to non-existent too.
 

Shannan

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Interestingly enough, yes. But I never used the type that was grain free. And he was young too, about 1 year old. He was part of a litter that a semi feral female had in my barn. (interesting story as they arrived one month after my daughters beloved cat of 17 years passed away). With all the heart problems that the new diets have had on dogs and such, I now make it a point to rotate all my critter food to varying brands and I avoid the newer recipes. Nunere's diet is only the prescription diet, except for occasional tuna and the snake's mouse he sometimes steals while it is thawing (interestingly enough that is on his diet as the science diet mimics a mouse as close as it can). I feed the other cats by rotating the type of food I feed. I would feed just canned but too many cats to feed, and one of my cats refuses wet food. I also rotate brands with my dogs. The cats like the 4Health best and the dogs like the Nutros brand best but they all rotate. The only critter around here that gets the same diet every time is the horses and that is because I have fed Triple Crown Senior for more than 30 years and with good pasture, the youngest horse I ever lost was 27 and that was to an accident. Mine always get close to 40 and I know the recipe has been pretty much the same for that time. Everyone else rotates.
 

scrape

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Thank you guys for the advice. I will talk to the vet about diet changes. I actually was gifted a fountain for Christmas, I will put it out for them.
 
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