Poor Valeria

[jyasu]

This evening I administered 2 of the medications prescribed to Valeria.
This is the first time I've ever given medicine to a cat; Valeria was not
thrilled to serve as my practice patient.

It took me a full 30 minutes to administer the pill she needs to take for

Comments

[tiramisu_milano]

When we would have to give diesel pills, we had to use a pill shooter. It was the only way it would go down and stay down and it took only a few seconds.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3215778

First, get the pill shooter ready. Then, we would wrap him up nice and tight in a towel....like a kitty-burrito...with only his head out. Then you can easily shoot the pill into the mouth.

[jyasu]

Yup, a pill shooter is what I used :) It wasn't so easy though, mainly because I don't have the reflexes to shoot the pill into her mouth and then clamp down on her mouth before she can get her mouth open again and spit it all out. I'm learning though...

[sethrenn]

Medicating cats in general is best done as a two-body job, we've found. What we usually do is to have one person hold them, and hold their head in place by grasping the scruff of their neck, while the other person squirts in the medicine.

[jyasu]

Yeah, I would fare better with three hands. I can swaddle Valeria up in a towel and rest her between my legs in a way that keeps her from squirming around her entire body, but still I need a hand for the medication, a hand to get her mouth open and a hand to hold her head still. I'm not very good at overloading the second and third tasks onto the same hand, but maybe with practice I'll improve.

[sethrenn]

If you guys want us to drop by Lake Forest again sometime, we wouldn't mind helping out with the kitty medicating-- we've had plenty of experience with cat medical care of various sorts.

[jyasu]

I appreciate the offer, but for the time being I seem to be managing. I actually managed to get everything into Valeria with minimal fuss this evening, so either I'm getting better, or she's getting more resigned to the medications (or quite likely, both).

[seika]

I think it's really helping that she always gets her kitty food right after medication. She's hungry, so she's more willing to eat it, plus she knows she gets a treat after putting up with medication.