Comments on: Random Gracie thought

By: chsw

chsw — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 15:04:21 +0000

It could be worse. Your vet could have prescribed suppositories.

chsw

By: peggy

peggy — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 14:45:29 +0000

I have found that if I get down on my knees, sitting on my heels, I can back my cat between my legs and pull her head straight up, pry open her mouth and drop the pill down the back of her throat. Since my cats all try to back away from the HAND WITH THE PILL, they can only back up closer to me.

By: Meryl Yourish

Meryl Yourish — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 13:23:48 +0000

I had a piller for her. I don’t remember what happened to it. I should get another.

She doesn’t really fight. She tries to run away, and she clamps her jaw tightly, and then she tries to spit my finger out of her mouth (ergo, the biting). Gracie is a gentle, gentle kitty.

It’s Tig who is the demon. If he ever gets sick enough to need constant medication, he will die. Because I won’t be able to fight him.

By: Alex Bensky

Alex Bensky — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 12:42:24 +0000

P.S. If you try this approach, wrap her fully and carefully. I still have a small scar on my right hand from the time I didn’t and she squirmed out of the towel, her rear claw catching my hand as she escaped.

By: Alex Bensky

Alex Bensky — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 12:38:51 +0000

Well, my experience with the late and lamented Greta was similar to Rob’s. You wrap her in a towel, grab the nape of her neck and force it back and, although it may take a few attempts, drop the pill into her mouth and rub her neck to make sure it goes down.

It got the pill in but the cat won’t enjoy it and it was months before Greta ceased bolting from the bathroom if I picked up a towel. On the other hand, if there’s an easy way to do this that is not going to upset the cat I don’t know it.

By: Rahel

Rahel — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 11:12:49 +0000

Friends of mine have a syringe-like tool that they use to pill their six cats. The pill goes in pincers at one end, and you push the plunger at the other, releasing the pill into the cat’s mouth. My friend says she’s been saved a lot of bites that way.

By: Rob M.

Rob M. — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 05:08:15 +0000

My vet once suggested wrapping the cat in a towel to control the claws, and the submission hold on the scruff, the pill to the back of the tongue, and then rubbing the throat to make sure the pill goes down. Never was bitten, but caught some claws a few times. It helps to be really calm but fast. In my experience cats are the worst for pills.

By: Meryl Yourish

Meryl Yourish — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 03:17:43 +0000

Well, she isn’t really biting me. She’s trying to get the pill and/or my finger out of her mouth. It’s just that contact with those sharp teeth hurt, even though she’s not breaking the skin.

Mike: My cats have never fallen for that one.

By: Hugh

Hugh — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 02:52:30 +0000

I was bitten on the back of my hand by a cat while I was giving her a belly rub. She just seemed to get too excited. Afterwards, she was all over me, asking to be scratched. The next day, the back of my hand was badly swollen.

In any case, I learned that cat bites are potentially more dangerous than dog bites. The hand became infected, and I ended up in the ER. I had to take 2 antibiotics for about a week. They also gave me a shot, but I don’t know what it was. They said it wasn’t for tetanus, as I wasn’t due for it yet.

By: chsw

chsw — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 02:24:46 +0000

See if you can find a pair of chain-mail gloves used by crab and clam shuckers. These should keep you from getting hurt, and Gracie and Tig probably won’t like biting them.

chsw