MEDICATING PETS

Category: Cat Care, Dog Care, Pet Health | Tags: Tags: administer cat medication, administer dog medication, administer pet medication

Date: April 12th, 2011

Some pets accept medication readily, but what do you do when your pet proves to be difficult?

Medicating Dogs:  The easiest way is to hide the pill in a small amount of food (whole or crushed depending on the size and type of pill).  Commonly used treats are canned dog food, cheese, bread, peanut butter, cream cheese, hot dogs etc (watch out for peanut allergies).  There are also several brands of “pill pockets” on the market that will disguise a pill so that the dog will readily swallow it without any other action needed.  I used these pill pockets, Greenies Brand, for my puppy, and they completely masked the taste of the pill for him!

If the dog declines the medicated treat, gently but firmly open the dog’s mouth by placing your hand over its muzzle with your thumb and fingers behind the large canine teeth on opposite sides of his mouth.  With the other hand, separate the dog’s jaw and place the pill as far back on the center of the tongue as possible.  Close the dog’s mouth and hold it shut, then stroke the throat until the dog swallows.  Right after, I usually give my puppy a real treat to make up for any discomfort!  Keep in mind, that the short nosed breeds are the most difficult, so for these breeds, liquid medications are preferred.

For liquid medications, insert the dropper between the teeth and the cheek at the back of the dog’s mouth.  Then, while tilting the head upward, slowly dispense the medication.

Medicating Cats: Cats rarely accept medication in food, and need to be pilled or given liquid medication.  If you have an extremely finicky cat, you might want to wrap the cat’s body and legs firmly in a towel, leaving only his head sticking out.  Cradle the cat, and place your thumb and forefinger on either side of its face. You can gently force the cat’s mouth open by applying light pressure at the space between the teeth. Remember to keep the cat’s head tilted up, then drop the pill into the back of the cat’s mouth.  Gently massage the cat’s throat until he swallows.  Right after, I usually give my cats a real treat, so they forget how mad they are at me!  Administer liquid medications for cats, in the same way as for dogs.

If your cat is like mine, and just refuses to swallow no matter how long your stroke his neck, then try this! Buy a tube of feline nutri-cal (keep it stored in the fridge). Squeeze a small amount of the nutri-cal on your fingertip, and insert the pill into it.  Then as quick as you can, open the cat’s mouth with one hand while simultaneously popping the gel in with the other hand.  Because the gel is slippery, it goes down almost immediately. The cats usually like the taste of the gel too, so they don’t mind eating it!  You might want to hold the cat’s mouth shut for a few seconds, and stroke his throat gently to make sure that the pill has been swallowed.

Medicating Birds: For birds, the addition of medicine to drinking water is often the only practicial method of drug administration.  Oral suspensions, ground tablets or the contents of capsules may be applied to fruit, peanut butter, fresh corn, sweet potatoes or other favorite food items. This method works best for larger breed birds.

Reminders:  It is very important to follow directions carefully from your vet when administering any medication.  Contact your vet for further information if administering a prescribed medication becomes too difficult.