Taboo has a heart condition which requires me getting two pills a day down his stubborn gullet. One is no problem, I grind it over his food and he eats it.

The other one, I used to be able to smuggle it into his food and he wouldn't object. But then he started objecting to it and not eating. So I tried the "You will eat that or starve", but I only lasted a couple of days on that one because I can't withstand the kitty pout and it was clear he would rather die than eat anything with his other medicine in it.

Ok fine... trying to force a pill down a pint-sized panther, a good 19 pounds of black, muscular, stubborn as hell-cat was out of the question as I still remember the bites and scratches from our first and only attempt at that.

I've used a syringe and liquid medication on another cat with good effect... it was the next attempt. I ground up his pills, mixed them with a tiny amount of water, tossed in a pinch of sweetner and a few drops of Thai fish sauce, for flavoring. Then to corner the cat... First try, went pretty well. Got most of it in him, and didn't choke him to death on it.

Next day it wasn't so good. I ended up chasing the cat, but he went to his cat scratching tree and climbed up. Which was good actually. It coraled him right at the perfect level for me. This is his spot he goes to when he wants to be fussed over, so I obliged him with a good fussing. Then out comes the syringe.

With much head tossing, complaining and so on, I finally get it into his mouth and push the plunger. He does a hard head-shake and medicine is flying everywhere, including all over my face. Ugh... not so good.

Next day, I decide to get scientific. I had been experimenting with food grade gums and found Xanthan gum mixed with water makes a nice, gooey gel. I could mix that with his meds and perhaps the head-shake wouldn't dislodge stuff.

Did it though. The head-shake resulted in gobs of slime everywhere, instead of easy to clean up water...

iraculously each day, the cat climbs up on the cat-tree, exactly where I want him, when it's time for his dose. I reward him well with stuff he likes, but still, the process just isn't working.

Today I was back to water, sweetner, fish sauce. Got him in place, plunged... it resulted in just a bunch of air going into his mouth. Most stayed in the syringe. Argh! I knew getting him to stay put for a second try would be impossible. So I soothed him, fed him treats, brushed him... then silly me, I put some of his medication soup into my hand. And you'll never believe it... he just lapped it up! In the syringe there was more. I squeezed it into my hand... sure enough, he lapped it up again! Still not believing my luck, I ejected the rest of the soup into my hand and he drank that too!

So anyway, I don't know if this was an freak chance. I don't know if my cat loves fish sauce and Splenda. I don't know if my cat figured finally it was better to take it himself rather than having it force fed to him. Naw, he's definitely not that smart. But I was rather amazed.

The recipe I used was 1 crushed pill, about 3 drops of Thai fish sauce, 1 drop of concentrated Splenda and about 1/2 tsp of water, shaken up in a teeny jar then sucked into the syringe.

I'm just hoping this wasn't a fluke and can be repeated every morning!

It's gotta be the fish sauce...although I'd be afraid of giving that much sodium to a cat (I know it's only three drops, but they a lot smaller than us in body weight).

You might also try "milking" a can of regular "human" tuna and replacing the 1/2 tsp water and drops of thai fish sauce with the tuna juice...could even include a bit of the more liquizied tuna bits in the mix for mo' flavah...

Just a thought (damn, wish I thought of any of this when I was watching my friend's cat last month)

Yeah, I've tried the tuna juice. In fact, I used tuna juice on a cat that wouldn't drink and was getting severely dehydrated. Tuna is pretty salty stuff too though.

I'm not too concerned about the salt. He's on diuretics so that should keep him from retaining water from salt. And I think him not getting his medication is far more serious than a bit of sodium. For instance, his lungs start filling up with fluids and he starts coughing if he doesn't get his diuretic.

I know he doesn't have long on this earth, but hopefully what time he's got left he can spend it relatively happily. :(

I'll have to try fish sauce next time one of my cats has to take a pill. I've got scars on my arms from the days before I learned to wrap a cat in a towel before attempting to get them to swallow a pill. It's quite amazing the strength they can muster when they want to get away.


For some reason, I can't help feeling that there is an allegorical meaning to your story relating back to the thread about soloing in EQ2. :-)

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>For some reason, I can't help feeling that there is an allegorical meaning to your story relating back to the thread about soloing in EQ2. :-) [/quote]

*looks with glazed over eyes at Klath, wondering if she should've read that thread a little closer, or pondering the possibility that Klath has been rolling in the catnip patch again, or what passes for catnip with humans*

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>*looks with glazed over eyes at Klath, wondering if she should've read that thread a little closer,[/quote]
The cat represents the player base, you represent SOE, the pill represents the game, and the methods you use to force your cat to swallow the pill represent SOEs attempts to make us play the game the way they want us to play it.

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>or pondering the possibility that Klath has been rolling in the catnip patch again[/quote]
When I'm bored, I see patterns in everything. The fact that the patterns aren't really there does little to avert me once I get started.

It's people like you who teach literature classes and make stuff like that up so that people like me, who read books, take them at face value, will think that people like you are really smart!

Extra points if that makes sense.

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>It's people like you who teach literature classes and make stuff like that up so that people like me, who read books, take them at face value, will think that people like you are really smart![/quote]
It's people like me who read Cliffs Notes and pass off the ideas as our own so that the people like you, who actually read the books, won't think we're illiterate slackers. :-)

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>The cat represents the player base, you represent SOE, the pill represents the game, and the methods you use to force your cat to swallow the pill represent SOEs attempts to make us play the game the way they want us to play it.[/quote]

And then, what does the fish sauce and sweetner represent? The player's search for something tasty in the pile of goo being shoved down our gullets? :)

Only difference is, most players seem pretty willing to swallow anything SOE puts in front of them.

How to give a cat a pill (http://users.viawest.net/~aloomis/catpill.htm)

That's a classic. :)

When in doubt, call the vets office and tell them that you're using the fish oil, and want to be sure the extra sodium isn't going to cause problems all its own.

I poisoned a parrot (almost to death) giving it medication in hot cocoa. I didn't know (at the time) that chocolate is poisonous to parrots. The vet suggested orange juice, and that worked very very well.

Your vet may have suggestions, too.

(My dog is so easy... a glob of peanut butter and he thinks "medication" is a GREAT treat.)

Yeah, chocolate is poisonous to some animals, dogs and cats too, but in larger quantities.

Fish sauce is made up of anchovies, salt and water. None of those ingredients is dangerous to cats.

Pan, I'm sorry to say it but this is a bug, and is NOT working as intended. Your cat will be patched in the following days and he will return to his eye-scratching, skin-biting ways as soon as you get into agro range with any medication.

Cats were never meant to "drink medication out of our palms" and if this continues will be considered a "sploit" and you will be banned. It was a well known fact that to achieve the goal of a "healthy Cat" we in turn had to suffer the "Cat's Wrath" and then go visit the local Cleric, AKA Doctor, or in the most extreme cases ICU. Rezzes were not unheard of also.

CEO Cat Coding Industries
Alley Cat, Catnip county
Catland

LOL! OMG.... Too funny Araxx

Ok, today's Trial by Fur was as follows...

Same formula, same syringe, same cat, same cat tree.

Squirted a bit into my palm to see if he'd just lap it up.

No... he turned his head away, wouldn't look at my palm.

Coax the kitty. Nice kitty. Brush, brush, treat, treat.

No good.

Fine then. Wipe the medicine on his paw and hold him by the scruff, squirt into his mouth. Doesn't all go, but the build up on the blinds near the cat tree is getting thicker. /curse

Cat licks his mouth... licks off his paw... licks off some that spilled on the cat tree.

Squirt the medicine in my hand. Cat laps it up. Squirt a bit more in... laps it up. Go fetch the tiny bottle I mixed it in, add some water to make the med stuck to the bottom float... he drinks it.

/sigh

so the real soulution is to piss the furball off, then play nice by offering a treat to make up....

i'd start by just picking him up by the tail and placing him on the cat tree by swinging and throwing him like one would a lasso, follow by poking him in the belly a few times, (and if that doesn't get him mad, you can just calmly ignore his claws in your wrist... nothing pisses a cat off more than when we *don't* scream bloody murder at their attacks, as it makes them feel like they've lost control over their pet human) ... then put a saucer with the med-juice in it beside him while you call an ambulance and get treated for 'flaying by furball'.

may as well give the paramedics a story, you see....

/cackle!

alyn

Ah, we got the hang of it!

Today I carried Taboo up to his cat tree, injected just a tiny little bit very slowly into his mouth, he hardly struggled! Then we went right to the hand lapping and we didn't spill a drop.

Over all, the cat is happy with the arrangement I think. He gets a few minutes of extra attention, brushing, treats and some weird mixture that probably tastes like kettle corn to him (sweet and salty).

Thank goodness my boys have been realatively healthy. Blue and I did go through a few weeks of mutual torture while he was experiencing male kitty urinary problems about six years ago which ended with me saying fine don't take the pills. We stopped the torture and he hasn't had any problems since. He now has joint medication that is a chewable tablet that he just chomps up with no problems.

I dread ever experiencing medical problems with Sam though, I swear this cat was beaten as a kitten before I got him, he's extremely skiterish and even after 8 years of companionship will run away if I make too sudden a move near his head. The closest we've come to the medical trial is malt paste for hairballs unlike Blue that laps it up off his paw Sam slings it all over the place.

Consider yourself lucky... Read on:

How to Get a Cat or Dog to Swallow a Pill:

How to give a cat a pill:

1. Pick up 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 behind sofa. Cradle cat
in left arm and repeat process.

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

4. Take 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 from garden.

6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold
front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold 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 note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

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

9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1
beer 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. Open
another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door onto neck, to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of scotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw Tee shirt
away and fetch new one from bedroom.

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

13. Tie the little bastard's front paws to rear paws with garden
twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of filet steak. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.

14. Consume remainder of scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to
order new table.

15. Arrange for ASPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and call
local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.



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How to Give a Dog a Pill





1. Wrap it in bacon.

I've just decided... my cat is weird. That's the only explanation why we have to do the medicine ritual like this. He's just weird.