Cats and powdered medicine - tips?

Life Pets & Domestic Animals
1

Hi all, I’m deworming my cats and have been given some powdered medicine from my vet to do so.

They said to put it in their can food, but my cats know better and it’s nearly impossible to get them to eat it.

I’ve removed the dry food on the days they were supposed to get the medicine, but they are winning the war to this point. Stubborn little buggers!

Any tips or other techniques?

I was thinking about putting the powder into Felaxin or Laxitone ( in the tube ), which they lick off my finger if they are in a cooperative mood, or if not, get smeared on their paw or mouth, and getting it in them that way. I am supposed to be giving them some of that twice weekly anyway. Any harm in that idea?

Thanks for your time.

2

Strongly flavored food like tuna might cover it up. Grill a piece of salmon, slice it in half, stuff the powder in the middle and feed that to them.

Don’t feed them first; let them get hungry, then give them the med. Try different flavors.

Or put the powder into gelcaps so they can’t taste it, and wrap the gelcap in salmon.

3

We just mix it in with wet food.

4

I have mixed it in with the wet food really well. The cat is wise to my ploy though.

I find it really frustrating trying to see that he eats some of it. There really must be a better way…

Is wet food the same as can food? Just curious if there is something I don’t know about.

5

Mix the powder with something soft/liquid enough to draw into a needless syringe. Squirt into mouth. Hold mouth closed, chin up, and massage the throat. Done!

6

I may indeed try that. Thanks Stray Dog, sounds like a good idea.

Anyway, it sounds better than trying to get a pill down the throat, which was the other choice. I didn’t want to do that though. I don’t want my cat hating me. I’m soft that way.

7

Go to the grocery store and get some meat flavored baby food, like veal.

Mix the poweder with it. My cat loves the taste of the baby food and will eat it regardless of what’s mixed in.

8

I have had cats my whole life and have tried every trick in the book. I find the method above to be the most consistently successful one.

9

I have had cats my whole life and have tried every trick in the book. I find the method above to be the most consistently successful one.[/quote]
I third that method. The last time my vet prescribed medication for my cat, it was powder form. I don’t know why they go from powder to capsule all the time, drives me nuts. Anyhoo, I asked him if he wouldn’t mind putting them into capsules for me, which he did. And the above method is how I feed my cats their medicine. The vet gave me a syringe with the tip cut off and I just stick the capsule through the opening in the tip and shoot the capsule down my cats’ throats. Hold their mouths closed with their chin up and massage their throat, there’s no way for the medicine to go but down.

10

I just performed this on our new addition to the family. Once again worked liked a charm. He didn’t even resist like some cats tend to do.

11

I second the syringe method. “A spoonful of sugar” (or in my cats’ case, anything from chicken soup baby food, condensed milk, or sardine juice), works wonder into making medicine taking a pleasant experience. I strongly advocate imprinting this as a fun activity, as cats are smart and catch soon that medicine = disconfort. Make it as pleasant as possible, cradle him/her, give atreat before the medicine, and just when he expects more good stuff, well, medicine is good for them anyway.