How To Give Medicine To Your Cat

Tips to giving medicine to cats.

It is not easy to give a cat medicine. We would like to share some helpful tips from the ASPCA on how to successfully administer medicine to your cat:

• First, call your cat to a place she likes, such as the area where you keep her food dish. When she comes, give her one of her favorite cat treats. (If your cat doesn’t like cat treats, try something more exciting, like small pieces of fish or chicken.)
• Gently put your hand on her jaw and hold it for a very brief moment. (Try to release her before she tries to get away.) Just before you release your cat, say “Yes,” and then quickly give her a treat.
• Practice steps one and two for a couple of weeks, gradually increasing the time that you hold your cat’s jaw. Progress in very slow steps. First, increase from one second to two seconds. When your cat seems totally comfortable with that and doesn’t struggle to get away, you can increase to three seconds. Then increase to four seconds, then five, etc.
• When your cat will let you hold her jaw for 8 to 10 seconds, help her get her used to letting you stick your finger just inside her mouth. Again, start slowly. Only put your finger in her mouth for a second at first. Say “Yes” just before you remove your finger, and then quickly give your cat a treat. When you can put your finger in your cat’s mouth for about three seconds, proceed to the next step.
• Now you can teach your cat to allow you to open her mouth. Open her mouth, just a little, for only a second. Before letting go of your cat, say “Yes.” Then give her a treat. Repeat this step until your cat doesn’t resist when you try to open her mouth.
• When you can open your cat’s mouth wide enough, slip a small bit of treat inside, say “Yes,” and give her a second treat. When your cat seems comfortable with this step, you can move on to Step 7.
• Finally, open your cat’s mouth, slip in a treat with medicine juice on it, say “Yes,” and give her a real treat.