Tuesday, January 24, 2012

THIS makes torturing my cat a little bit easier.

So crabby old man cat Riley gets thyroid meds in tablet form every day.  Actually it's only a quarter of a tablet, twice a day.  He also gets an oral stool softener twice a day.  I enjoy giving it to him SO much!  Not.  Now Jake needs the same thyroid meds, same amount, same form.  Thank God she doesn't need the stool softener too. I get that stuff on Canada's black market.  Don't want to break the law on a greater scale than I already am.


Riley is easy to give meds too.  He doesn't like it, that he makes clear.  But he knows food will follow so he doesn't fight.  Jake on the other hand is like a Pez dispenser.  I put that pill in her mouth, her head goes back and out pops the pill again, immediately.  It's kind of amazing really that she can do it every. single. time.  Brought her back to the vet today and she has only gained 1 oz since November.  Obviously more of the meds are ending up in the bathroom rug than down her gullet.


Enter the pill shooter.   



I'd never seen one before, much less used one.  But tonight I held Jake by the scruff - which for you non-cat people, reduces many cats to kittens responding to their mother holding them that way, they get calm and hold still.  Anyway, I held her still by the scruff, stuck the pill shooter (with pill inside) into the side of Jakes mouth and shot it!  She looked at me like - what was that??  And then proceeded to eat the food she had been waiting for.  


Oh please please PLEASE let this continue to work.  You really feel like a failure when an itty bitty kitty defeats you every. single. time.


I need my dignity back.
.

8 Comments:

Anonymous said...

My dogs do the same thing to me. It is a struggle to get them to take anything and I end up feeling like they must be smarter than me. And sometime I think they are.

Teena in Toronto said...

The things we do for our furkids :)

The Beading Gem said...

My old cat was still adept at getting a pill back up even when it was shot down her throat with one of those gizmos!

BetteJo said...

This is working - about 50% of the time. Better than about 20% the totally manual way I guess.

Shai Williams said...

I have to get one of those. Cats are such a pain to pill.

BetteJo said...

Got it at the cat clinic, I think it was under 5 dollars.

Carla said...

Oh I hope this works for you. I get so much exercise when I have to give one of my kitties medicine. One is diabetic and it is the ear testing that is a struggle for both of us. But I've noticed my bad arm is getting better due to the exercise. Yes I call it exercise because torture sounds too mean.

BetteJo said...

I was so afraid Jake was diabetic when she got so thin. She's a faucet drinker and is always thirsty - but it turned out to be thyroid. I was glad because it's so much easier, not to mention cheaper, to treat. I don't envy you!