to insist DP gives the cat its next antibitoic capsule

[ontheedgeofwhatever]

cat is on antibiotics with strict instructions from vet they are not to be crushed and must be given whole twice a day. They are capsules. I've managed to give 2 so far and have been bitten, scratched, found capsule spat out outside back door and had to start again with it all soggy. I've tried wrapping cat in towel, putting pill in mouth, dripping a little bit of water down with a syringe then holding mouth shut and stroking throat, wrapping in ham, covering in butter, force feeding and begging but both times its taken me in excess of 30 minutes to feed bl**dy cat their medicine and as I say on one occassion I had to start again with soggy capsule - another 20 minutes.

I've told DP I'm not doing it without help - its a four handed job IMHO and he says I'm being defeatist. AIBU to insist HE does it by himself this evening? while I watch and laugh

You'll get used to it...my old girl was on thyroid tablet for a few years...it was a one man job and in the end I had it down to pat. Just picked her up, made sure her front paws were sort of under my arm, squeezed her mouth till she opened, popped tablet right down the back, shut her mouth and tickled her chin till she swallowed...took about 5 seconds in the end.

My DH never did it though, made him feel cruel the fucking whuss

Definitely DH's turn!

Could you not hide it in a small serving of soft and delicious (from cat's perspective) food?

That's reassuring Betty will keep trying.

Somethingsuitablywitty - Well the ham and butter were from cats prespective lovely but they were very quick to spit out the nasty pill hidden in the middle

On rare ocassions she would spit it out so get it right down the back of her mouth if you can.

I would put her down, she would go out the room and then I would hear a ping as the tablet was spat on the floor........I used to tell her if she was gonna do that to at least have the sense to spit it back up where I wouldnt hear/see it

These are brilliant. I got one from the vet.

YANBU - if the cat is uncooperative it's a two person job. One to wrap the cat in a towel to keep legs contained. Second person to hold cat with one hand over the top of the head, holding the cheekbones. Gently tip the head back so mouth is vertical then cat can't clamp mouth shut. Drop the capsule right to the back of the mouth, a pill-giver makes this much easier, and can also dispense a small amount of water to provoke a swallow at the same time.
On the other hand, have you asked the vet for a different antibiotic? It's a very rare situation that there is only one drug that's appropriate and the one that is easy to get into the cat is more effective than the one that gets spat out on the doormat. Which antibiotic have you been prescribed for what problem?

Ugh I feel your pain. My cat is on thyroid medication daily and I have to wrap it in ham to give her it, but she's a sly little bugger and often drops it knowing it'll roll out and I'll have to give her more ham. Little shit.

Make sure you video tape it too

Have you tried the cat-in-a-boot method? You have to make sure all legs are in and then the cat is immobilised. You do need farmers wellies though, as Hunters and the like are too narrow.

Thank you for the hints - am loving the cat-in-a-boot method which I've not heard of before.

Can't remember what the medication is called but she has an infected bite from another cat.

As for co-operating she makes a 2 year old in full tantrum mode look the easier option

You wouldn't get my Ginger in a boot. I fully sympathise with you and I think your DH definitely needs to show you how its done . Either he gets it wrong and you both try together or he gets it right and you have successfully delegated the bastard job to him!

I 'sit' on my cats back (with restraint obviously) and that way he's pinned down by my weight and my thighs pin his legs to his sides so he can't scratch. Then I have two hands free. Works well for clipping nails and cleaning teeth too!

But YANBU to insist your dp does it alone- especially if he's being an arse and calling you defeatist!

I was skim-reading your post and stopped suddenly when I thought that you had wrapped your cat in ham then butter .

After re-reading, YANBU.

Listen, just be firm and show you cat who is boss.......dont be hesitant, pick him up firmly, get his paws out the way, open his gob and shove it in...no need to all these elaborate gimmicks, just be confident and get the job done.

Cats smell our fear, I'm sure they do!

Sparklingbrook: But where is the thick towel? The leather gauntlets? The chains and straps? The face shield?

That cat is drugged! I swear that cat is drugged!

Our cat defeated the vet trying to get pills down her! This is what we did: open tin of mackerel in oil. Put oil in pill syringe (from vets) with pill at the front. Grab cat and empty the lot in her gob right at the back of her mouth. Then give her the mackerel as a reward for swallowing the pill. She takes pills like a lamb now (without any oil) cos she knows she will get fed afterwards

Seeing as I once had to enlist the help of not one but two friends to wrap a small but decidednly uncooperative rat in a bandage (long story) YANBU. I wouldn't even attempt to medicate a cat on my own if there was any other option.

YANBU!

I still bear the scars from a course of antibiotics I had to give my cat 2 years ago.

At one point I resorted to oven gloves, a massive padded coat and my neighbour's salopettes with DH absolutely p*ssing himself laughing at me

YANBU. One of my cats will not take pills, forget all the faff about wrapping cat in towel, holding legs etc - last time we took him to the vet we saw a different one to our usual, she nearly lost a finger. And I did warn her first. Our usual vet can do it - I hold the cat in a death grip and she has one chance to get the tablet in with the pill holder. If it doesn't go down first time we have no chance to try again, the cat is an arched-back-spitting-hissing ball of fury.

He has a long-acting antibiotic injection instead of a week's worth of pills. Ask your vet about it. It's worth it, trust me. but get your DH to have a go with the pills first

We had to take our cat last week for an infected cat bite, the vet offered us a choice of daily tablets or an injection, we took the injection! Did your vet not offer something similar? It was a bit more expensive but so worth it! Job was done in 10 seconds and cat is back to normal. Good luck!

X post with oopslateagain

it takes both of us - DH holds her and opens her mount, i throw the pill in followed by a teeny squirt of water from a pipette

as soon as she licks her nose you know she's swallowed - reflex action

opens her mouth

You really need to read this:

www.nanceestar.com/CatPill.html