To ask for help and advice. At wits end. Cat absolutely refuses to take medicine

[RunningFeisty]

My poor little cat has a tooth infection that has caused an abscess. Vet have given us antibiotics in tablet form but after a few days she got wise to us and managed to trick us into thinking she had swallowed it but would run off and spit it out

Today I contacted the vet again and they gave us an alternative medicine in a liquid format.

Except she won't take that either. She wretched and coughed and foamed at the mouth sicking it back up! I am at a total loss. She won't have it in any way. We have wrapped her in a towel, pried open her mouth. We've tried it mixed in food and treats. She won't even touch it if the tablet is in there or the liquid now it's that.

What do we do? I have spent a fortune already with vets and can't afford anything else!

Help!

Can the vet not give AB via injection?

My cat was terrible for spitting tablets up and flaming at the mouth etc. We used to have too wrap her in a blanket then hold her mouth closed gently and rub very gently under her chin for a couple of minutes to try get the medicine down.

Have you tried crushing the tablet (eg with a pestle and mortar) and putting it in eg tuna?

Try Lick-e-Lix. It's like a meaty Frube for cats.

Leroy has Metacam daily - put half of L-e-L on plate, squirt on medicine, cover medicine with rest of L-e-L, watch cat inhale Lick-e-Lix/medicine combo.

Some flavours work better than others 🙄.

The only thing that worked for my elderly cat was cheap sandwich spread. Used to coat tablet in it and it mostly worked.

Mine would only take tablets if pressed into a little ball of cheddar

^^
Go back to the vet and ask for injection AB. Always done this with my cats. You know that saying ‘like herding cats’? The same can be said of getting the little buggers to take medicine! Best get those antibiotics into kitty ASAP, abscess can’t be fun.

There is a long acting antibiotic injection that we often give in cases like this

I buried the tablets in a small piece of cheese. Moulded it round. Cathedral City is ideal. Cat loved it.

Antibiotic injection. Even my most pleasant cat got annoyed with the tablets after a couple of days.

When my dog got wise to use wrapping his tablets in ham, I cut a cube of cheese, dug a little hole out, put the tablet inside then packed the cheese I'd dug out over it.

The trick to giving tablets is to have a syringe of water nearby and open the cats mouth, push the tablet to the back of the throat, close the mouth, then immediately follow the tablet with a squirt of water into the cheek to force swallowing.
When giving liquid medication pull the cheek to one side and tuck the syringe into the cheeck and squirt there. Don’t squirt directly into the mouth or down the throat as it will cause retching. Follow antibiotic squirting immediately with a favourite treat - tuna in spring water or pilchards etc

I'm going to call the vet again tomorrow and see what they say. I've tried all the favourite food she normally inhales but it's like she knows even though she doesn't see us putting meds in the food.

Convenia is the one that lasts

I would recommend Lick e Lix. This is a strong tasting yoghurt based paste that you can crush the tablets into. I had the same problem with my cat and this worked (and still works) a treat. You can buy it from Waitrose - and doubtless elsewhere. It comes in little tubes. We are never without it in this household! Good luck !

I have to do what @Fundays12 does, and also use a pill popper thing.

Stroke their throat - they won't be able to resist swallowing.

I have to give one of my cats flea tablets reguarlly and my partner holds his mouth open whilst i drop the tablet directly down his throat. Somtimes he moves it out of thr way with his tongue, most of the time it goes straight down.

If i dont give him the tablets he starts scratching hinself badly so whether he likes it or not we have to force him to have them.

Only thing i can suggest is one of you hold cat on its back with its mouth open and the other drop the medicine directly in the back of the throat. If its liquid form itll be well easy in a syringe

Agree about crushing tablets and mixing with tuna or wet food, though some tablets can’t be crushed (ibuprofen for example - not that you give they to pets but it has a coating on it so shouldn’t be chewed or crushed).

Alternatively, if you stroke the cats throat after giving a pill it initiates the swallow reflex I believe.

Sounds like an injection might be the best option however!

Mine was given a long acting injection of antibiotic when he had his dental work. There was also one which was a tablet that I crushed and mixed with food.

There is a knack to getting a cat to swallow a tablet. I am useless at it, but my dh has it down to a fine art. You have to clamp their mouth shut, hold their head up and stroke their throat in a downwards motion. Wrap them in a towel first obviously.

It puzzles me why they can't make medicines for cats taste nice although I have to admit one of mine once needed some when he had an infected bite (liquid form) and he would come to me eagerly each morning to suck the medicine from a syringe, so that one obviously tasted nice.

If all else fails, can you take the cat to the vets each day and get a nurse or vet to administer the drug? It should only take them a minute. Your cat might not enjoy the journey, but at least you would know she was getting the meds.

Held her yesterday for a solid ten mins stroking her throat and it did bugger all. Sorry I know you're only trying to help.

I want to help her get better but I'm in a rough patch we weren't expecting and really can't afford anything else. Surely the vet will be kind about it as they do have a duty of care?

She's bit herself twice trying to escape our attempts.

I've seen on a cat cam a fostered giving a cat alternate syringes of tuna juice and medicine, so the cat doesn't know which one is coming -it might make her hesitate long enough so it goes down?

Have you tried sardines? That’s my final resort

Would your pet insurance not cover it?