How to tell cattery they might be giving the wrong medication to the wrong cat ....

[flippinhecknotagain]

Please help out here if you can ............

I have two Dcats - mum and daughter - with the same ginger and white colouring.

They both look similar, but not identical - if you take the time to look, you can definitely see the difference between them.

MumCat is on long term medication for hyperthroidism.

I'm due to go on holiday for 3 weeks and need to put my cats in a cattery - the last time I did this (in my previously trusted cattery) , I'm not convinced the cattery staff actually knew which cat was which and gave the medication to the right cat ...........

They say they gave the medication to the right cat and I have no way of proving which cat was given the medication (I just know MumCat looked like she hadn't been given the correct dosages when she came home - and her blood tests seemed to confirm it)

So, is there a way of actually ensuring the cattery staff know which cat is which??

I've thought about putting a collar on one of them so they can differentiate, but neither DCat actually manages to keep a collar on for longer than a day.

can anyone think of a way to make sure the staff know which is the right cat?

.............. or do I have to dye one cat's paws pink for 3 weeks to show which cat is which? 😬😬

I think you do need to put a marker on the one that needs medication, either a collar if she'll wear it or something like dye on an easy to see location.

sharpie spot on the head so they are easily identified.

Could you print out a phone of cat that needs medication and annotate it with the differences (eg - smaller white patch on ear) and ask that they keep that with the medicine and use if each time to ensure they have the correct cat?

A drop of food colouring on any white part of fur for the one that needs tablets. Easy to spot. Not harmful to the cat. Can then be snipped out/ left to grow out. Much easier to go for different coloured collars if they would keep them on though.

Red or pink nail varnish on the scruff of the neck! Will stay there for the duration

@bluecomputerscreen sharpie spot on the head so they are easily identified.

• great idea! - will a sharpie spot last for 3 weeks?

• *@Raininginparadise2 A drop of food colouring on any white part of fur for the one that needs tablets. - similar great suggestion to @bluecomputerscreen - will it last for the full 3 weeks, do you think? (and I love your user name! 😊)

Give them the sharpie and they can top it up if it starts to fade.

Or, clip a chunk of fur off of the one who needs the meds. Our cat got.shaved for a cannula and the patch is still visible 3 weeks later.

@hepsitemiz Red or pink nail varnish on the scruff of the neck! Will stay there for the duration
Another excellent idea! Thank you!

Just be sure that the cats don't groom each other.
My two try to lick the yucky flea treatments off each other.....

@TravelInsuranceQ Just be sure that the cats don't groom each other.......My two try to lick the yucky flea treatments off each other.....

Thanks, I'll try to do that whilst I'm on holiday for 3 weeks and they're in the cattery ,,,,,, 😊😊

I had is similar issue with identical cats and medication. I wrote specific instructions on how to tell them apart, and they put it on the clip board on the door of the pen.

I thought you might already know whether your cats groom each other, and then you could give suitable instructions to the cattery......🙄