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Since this lifesaving subject has driven many a cat owner to near despair, you can take some of the distress out of the treatment. It is assumed that the most important step has already been taken: that a veterinarian has been consulted and that he has prescribed the medications. He will also ascertain whether the cat is too sick for home care. If so, he wil take care of the medications intravenously. But once the cat is over the critical period, it will usually respond and recover much more quickly under the tender, loving care of the owner. Now the real treatment is up to you. The cat must ingest the medication in order to resist the ravages of the ailment or disease and survive.
If you need to medicate your cat, the cat should always be on a table, counter top, or your lap. If you try to give medication while the cat is on the floor, you have less control and the cat has more room to manuever. For maximum control you can drape a towel around the cat from the neck down, and with it's front legs and feet encased. A pillowcase, with your cat in it and tied slightly, is an excellent restraint for an especially active cat.
Pills or capsules can be moistened with a bit of butter or oil to make them slide down more easily. Hold the pill or capsule in your hand between your thumb and index finger. With your other hand, tilt the cat's head up to at least a 45 degree angle and gently press open the corner of the mouth. Move your fingers around to the front teeth and press the lower jaw down until the mouth is open enough to pop the pill in, as far back on the center of the tongue as possible. Quickly close the cat's mouth and hold it shut while keeping the chin pointed upward. Puff in his face and this will make him gulp to take a breath.
If at first you don't succeed, please do not give up. Frustrating as it may be for you, it is perfectly normal for the cat to try to spit out the pill which it so badly needs. And with a little patience you should soon master the technique. If you seem to have trouble getting the pill far back enough on the tongue, you might try pushing it down the throat with your finger. Be very careful as the pill could go down the throat the wrong way into the cat's windpipe. If you still haven't succeeded, you might want to try some food. Wrap the medicine in food, this is when caviar is worth the price. If the cat is totally off it's feet, you might want to crush the pill and add it to some egg yolk and Karo syrup first. Then feed it to the cat through an eyedropper. Here too, it is important to stop immediately if the cat starts to gag or cough. The liquid food could go in his windpipe. Take the medicine dropper and holding the head with the other hand, insert the dropper between the rear teeth and squirt the contents to the back of his tongue. Keep the head titled and massage the throat until the liquid is swallowed.
Give the cat a few seconds to regain its composure before the next dropperful. Proceed slowly and gently until all the mixture is consumed. Repeat these steps until your cat has finished all the prescribed medication.
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