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Pilling a Cat
1)
Have someone hold your cat's front legs and chest from behind
so you're free to do the rest, or vice versa. If you have trouble,
wrap a blanket or towel around your cat.
2)
Put your hand on top of the cat's head, avoiding the lower jaw.
Raise the head until your cat's nose points to the ceiling. As
the mouth opens, use your other hand to hold the pill and press
down on the lower jaw, pushing the pill as far back on the tongue
as possible.
3)
Close your cat's mouth, making sure you and your partner keep
a firm hold. Rub the nose. This will force your cat to lick its
own nose, which makes swallowing easier. Remember to give plenty
of praise each time your cat swallows a pill.
Here are additional helpful tips for
pilling either dogs or cats:
The
quicker you perform the above steps, the better.
Film-coated
pills are best. They go down more easily and don't dissolve as
quickly, which is important if it takes you more than one try.
If
you can't get the pill down, try disguising it in something your
pet loves (example: peanut butter or cream cheese for dogs, tuna
or cream cheese for cats). Check with your veterinarian, because
some medication should not be given with food.
Avoid
"human" medication. Some, like ibuprofen, aspirin or
acetaminophen, can be harmful or fatal.
Always comply fully with your veterinarian's
dosing instructions, no matter how quickly your pet seems
to be getting better. Stopping medication early risks
a reoccurrence of the problem and can reduce the effectiveness
of the medication.
*This article brought to you by PetNet.Com
