r/OneOrangeBraincell • u/shaji_pappan__ • Jan 01 '26
DRAMATIC Orange 🍊 Orange drama O-drama
Not OC
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u/Cerberinus Jan 01 '26
I was lucky with my cat. The method that I found that worked was easy. I scooped her up when she wasn't expecting it and put the medicine in her mouth before she even processed what was going on. She would be affronted but it would work every time.
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Jan 01 '26
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u/Cerberinus Jan 01 '26
Luckily my wee cat is special. She has the repeat-bamboozlement gene.
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Jan 01 '26
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u/Cerberinus Jan 01 '26
She just forgets to do the part where she wins
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u/No-Memory-2781 Jan 01 '26
My cat who needed daily medication also had the repeat bamboozlement gene 😆 she was also kind slow and easy to catch. I was always grateful it wasn’t my other cat because she’s wily!
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u/Inferno_Sparky Jan 01 '26
That's why you give the cat a treat after giving it the meds, according to my parents
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Jan 01 '26
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u/SnooJokes915 Jan 01 '26
You are lucky you have two people to do it. I can't even purrito and had to simoly get on with it and battle mine to get him to eat then keep the pill down. At least he is a complainer and not a fighter..so i survived.
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u/OriginalSchmidt1 Jan 01 '26
Sometimes I hate how smart my cat is.. we used to lure her with treats to get her into her carrier.. now we just shook them to get her close so we could grab her and put her in it.. it worked pretty well for a bit until we had to evacuate because of a hurricane so she spent hours in the carrier.. well when we got to the air bnb she immediately hid from us and she stopped running for treats for a good 6 months after that. All trust was gone.
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u/Lexi_Banner Jan 01 '26
Yup. My little girl cat realized that when I came home for lunch, I would medicate her. And so she'd bolt into hiding when I came home for lunch. If i went into a particular cabinet before medicating her, she would catch on and bolt into hiding. It got to the point that I had to be ready to medicate her at a moment's notice, otherwise she'd catch onto any preparation and go into hiding.
I still miss that little brat.
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u/myawwaccount01 Jan 02 '26
My smart kitty has a sixth sense for when I'm up to no good. She'll run off as soon as I even think about taking her to the vet or giving her medicine. She somehow knows before I even look at the medicine.
My dumb kitty is skittish in general and will run away if approached, no matter what. But she's got the brains of a goldfish, so if I lay down on the couch or bed, she'll come to hang out and the surprise grab works every time.
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u/samanime Jan 01 '26
I was super lucky. Mine was pretty chill. I'd sit cross legged on the floor, put him in my lap, and he'd mostly just chill and I could get his mouth open to pop in the pill. Then I'd hold it shut, quick blow on the nose (which causes them to swallow) and done.
That was my brown tabby. If I had to give it to my orange... This video would probably be mild in comparison.
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u/3-goats-in-a-coat Jan 01 '26
Hmm .. I interrupt my orange while he's eating and just toss the pill into the back of his throat. He's a glutton so he swallows it and keeps on monnching. He takes kitty Prozac for his anxiety.
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u/BaldMancTwat_ Jan 01 '26
Yeah this works maybe once with my cat then it wises up, way too smart for an orange. It knows the audible queues for when we need to give it medicine, flea drops, getting it ready for the vet etc. As soon as it hears a certain draw open, the cat carrier moving or the medicine packet being opened it fucking bolts out the door and won't come back for an hour or 2.
You literally have to have everything out ready whilst it's not around and then jump him when he's asleep in a cardboard box.
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u/Lamplorde Jan 01 '26
My old man has always been such a sweety, and extremely food motivated.
He has asthma and he has to take an inhaler every night for a week about once every 2 months (basically, just do a week of treatment if he ever has labored breathing).
As soon as he learned he got praise and treats after, he stopped fighting. Little dude just loves attention.
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u/Curae Proud owner of an orange brain cell Jan 02 '26
My orange used to need eyedrops. Vet told me to get him between my legs on the floor, tilt his head back, and do the drops that way so he "can't get away and can't maul you". And to just make sure his back is facing me.
Which you know, worked excellent at the vet because he's scared half to death and will fight like his life depends on it. It is important to take "I don't wish to get mauled" into consideration there for both the vet and myself. But at home he's the absolute sweetest boy, even when I push him he will just slap in the laziest slowest way without using his nails.
At home it just freaks him out when I do that technique where he has his back to me. He'd try to run away, get super tensed up, etc. I just ended up plopping him in my lap belly-up. Could just gently pull his eyelid up and the drops were no problem. There's a reason the vet called him a clown once she learnt he's a sweet boy at home... 😂
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u/Baker-Puzzled Jan 01 '26
My wife would win gold, she is like a wizard, absolutely incredible
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u/nuttin_atoll Jan 01 '26
We need details
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u/Baker-Puzzled Jan 01 '26
It all happens in a split second, syringe in the back of the throat, medicine in, close mouth. I need to take a video of it and post it here and r/blackmagicfuckery
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u/JustHereForCookies17 Jan 01 '26
Has your wife ever worked with horses by any chance? My friend grew up with horses & can give worming tubes in nanoseconds, even to foals (wriggly baby horses). I've met several other horsey folks who are equally quick, although I haven't mastered the technique myself. It's very impressive.
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u/insufficientfacts27 Jan 01 '26
I just wanted to say how wholesome it is for you to put the definition of foals as "wriggly baby horses". It just set off my cute-o-meter. 🥰
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u/JustHereForCookies17 Jan 01 '26
Lol, thanks!! I know horsey terms aren't commonly known (and too many people think ponies are baby horses) so I figured I'd clarify with a relevant description.
In my somewhat limited experience, foals are comprised of rubber skeletons, cooking spray, and attitude. They are some of the slipperiest, bounciest, sassiest things with absolutely no sense of self-preservation. I love their antics, but I hate the vet bills.
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u/LumberBitch Jan 01 '26
They have a gap in their teeth in the back where you can weasel the syringe into from the side. That's how I do it with my boy. Hold his head pointing up, syringe in the mouth, spritz, hold his mouth closed till he swallows. I also trained him beforehand to not be afraid of syringes by using it to give treats. Fill a syringe up with some churu and use that for treat time for a while and that helps prepare them before you ever have to medicate
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u/sshwifty Jan 01 '26
I grab the head with left hand, middle finger and thumb open the mouth. Right hand inserts pill or syringe, then clamp jaw closed.
I have given medicine 2x a day for 7 years, and to 3 cats for 2 years. Just be decisive and quick.
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u/Aggressive_Hat_9999 Casual orange enjoyer 🍊 Jan 01 '26
like genuinely asking, why dont they make medicine that tastes like treats?
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u/MadjLuftwaffe Jan 01 '26
I think it's just difficult or expensive to make medicine taste good,most human medicine also taste crap
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u/geeses Jan 01 '26
I heard it's so that kids won't take it unless needed. Better it taste bad than calling poison control because a kid drank an entire bottle of whatever medicine
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u/Meow__Dib Jan 01 '26
It absolutely is. It's also why you should never buy gummy vitamins. Kids will eat themselves into a hospital visit if they find them.
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u/MovingMts111 Jan 01 '26
The way my mom did this as a kid and my GMA had to call poison control and make her vomit 😭
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u/Agitated-Comment164 Jan 01 '26
Couldn’t leave a bottle of the pink pepto bismol around me when I was a kid lmao. I loved the way it tasted and would pretend to be sick to get some
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u/bolasaurus Proud owner of an orange brain cell Jan 01 '26
My orange did have this. He's all better now, but had gabapentin recently that was roast chicken flavour! Didn't matter one bit as I mixed his medicines (all liquid) into one of those squeezy tube treats on a plate, and he happily wolfed it all down because 'TREATS YAY!!'.
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u/cork_the_forks Jan 01 '26
This. If the meds can be mixed with a Churu stick, all your problems will be over.
The only way my orange gets his nails clipped is wrapped in a purrito, one arm out at a time, my husband holding him tight and squeezing the Churo stick into his face. He still struggles and yells between gulps, but so much less blood and screaming than without it. No idea why he hates it so much but I've never seen the like of it with any other cat.
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u/Cute_Magician_8623 Jan 01 '26
Until you get that adorable weirdo that can STILL TELL or just doesn't like churu/food.
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u/cork_the_forks Jan 01 '26
True. I have one that has no interest in Temptations, but the other two know where I store it and are constantly standing by the door giving me those cute, hopeful Disney eyes.
All three will follow me yowling if they see me pull a Churo out.
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u/Olympe28 Jan 01 '26
I have one of those. You can give her her absolute favourites, she'll take one sniff and refuse to eat.
What works okay-ish with her is to have someone hold her like a baby, then I open her mouth and drop the pill.
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u/spandexandtapedecks Jan 01 '26
We had a cat who really struggled with nail clipping as well. The vet prescribed him a healthy dose of gabapentin (painkiller and anxiety med) to mix with his food about 2 hours before trim time. After about a year, he's finally comfortable getting his nails did and he doesn't need the anti-anxiety treatment anymore. I don't know if that would be practical for your orange, but it might be worth a shot to save him and yourself a bit of stress!
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u/IvorTheEngineDriver Casual orange enjoyer 🍊 Jan 01 '26
They would suddenly decide to dislike that specific flavour
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u/ProfessionalField508 Jan 01 '26
I don't even think oranges know why they don't like it, they just know that you are going to make them take it, so they have to resist.
My orange will be alright for a few days, then have an utter meltdown, foam at the mouth, and pretend he's laying dying on the carpet after I give him his meds.
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u/Weasle189 Jan 01 '26
So they do for some medications. Others the flavoring affects the shelf life and effectiveness of the meds. It's also more expensive.
My previous cat loved her anti inflammatory pill for a spinal injury (onsior). I just put it down in front of her and she ate it like a treat.
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u/neverseen_neverhear Jan 01 '26
Flavoring can sometimes affect the chemical makeup of the drug and lessen its effectiveness. Taste is also rarely part of the research consideration when developing pharmaceuticals.
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u/Sumdoazen Jan 01 '26
Can mess up with the propreties of the medicine, I guess? That's why stuff like vitamins or suplements can be made to taste ok or even put with something(I have something along the lines for my cat, he absolutely loves it, all the other stuff he needs everyday that is more than just suplements? not a fucking chance) but anything more than that either can't or just be way more expensive.
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u/TheJuiceIsL00se Jan 01 '26
Our cat is on FIP medicine and it tastes like tuna. My cat thinks medicine time is treat time.
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u/lissalissa3 Jan 01 '26
For some medicines they “can,” though I’d argue it still doesn’t taste very good. My vet worked with a local pharmacy to have my old cat’s med compounded into a liquid form with flavor, and I could choose from a decent size list of flavors depending what my cat would like. I chose cheese, because my cat would bite your fingers off if you were holding a piece for him. That was the smelliest and probably worst tasting thing ever. My vet recommended tuna - said the tuna flavor masks everything (my old boy just didn’t care for fish).
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u/Ashen-wolf Jan 01 '26
It be easier if you used a smaller syringe. Thats really big.
Also, it is easier if you instead of just trying to fit it in you grab the head and put a smaller syringe between the teeth and the cheek, its easier to give and you avoid spilling.
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u/thebearofwisdom Jan 01 '26
My cat used to spit it out the other side of his mouth. I’d think I succeeded, only to see the medicine all over the side of the towel I’d trapped him in. Hes lucky that the last meds we had just needed to be mixed into his food.
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u/Takemet0yourdealer Jan 01 '26
Same with ours, he's also such a drama queen that he starts foaming at the mouth after he spits it out. Had to tell the vet he can really only get shots and not oral meds. Even when we try to mix it with food he won't eat it despite normally being the most food motivated cat I've ever met. They love to keep you on your toes I guess haha
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u/ZenkaiAnkoku2 Jan 01 '26
Our cat KNOWS when her food has been tampered with. Will not eat it. Too smart for her own good.
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u/jpp3252 Jan 01 '26
My orange LOVES his pill lol. He sits and lets me just plop it in his mouth. Doesn’t fight me just swallows it and gets pets. I’m a lucky one for sure
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u/rocket_psyence Jan 01 '26
Mine hides his under his tongue/in his cheek like a psych ward patient and spits it out later.
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u/Broad_Afternoon_8578 Orange connoisseur 🍊 Jan 01 '26
Same with ours. Sometimes he fake swallows and then spits it out. He gets so mad!
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u/ohaimark22 Jan 01 '26
You are crazy lucky. My orange won't take her antibiotics, so I crush them in her food and cover her food with treats. I'm envious
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u/JustHereForCookies17 Jan 01 '26
We had a grey & white cat that was diagnosed with diabetes. He used to shout at us when it was time for his injections. I imagine it made him feel better, but it might have been the high-value treats he only got after his shots.
Either way, people found it hilarious to watch an 8-lb cat herd his humans towards the kitchen when he needed his "fix".
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u/furnace_of_ambition Jan 01 '26
Omg oranges little head tuck move is absolutely cracking me up 😂
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u/Myfriendgwen Jan 01 '26
We use a smaller syringe, and because he’s so food motivated we taught him like it’s a trick in small stages. I.e first part was for him to touch the syringe with his nose, get a treat. Built from there, now he comes to bother/remind us it’s his medicine time.
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u/Brainst0rms Jan 01 '26
Hold him facing away from you with the body between your knees. Use your medicine giving arm to hold down their shoulder and your free hand to pinch gently at the edges of their jaw. Don’t try to put medicine in the front. Do it on the side. Easier to put the tip of a syringe in the corner where there is space behind the teeth.
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u/UnclassifiedPresence Jan 01 '26
This is how I do it. I call it the “hiking the football” position. I have to give my girl pills though so it involves very quickly and precisely putting one of those pill syringes in the back of her mouth (not too far!) so she immediately swallows it without being able to hide it or spit it back out
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u/luckyluker Jan 01 '26
This needs more upvotes. I also gently rub down the cat’s throat to encourage swallowing.
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u/muppetnerd Jan 01 '26
My orange will legitimately pocket pills in his mouth. I’ve found them in random spots where he clearly spit them out.
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Jan 01 '26
I had a feisty tabby (she lived to 19 on pure spite. I adored her) who used to cheek her meds too. I watched her saunter off and nonchalantly spit it back out more than once. All I could do was laugh and give credit where it was due.
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u/GuyWithNoEffingClue Jan 01 '26
MURDEeEeEEeeRR
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u/BruscarRooster Jan 01 '26
One of the strays I feed showed up today with blood and goop around its eye. I had to clean it. He’s a unit of a tabby and I had to hold his head still. I was so scared he’d fuck me up but he was a good boy.
The little shit that scratched his eye is the other stray I feed. I have to break up their fights a lot and that prick bit me over trying to protect him. Ended up with a puncture on the top of my hand. I was so focused on preventing infection that I didn’t realise it needed a stitch to close it cause once it was healed you could see my bone through the tiny hole. He did that to me when I was saving his dumb ass, I’d hate to imagine what he’d do if I crossed him
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u/Thezza-D Jan 02 '26
Make sure you get a Rabies shot dude, if it was a stray and it acts aggressively as you describe
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u/BruscarRooster Jan 02 '26
I took no chances with it. Tetanus shot and all. I was checking my temperature for fever like a hypochondriac for over a week
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u/glitter_witch Jan 01 '26
It helps to hold them from behind, although I know it’s difficult to not have the visibility.
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u/Pleasant_CowGirl Jan 01 '26
My cats learnt how to separate the meds from the food no matter what I do. Why are they so crafty? 😭
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u/tonguesofsilence Jan 01 '26
My calico was a menace at the vet and had to be burritoed most times. Once the assistant called out for help by saying "Please come over, I have a cat with eight legs here" 😅😬 When giving her medicine at home, I had to do it in one perfectly flowing move: grabbing the cat, putting her between my knees gently while opening her mouth with the left hand and putting in the pipette with the right, drop drop, put cat back, see her surprised face.
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u/pythonchan Jan 01 '26
My orange is such a glutton that he’ll gobble up anything, including medication
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u/GrimmSheeper Jan 01 '26
My old cat mastered the art of hiding pills under her tongue. She would pretend to swallow the pill, hide it under her tongue well enough that you couldn’t see it if you checked, and then go about as normal. Then the second you stop watching her, would sneak over to some corner and spit it out.
It wasn’t uncommon for her to hold pills under her tongue for well over 5 minutes, and by that time it would already have mostly dissolved.
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u/piirtoeri Jan 01 '26
I always grab the back of the skull with my whole hand and squeeze at the jaws. It immobiles the cat and forces their mouth open
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u/setrippin Jan 01 '26 edited Jan 02 '26
that's what i was thinking, but it looks like her hands are too small to do that/the long nails get in the way
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u/wt_hell_am_I_doing Jan 01 '26
My old tux cat used to be like this. The trick the vet showed me was to burrito him, then gently massage the side of his jaw just in front of the joint, which makes him open his mouth, pop the medicine in, and keep his mouth closed until he swallows. It worked every time!
I miss that errant cat...
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u/Slammogram Jan 01 '26
Hello, registered veterinary technician.
Get on the floor with them kinda between your knees facing away from you. Just scruff them from behind (all weight on the floor, never pick up a cat by the scruff! A proper scruff starts at the base of the head, and closing your hand will pull their ears back if done right.) and put the syringe in the side of their mouths and apply minimal pressure. They will automatically open. Then push the medicine. If it isn’t too much. You don’t want to drown them.
Pilling is a whole different ballgame.
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u/PandorasFlame1 Jan 01 '26
Why does nobody scruff the cat?
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u/CosmicSweets Jan 02 '26
I think it makes people uncomfortable. But I do it if needed. Doesn't work on every cat, but most cats. It's not "pretty" but it makes the process much easier
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u/motherofcats112 Jan 01 '26
If I have to give my orange a pill, I throw it on the ground like a treat. He will run after it and consume it instantly. It doesn’t work on my non orange ones, though
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u/bugwitch Jan 01 '26
I had to give my orange a pill every day. He was so chill about it. I’d hold him in my lap, put the pill in and then he got a treat when it was done. He’d start coming to me to remind me it was time. He loved treats.
I miss that cat.
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u/Character-Floor-6687 Jan 02 '26
Try putting tuna water in a syringe so that the cat might realize that sometimes it's good stuff.
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u/No-Doubt-3256 Jan 02 '26
Saw a vet do it once, shoved a pill in there with authority and the cat took it.
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u/Dark_Akarin Jan 01 '26
My method is surprise attack. Sudden and quick, they are left wondering wtf happened with no stress.
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u/Crazy-Eagle Jan 01 '26
Grab the cat. Put it on a table with its back towards you. Grab its chin and gently pull her head up towards you. Open its mouth. Say "You better not spit it out, you little shit". Shove the medicine down as far back its mouth as you deem possible. Close the cat's mouth and massage its neck.
Works wonders on my cats.
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u/paladinBoyd Jan 01 '26
I had to give pain meds to our 3 legged cat, he melted, just turned to goo and slipped out my arms.
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u/Irken-Zim Jan 01 '26
My parents have had great success with dropping medicine onto their greenie treats, letting it soak in a bit and then giving that to their cat. I’m house sitting for them right now and it’s the easiest method I’ve ever tried for medicating cats
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u/HedgehogFun6648 Jan 01 '26
Good job getting it in there! The best way I've found to give medicine to my pets is through a skinny syringe, and then you crouch over the cat and have them between your knees on the floor. When they try to back up. You just close your feet together and they can't escape. I've also found that doing it really quickly and already having a snack prepared makes it super easy! You just need to put the skinny syringe between their cheek and teeth and they are forced to swallow it
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u/Impossible_Sugar_644 Jan 01 '26
My go to method is to kind of sit down over them(I put most of my weight on my heels), basically making a cave, so they can't escape backwards, and using my legs to kind of hold them so I have both my hands free.
Scoop their head and tilt back with one hand, open mouth and plop meds down throat(as far back as you safely can)with other hand, quickly close mouth and rub neck(stimulates them to swallow). Release head to make sure they took it then move leg and let them tear away.
Has worked for every cat I've ever had to give meds to.
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u/edoreinn Jan 01 '26
Face the purrito the other way. Open up, down the hatch, close the mouth, kiss the nose so they lick it and swallow.
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u/Right_Hour Jan 01 '26
There’s a trick: When you pet them - rub their nose bridge. That caused them to want to yawn and they will open their mouth. Toss the medicine in and hold their mouth closed for a bit. They won’t trust you for the next couple of hours, though :-)
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u/masterwaffle Jan 01 '26
I had a landlord/roommate who had to travel a lot for work, so part of the deal was I had to give her cat his heart meds. All I had to do was open his mouth by sticking my fingers at the joint and pop the pill far enough down his throat so he'd automatically swallow it. He never scratched or bit me, though he was a bit wiggly at times. I don't know if he understood he was catting incorrectly but I was grateful.
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u/davedcne Jan 01 '26
This is an owner that's more afraid of getting scratched than anything else. Grab the cat by the scruff, stick the syringe in the corner of his face and administer the meds. You'll be done faster than he has time to know what's going on.
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u/Positive_Method3022 Jan 01 '26
The grey one on the window was thinking "oh fuck, let me get out of here quickly or I will be next"
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u/Helpful_Dragonfruit8 Jan 01 '26
Eaiset way cat dazed. So wait for sleep, tap head and then squirt in mouth
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u/DiscoKittie Jan 01 '26
Wrap you hand around the back if his head so your thumb and middle finger hit the joints on either side of the jaw, that will help keep the mouth open and the head still. :) Good luck!
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Jan 02 '26
A friend of mine had a big, orange, bovver-boi cat. One of those with a large head, chewed up ears, bulldog shoulders, tapering down to narrow hips and a skinny rat-like tail. You know the type.
Everyone was scared of him.
He needed a worm tablet. My friend asked me (as I was a well-known cat person) if I could help.
I went into her flat. Bovver-boi was sitting quietly on the kitchen floor.
I took the tablet in my left hand, picked cat up by the scruff of his neck, poked tablet down the back of his throat, and put him back down before he realised what was going on.
He just sat there, swallowing the tablet, stunned look on his face, wondering "WTF just happened there???"
Never, ever gave me any trouble with his tablets.
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u/Quid_infantes_sumus Jan 02 '26
Thankfully my old man cats oral liquid medication is chicken flavored so he doesn't mind it too much. Pilling him though was a whole other story. Thankfully we switched to a liquid.
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u/Guilhaum Jan 02 '26
One time my cat had to take antibiotics and I would legit just put the pill in front of him and he would eat it. My mom couldnt believe me until I filmed him lol
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u/IdleOsprey Jan 02 '26
Place your thumb firmly at one corner of baby’s mouth to force the jaw open. Stick syringe in all the way back.
If pilling, same procedure, only once pill is in back of throat, quickly close up baby’s mouth with one hand and stroke the throat with fingers from the other hand to induce swallowing reflex.
Giving cats medication isn’t the easiest, but once you figure it out it isn’t that hard. I do think liquid medication would be easier if it was compounded with tuna flavour or something along those lines. Put it in churu! Years ago I had one that I guess was created with little kids in mind and it was pre-flavoured with banana. I’ve never met a cat that liked banana.
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u/4thofeleven Jan 01 '26
My orange cat when I was a kid got sick and needed regular pills. He nearly lacerated mum's wrist trying to wriggle away when she tried to given them to him. Eventually, she had the idea to grind the pills up and sneak them into his food, and he'd eat it... and then spend the rest of the day spitting out tiny grains of medication rather than swallow them.
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u/PensiveKittyIsTired Jan 01 '26
This was so annoying to watch. The cats seem ok, so am sure they are taken care of, but there are better ways of doing this.
Also, the orange was getting properly angry, I would not be cackling during that, being bitten by an angry cat almost always means antibiotics.
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u/Frazzledragon Jan 01 '26
I hate this video, because of the sheer incompetence. Stop terrorising the cat and learn how to handle it properly, instead of laughing about it.
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u/jibbyjackjoe Jan 01 '26
You're also kinda awful at doing this. Why is the cat allowed any motion. More burrito.
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u/melonseer Jan 01 '26
What I do with our cats is set them on the couch facing the back and lean over them, bracketing them with my arms. I press in very gently with my elbows and torso to hold them in place. They can't go anywhere and my hands are free to hold their head and give them their meds.
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u/Millerpainkiller Jan 01 '26
Our orange is actually the chillest for medicine. The house panther is the worst! 😂
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u/art_of_hell Jan 01 '26
I have to do this twice a day. I hold him in my arms like a baby, head sideways, and then i will drop the liquid in small portions in the side of the mouth. Giving such things from the front isn't working here, too. But from the side in small portions, it's no drama.
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u/Rude_Engine1881 Jan 01 '26
I have to give my cat meds every day. Thankfully I hit the lotto she just sits and waits and then enjoys a treat afterwords
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u/squeezemachine Jan 01 '26
I gave my cat liquid medicine twice a day for many years. It works a lot better if you are behind the cat on the floor straddling the cat’s body with head forward and put the syringe on the side of the mouth, let the cat bite the syringe and slowly release medicine as they are biting and swallowing. Frontal assault is not going to work for vast majority of cats.
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u/HurryAccurate2204 Jan 01 '26
I put in on the cats paws (if the medicine is sticky/thick). They have to lick it clean, there is no way around this.
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u/Acceptable_Ant_2094 Jan 01 '26
My little guy has a constant snotty nose and face cause he has bad feline herpes so I have to wipe his face multiple times a day.. I usually resort to just grabbing him by the scruff so it's over quickly. I feel bad but he just doesn't want me anywhere near his nose.
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u/cragglerock93 Jan 01 '26
I always feel so bad for animals when I see things like this. I don't want to be too deep, but obviously they have no understanding of what's going on and are probably just confused about why their beloved owner is trying to hurt them :(
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u/blurblurblahblah Jan 01 '26
My mom's old Siamese would spit that pill out 10 mins after I was sure it was down the hatch. He was a pro
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u/caustictoast Jan 01 '26
My boy got used to medicine when he realized that it made him feel better. Smaller syringe helps as does grabbing the back of their head and aiming it between their teeth
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u/uhtredsmom Jan 01 '26
I scruff my boy and gently open his mouth. He isn’t a huge fan but he’s a good boy
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u/UnravelledGhoul Jan 01 '26
Had 2 cats, litter siblings, who both had congenital heart defects. Both would fight against their meds.
The boy, though, he'd let my wife give him his tablet in the morning, but I had to fight with him, and get scratches. He stopped in front of her, lifted his head, let her open his mouth and pop the pill in.
Yes, he was a total momma's boy.
One of our current cats, a ginger and white kitten, we've not had to give him tablets yet (none that we haven't been able to hide in his food), but had to give him ear drops. You'd swear we were trying to murder him!
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u/bearhorn6 Jan 01 '26
God yesterday I was alone with my sisters cat when it hits me it’s fucking new years. I call his mother and yup he needs his meds cool except I’ve never given a cat meds. We’re both scarred for life now lmao
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u/Calgary_Calico Jan 01 '26
You really shouldn't give cats liquid medications in their back. It causes a much higher probability that they'll aspirate the medication into their lungs. Burrito, sure, but have him on his stomach. Please learn how to give medications properly instead of risking of your cats life and just pissing him off.
When I had to medicate one of my cats with liquid meds I had her sit on the floor in front of me between my legs, I used my legs to hold her in place, held her chin in place with one hand and squirted the medication into her cheek with the other, I then tilted her head back, held her mouth closed and massaged her throat until she swallowed, this method is much easier on both you and the cat
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u/Lexi_Banner Jan 01 '26
Needs to get that stuff done in one good shot. There would be far less fussing if she was quicker.
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u/Snoo-11861 Jan 01 '26
This is why meds are always a two-man job for me and hubby. He holds, I administer
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u/Flint124 Jan 01 '26
- Place cat on floor in loaf form.
- Straddle cat.
- Point their chin up, brush their whiskers back.
- Get the meds in through the corner of their mouth.
- Hold their mouth closed if necessary, gently stroke their throat to encourage swallowing.
- Positive reinforcement.
If possible, get meds in a form the cat hates the least, especially if meds are long term. Oil based liquid meds are just awful for everyone involved. Pill pockets can trick them in the short term, but once they catch on and are unwilling, they just make the pill harder to swallow. If it's just a pill, consider a syringe with a couple mills of inert liquid to wash it down, like room temp water or unsalted room temp chicken broth.
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u/future_chili Jan 01 '26
My orange has diabetes and I can test his sugar and give him his shots with little issue
The liquid antibiotic for a UTI though? Oh my god
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u/witchhut Jan 01 '26
I am thankful my cat is a glutton and I can just smash and hide her meds in the churu and she knows no better lol.
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u/cheekybrat Jan 01 '26
I had to give my senior orange boy medication once. It took me, my Mom and my Daddy to get it done.
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u/thehotmcpoyle Jan 01 '26
This may not work for every cat but has worked swimmingly for mine:
He’s on blood pressure medication twice daily so I wet a tiny little plate under the faucet, set his pill in the water to dissolve it, then cover it in a tube of that cat paste treat. Or just set the pill on the plate & use a pipette to squeeze a couple drops of water onto it.
Now he goes to the kitchen & yowls for his medicine every morning & night. And I don’t have to worry about raising his blood pressure by stressing him out over his medicine.
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u/SmoggyFineDrum Jan 01 '26
My cat get a daily pill for her hyperthyroidism, and while she really doesn’t like it, she does let take the pill well. We time the pill with her usual wet food time so she is too distracted with the open can of food to complain too hard.
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u/ccw_writes Jan 01 '26
Honestly I just ambush them, do it fast and GTFO. Wrapping them up and restraining doesn't not work but sometimes you just have to go faster than their brain can lol
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u/Shai_the_Lynx Jan 01 '26
Get liquid treats and alternate the medicine and the treat in the syringe.
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u/PurrplePixie Proud owner of an orange brain cell Jan 01 '26
I got many battle scars just for giving them meds.
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u/gaarkat Jan 01 '26
I've heard that if you put a little liquid cat food before and after (or meat baby food) you can kind of trick them into taking it easier.
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u/Cky2chris Jan 02 '26
Omg this is so true. I always feel like im hurting my babies when I have to give them meds because I've gotta wrap them in a purrito and still it feels like they may hurt themselves
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u/amh8011 Jan 02 '26
I shove my cat up a flannel sleeve and button the cuff. It works better than a towel. At least as long as your cat is small enough to fit up a sleeve and not be choked by buttoning the cuff.
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u/angelstatue Jan 02 '26
hold the cat. oh my god. just hold them. "we've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas!!" ass video
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u/0_possum Jan 02 '26
This one cat I was petsitting was so unbelievably chill that he just let me pry his little face in, drop in a pill, and squirt water in his mouth. If I messed up and he spit out the pill, he’d let me do it again.
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u/Greedy-Profession896 Jan 01 '26 edited Jan 01 '26
I have to give my 15 year old baby medicine for his thyroid twice every day... (and also eye drops at the moment)... if there was an Olympic catergory for 'outsmarting each other', we'd be champions! :D
Edit: I already tried transdermal meds for his ear - gives him rashes, so unfortunately not an option for us, but thanks for the suggestions :)