Lola really doesn’t enjoy getting her medicine. You’d think that by now she’d be used to it. She’s been getting it twice a day for about half a year now after all.
But she still hates it.
If she thinks we might be about to medicate her she’ll run away from us, even if we’re only bending down to stroke her. She’ll yell in annoyance if we pick her up. And when it comes time to medicate her (we use a syringe to give her the medicine by mouth) she will lift her front paw and try to bat the syringe away.
Another common tactic she employs is appealing to our softer sides. Lola has noticed that if she is doing something adorable, we’re less likely to disturb her. Whether it’s dozing in her princess pod, flopping in the corner and asking for tummy rubs (that one is risky, because she’s very catchable like that!), or finding a cozy space to look sweet in.
That last one is the technique she implemented last night when we were ready to give her the evening dose. The cardboard box is one that my mum packaged Christmas presents in to send to us. For whatever reason it had been left on the floor and not put away. And of course Lola noticed that it was exactly the right size for her. Almost as if it had been made to measure!
She certainly did look cute in the box, as you can see. Almost too cute to medicate! Of course she did still get her medication. It’s good for her, so she needs to have it. Plus she thought we’d given up and, believing herself to be safe from the horrible medicine, got up and out of the box of her own accord.
She wasn’t very impressed when we medicated her!
Love,
Lady Joyful
Do your cats use their cuteness to get their own way? What are their tricks to avoid medication?
She’s a beauty!
Thanks!
FunTom needs heart medication. Does not take it. No way. I tried to hide it in food, in raw minced beef, even went so far to cut up his favourite treat with a soft inside to hide crumbs of the pill in there – no way … And catching him, confining him so I could medicate him by syringe would just add stress- and stress should be avoided.
That sounds like a very difficult situation. Cats certainly can be difficult to medicate. Dogs (in my experience) are so much easier in that regard! Thanks for commenting.
My cats dont eat medication in food, i do catch them for do medication with an instrument. Its difficult…
Our boy cats are pretty good at medicine in food (especially Sampson who is super greedy anyway), but Lola always picks around it or just ignores the food completely. That’s why we use the syringe for her medicine. It can be difficult to give it, yes! Seems to get slightly easier with time though 🙂 Thanks for commenting.
Once I was trying to get my cat to take a pill. I held him, and my flatmate (roomie) was standing by ready to drop it in his mouth. The cat (a Siamese, loud-voiced) screamed so much one of the neighbours ran into the house, thinking he needed saving! I had endless instructions from the vet on how to dose him. Of course, he always took his pills in the surgery without complaint. At home, it was a different story. He even mastered the art of accepting the pill, and pretending to swallow it. Later we would find a sticky little tablet spat out in another room. I’ve noticed some cats are easy to dose, and others nigh on impossible.
What a great story, thanks for sharing it 🙂 I imagine it was very frustrating at the time! It’s funny how easy it is to get cats to do things at the vets, and then ridiculously hard when they’re home! Thanks for commenting 🙂
She is so adorable!!
Thanks! 🙂
You are very welcome!
I found early on in Coolidge’s 9-year diabetes injection regimen that he took it fine when I was perfunctory about it and didn’t pretend it was supposed to be fun. Skill and efficiency are what vets offer, and we should, too. Then let the tummy rubs and games begin!
Yes exactly. We try to be quick and efficient doing it. It usually only takes a matter of seconds to actually give her the medicine! Thanks for commenting 🙂
Once, I had to pill all three of the cats I had at the time. I started with the gentle approach and got scratched. After trying in nicer ways, my spouse and I decided to towel them. The two younger cats both hollered and carried on and acted like we were trying to kill them. The older cat presided over all this. When one of them was really being a fool about things, he came up behind his toweled butt and gave him a big swat! As if to say “quiet!” He did the same thing to the older cat, but more gently. When the Old Man’s turn came for the pill, I asked him “Orion, will you be good about this pill?” And he sat on my lap and took it like a gentleman.
Wow, Orion sounds like a darling! Thanks for sharing that story 🙂
https://youtu.be/FMBchZmPlXA
Wow, I am impressed. One time, I would think it was a fluke but over and over…wow, just wow.?
Sorry, was referring to the “No more!” video
She is a beautiful kitty. I have 3 cats on thyroid meds- one I just toss in his mouth and blow on his nose and that usually works. Another gets it crushed into his food and the other gets it in a piece of cheese. Not sure what medicine you have, but some can be compounded into gel that goes on the ear- it is pricey though.
It’s interesting how different cats need different approaches when it comes to giving medicine. I’ve never heard of the ear gel, that’s really interesting! We actually requested having the medicine in a syringable form because that seems to be the best way to give it to Lola. She’s still not happy about having it, but at least it gets into her! Thanks for commenting 🙂
Pretty kitty.
Thanks 🙂
My cat will get into tight spaces. We have to keep the bedroom door shut because I can’t get to him if he goes under the bed. My cat had a tooth pulled on Thursday. We let him have access to the basement last night. We have a bed on a makeshift frame down there. I can fit under there but it’s more like an army crawl. This morning he hid under there at the head of the bed. My boyfriend has a small heater he placed on the one side of the bed, which means I had to crawl from the foot of the bed to him. Luckily Simon just complains when it comes time for his medication, but I still had to crawl back out holding on to him.
Under the bed definitely seems like a popular choice of hiding place for cats. Lola can’t get under ours at the moment because the bedroom is currently off limits, but it definitely used to be one of her favourite places to hide. If she thought it might be bedtime soon she would run and hide under the bed and be impossible to get out! Thanks for commenting 🙂
Nope we just take our medicine. Open up and voila it’s gone and over wiff. then it’s time fur treats.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Lexi
Sounds like you are very good cats! Thanks for commenting 🙂
Yep, mommy sez she wishes everypawdy had one of us when it was medicine givin’ time. Me learned from watchin’ sis Lexi ’bout takin’ da meds and well sissy has just always been good. Mommy has always taken time to act like a doctor wiff us and so we think nuffin’ of mommy pokin’, proddin’, or pillin’ us. It’s just routine. Mommy sez ifin you develop dat kinda habit from da start then when cats need treatment it makes it a lot easier.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Lexi
I have 2 cats that now require tablets twice a day (1 Irritable Bowel Disease, 1 hyperthyroidism). Luckily their kinda okay with them, but it can still be a mission. Some days its ‘catch that cat’. The only way I can get them to take them, is I place them gently but firmly between my knees (kneeling) and then it’s open the mouth, drop the pill in, rub their throats (they’re not pinned down and I know how it’s explained. I can’t think of another way! Any other way, they run off!). They can be crafty, lick their lips, a sign the vet said they’re swallowed them and not swallowed them. One cat has additional medicine, a capsule, that I have to use a syringe. Same way of holding. Afterwards they get told they’re good boys, a belly pat and they walk away like nothing ever happened!
That’s exactly how we hold Lola for her medicine. She always runs away afterwards though, even if we stroke her and say she’s a good girl! Though she comes back reasonably soon, especially if she wants food. Thanks for commenting 🙂
She’s so pretty!
And she has her own little box…
Noodle and crew
Yup 🙂 Thanks for commenting!
Tipper and Biscotti’s antics of cuteness are well documented. They use their cuteness and endearing personalities to “manipulate” us in the sweetest ways!
Oh yes, exactly! We know we’re being manipulated, but when they’re that cute we really don’t mind! Thanks for commenting 🙂
Lola is so cute! I have a “bag lady” of my own, so this post made me smile. Bags and boxes seem to be a favorite among the feline crowd. Thanks for a wonderful post!?
They certainly are 🙂 Thanks for commenting!