How to give medicines to your kitty

Administering medications in cats is a task – an art in itself. Here’s how to give medicines to your kitty.

Medicines can be administered in cats in different ways – orally, tropically, sub-cutaneously, intra-muscularly, intra-venously,  sub-conjunctively, intramammary and per-rectaly.

Orally in the form of liquid, pills, capsules & powders

The best and easy way for giving medicine in cat is orally, if your cat takes drug without struggling. If your cat is suffering from fever,

anorexia, coughing, sneezing or needs to be dewormed, the best way of medication is to mix the drug in her daily food. The drug can be mixed up in commercial cat food or in her favourite food, etc. It also avoids or minimises the problems associated with inserting a tablet directly into a cat’s throat. You can also try making up tiny ‘meatballs’ of canned cat food or tasty bits of meat with medicine. But, if your vet advises that the capsule/ pill cannot be taken with meal by your cat, you need to feed her orally. Similarly, liquid medicines, including water and
electrolytes solutions, can be administered into the cheek pouch between the cheek and the molars. A plastic syringe without the needle, medicine bottle or dropper can be used to dispense the liquid. Retrain the cat by placing your thumb and forefinger on both sides of his face
between upper and lower jaws from behind the whiskers. Then apply gentle pressure at the space between the teeth. This way, his mouth will be open; press down the lower jaw and put the pill/ capsule directly into core of his mouth. After that, pour some amount of water
into buccal cavity which helps the drug to melt and swallow fast.

Tip to follow: For avoiding getting scratched by nails of your cat, during restraining, use a towel to wrap his body and legs.

Injections like I/V, I/M, S/C
While your veterinarian is the best person to give injections, sometimes it is important to give injections at home, for example, when your cat is suffering from diabetes. Request your veterinarian to give 2-3 demonstration procedures at home. Some injections are given under the skin
fold (subcutaneous) and others into the thigh muscle (intramuscular); check with your vet for the same.

Tropical
If your cat is suffering from any skin diseases or any elective surgery had been performed recently, in these cases ointment or spray can be applied on the wound locally. Your vet would prescribe the exact dosage and timings.

Per-rectaly
If your cat is suffering from constipation, then your vet might suggest rectal (sodium-phosphate) enema at home. Sometimes, medicines are given perrectaly in case of pyrexia (fever). Consult your vet for the same.

Intra-mammary
If your queen cat recently gave birth to kittens and she is suffering from mastitis (inflammation of udder), then your vet can advice to infuse some medicine into the mammary gland at 12 or 24 hourly interval for correction of mastitis. (Dr Vikash Sharma, MVSc & AH (Surgery), Animo Pet Care & Research Centre, Patna, Bihar)