by Maxwell Payne

Created on: February 09, 2009

Giving your cat his (or her) medication can be quite tricky. Cats can be a lot quicker and more aggressive then dogs. While cats are often smaller then most dogs, holding them down can cause aggression and their speed means you might end up chasing them around the house.

These tips and tricks for getting your cat to take his medication can help reduce the problems with cats and their medicine. I wrote a similar article recently on tips on how to give your dog their medicine, some of these tips are useful for both cats and dogs.

Pills, tablets, and capsules -

It can be hard to get a cat to successfully swallow any of these forms of medicine. There are a few ways to give your cat pills, tablets, or capsules. If it is a pill or tablet, check with the vet to see if the pill can be crushed or chewed. If it can, you can simply crush up the tablet or pill in the cat's food. This works especially well with wet cat food products.

If it can't be crushed or it is a capsule, you may still be able to hide the medicine in the animal's food. You can also wrap the medicine in a piece of food that the cat likes, such as meat. Be careful doing this with cats, as some food can make a cat sick and larger pills hidden in food can pose a major choking hazard to your cat.

Sometimes you just need to hold the cat's mouth open and place the medicine in the back of the mouth. As soon as you do that, hold the cat's mouth closed and gently massage the cat's throat. This will prevent the cat from spitting out the medicine and the throat massage will help stimulate the swallow reflex while making it easier to swallow the medicine. Make sure drinking water is readily available for your cat.

Liquids (taken orally) -

Baby droppers work best when dosing and giving medicine to your feline. Your best method will be to place the tip of the dropper in your cat's mouth. Placing it on top of the tongue will keep the cat from pushing the liquid out quickly. Some cats will actually bite down on the tip of the dropper, making your job easier. This will reduce the chance that the liquid seeps out of the mouth or the dog drools it out.

Topical medicines -

Creams, lotions, and ointments are all topical medicines. This can be the easiest medicine to give to your cat because if it is done gently, the cat will enjoy the motions as you rub the topical medicine in. Make sure the area is dry and clean as well.

For eye ointments and other topical that require very delicate and specific placement, consider using a soft cotton

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