My Sammy had 4 teeth pulled yesterday!

[Catshrink]

Sammy is a 13 year old 22 pound chubby luvbug of feline fuzz. I took him in to get his teeth cleaned but the vet found 3 teeth with "enamel erosion" that had to come out. The 4th tooth was actually just a root -- the crown had broken off sometime in the past year.

Sam loves to be brushed, petted, cuddled, and have his tummy rubbed, but NOT messed with. I risk serious injury for even thinking about trimming his nails. The vet needs to sedate him to take a blood sample.

So now I'm supposed to give him liquid pain meds and liquid antibiotics twice a day. The pain meds are easy -- they don't have a taste so I can mix it in with a little wet food and he'll slurp it up like a vacuum cleaner. The antibiotic tastes awful (according to the vet) so I need to squirt it into his mouth with a needleless syringe. Right. I got one dose in him last night and he's been avoiding me every since. I can't put this in his food because he'd know it's there by the taste.

The vet said she gave him a hefty antibiotic shot and to do the best I could with it. This antibiotic doesn't come in pill form -- then I could grind it up and put it in some Fancy Feast or a pill pocket.

I hope he starts feeling better. He had been very lethargic before his surgery so I know he wasn't feeling well. Hopefully, he'll soon be back to crowding me off my pillow at night.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

1. Would the smell of the "juice" in a can of tuna hide the smell

of the antibiotic ?

I hope Sammy feels beter soon. I have a Peke that is hard to medicate - or groom for that matter. When his eye was injured, I got one dose of drops into it and that was that. I have to put a elizabethan collar on him to do his Frontline. So I feel for you

[Catshrink]

4. I like that idea

That or the liquid or jelly stuff in the canned food. I'll give it a try. I've so far managed to get one dose of the liquid antibiotic in him. The pain meds are no problem. His behavior is almost back to normal, meaning I have to share my pillow at night.

[Sanity Claws]

2. Not sure if this helps

I had to give my Sebastian antibiotics in pill form. I didn't know about pill pockets and in the past, hiding it in his food was unsuccessful.The vet gave me a sheet describing how to hold him and stuff the pill in his mouth. Not fun. He squirmed a lot but did not attack me. On the third day, as he was squirming to get out of my arms, I told him this wasn't fun for me either. I also told him that it's because I cared about him, that I was giving him medicine; it would have been much easier on me to just ignore his sneezing and sickness. Somehow this lecture got through to him. He still didn't like getting the pill but he stopped struggling.

[Catshrink]

5. It's amazing how we can communicate with our critters.

One of my past kitties, Susie Girl, needed meds for her failing kidneys. At first, everytime I looked at her she cringed and looked as if she was about to hide. I started saying, "Pill," as I scooped her up and popped the pill in her mouth. Soon she realized that unless I said "Pill" she was about to get scritches and loving. Of course, she was about 7 pounds and super sweet. Sam is more than 3 times the size and sassy. And strong.

We'll get through this.

[spooky3]

3. I have a cat who takes lots of meds and if you do it one particular way he's fine

Every other way causes him to squirm and fight me, and he won't eat pill pockets. Maybe his one accepted technique would work for Sammy?

1) Kneel on the floor surrounding him, with him facing *away* from you.
2) Gently stroke his head, then pull down his mouth very slightly with your left hand (if you're right handed).
3) Quickly squirt the antibiotic/pain med into his mouth with your right hand.
4) If this works, release him immediately and give him a reward - whatever his favorite thing is.

He won't do this if he's sitting on your lap; hates being held. He won't do this if you approach him head on, either.

My pet sitter says also that something that works for her with liquid meds is to find the little gap most cats have on at least one side of the mouth and sneak it in there without touching the cat's mouth with your hands. usually the cat will open its mouth and swallow the med.

[Catshrink]

6. I'll try this.

I'm worried about not giving the antibiotic. It seems better to give it to him just in case and to prevent an infection, even if he most likely will be okay without it. I'm not sure where he is right now. Wonder which chair he's under?