Oral medications – how to administer them

For most veterinary treatments, it is important that medicines are given correctly. In the hospital, trained staff administer medicines, and it is important to ensure that you can continue to give these medicines once your cat has been sent home. If you have any doubts about how to give the medicine your pet has been prescribed, ask your veterinarian or a nurse to show you.

To be effective, most treatments must be given regularly and for the right length of time. If medicines are not given correctly the active part may be lost or poorly absorbed. This reduces the dose that the patient receives and may delay recovery from illness or could cause early recurrence of disease.

There are several important elements to giving medicine:

• Ensure treatment is given correctly, ie the patient receives the correct dose, at the times requested by your veterinarian.
• Ensure the safety of both your pet and anyone helping with the procedure.
• Ensure medicine is stored correctly and handled according to instructions supplied. Any medicine that is unused should be returned to your veterinarian to ensure correct disposal.
• Any untoward effects of medicines should be reported to your veterinarian. Adverse effects are rare but are always possible.

Many medicines are designed to be given by mouth – largely because this is a convenient way for owners to treat their pets. Oral medicines can be given as pills, capsules, liquids and pastes. Most medicines given by mouth go through into the intestine where they are absorbed into the blood. The presence of food in the stomach helps absorption of some drugs but hinders the absorption of others. Therefore, it is important to follow any specific instructions your veterinarian gives you about the timing of treatment in relation to feeding.

The most certain way of giving a pill is to put it directly into your pet’s mouth. At least this way you know whether your pet has swallowed all the medication.

Many medications also taste unpleasant so if your cat has had treatment before they may be even more reluctant to wait around for another dose. Most cats do not like to be restrained unless they have been trained for cooperative care using positive training methods. If cats have not been used to being handled and examined as kittens it can be very difficult to give pills without causing feelings of fear and anxiety in your cat. Instead, you can give pills in treats/food at mealtimes when your cat is hungry. Avoid using your cat’s regular diet to administer as an aversion to the food may develop if the medication is detected. This can result in your cat refusing to eat the food anymore, even without the medication hidden in it. Check with your veterinarian whether the pill or medication can be split or crushed before mixing with food.

Unfortunately, some medication can’t be given with food, and some cats will not eat if they detect the medication. If this is the case, ask the veterinary staff to show you how to administer pills or liquid, or check out this YouTube video on how to give your cat a pill: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSxjeAMuTEI.

There are soft-ended ‘pill givers’ which can be used to give pills – these can often be purchased from veterinary clinics, where staff will advise on how to use them. If your cat is very wriggly you might find it helpful to wrap them gently in a towel for administration of pills, but do not struggle with your cat as you will both end up stressed! If you really can’t give treatment to your cat, ask your veterinarian if there is an alternative medication. Never just stop giving medication without talking to your veterinarian about it first.

Medicines can be delivered in many different forms and if you are struggling to get your pet to accept one type ask your veterinarian if your pet’s treatment can be given another way. Even for medication that is given by mouth there may be different formulations available:

Pills and capsules

Pills are made from compacted, powdered drug (usually mixed with something like chalk to make the pill the right size, and often with a flavor to make it more palatable). Capsules contain powdered drug inside a gelatin case – once inside the gastrointestinal tract the gelatin dissolves to release the drug. Some pills have special coatings to protect the drug from the action of acid in the stomach – the coating is dissolved in the stomach and the drug is only released once the pill is in the intestine.

Pastes

Drugs mixed into pastes can occasionally be useful in cats. The sticky paste is smeared onto the tongue and the cat is unable to spit it out so has no alternative but to swallow. It may be possible to smear the paste on to an area of fur and get the cat to lick it off, but this is not a very reliable way of ensuring your pet has the correct dose.

Liquid formulation

Liquid medications can often be administered straight into your cat’s mouth. However, if they are mixed with food, it is important to ensure that the medicine is thoroughly mixed in and that the patient eats all the food containing the medication. Some liquid medications taste unpleasant so need to be mixed with quite a large volume of strongly flavored food to disguise them. Animals will often refuse to eat contaminated food or eat around bits of food containing the drug if it has not been mixed in well. Avoid using your cat’s regular diet to prevent avoidance of the food.

Because of this, liquid medications are usually administered directly into the mouth using a syringe. However, some cats may refuse to swallow liquid medications and dribble it from their mouths. When giving liquids by mouth, great care must be taken to ensure that the patient swallows the medication and does not breathe it in. Oily medications, eg liquid paraffin in the lungs can cause severe pneumonia. Gently give small amounts of liquid at a time, allowing your cat to swallow regularly. Speak to your veterinarian for advice if you are struggling.

With a bit of practice many owners can give their cats a pill straight into their mouth. Ask your veterinarian to show you how to do it if you are unsure and watch a video online until you are confident you know what you are doing. It is much easier if you have someone to help you hold your cat. Fear Free® has created these helpful videos to assist you:

• Putting the treat into treatments: https://www.fearfreehappyhomes.com/video/giving-medications-to-your-pet-putting-the-treat-into-treatments/
• Administering oral and topical medications: https://www.fearfreehappyhomes.com/video/administering-oral-and-topical-medications/

Here are some tips from Fear Free® on making the pilling process a pleasant one for your pet.

• Set up a comfortable treatment station with a nonslip surface in a quiet area of the home. Take your pet to the treatment station routinely and give a special treat (something super tasty that he doesn’t get all the time) or meal there without doing a treatment. You are putting money in the treatment bank and creating a positive association with the location. Some treatments may be slightly uncomfortable, resulting in a small withdrawal from the bank of positive experiences. Create enough reserves to minimize impact.
• Once your pet loves going to the treatment station, start practicing the pilling process there. Reach toward your pet’s face, give a small treat, and let the pet eat the treat, repeating several times.
• As long as the pet is not showing any avoidance or fear, progress to touching your pet’s face by creating a ‘C’ with your thumb and index finger and placing your fingers, over their forehead with your fingers behind their whiskers and lips. Give your pet a treat for accepting this handling. Repeat several times.
• Begin to tip your pet’s head back and follow the action with a treat.
• Next, with one hand stabilizing the nose/head and tilting it back, use your middle finger on your other hand to touch the front of your pet’s lower jaw. Give them a treat.
• Holding a pea-size treat between your thumb and index finger, tilt the head back, and place your middle finger on the lower jaw. When your pet opens his mouth, place the treat in.
• Continue to practice, opening the mouth wider for longer periods. Always follow with a treat. When a pill does have to be given, your pet will be relaxed with the process. Make sure to always follow pilling with a treat if medically appropriate.

It is always best to check with your veterinarian as to what to do, as the doses of some medications must not be given too close together. If it is not possible to contact your veterinarian, and you are not sure what to do, then the safest course is to skip the missed dose and just give the next one when it would have been due.

Always contact your veterinary practice for advice if you are worried about anything relating to your pet’s treatment. Some pills can make cats sick – the dosing may need to be altered or else an alternative drug may need to be found. Stop the pills in the meantime and immediately contact your veterinarian for advice.

No, your other cat needs a veterinary check-up first. It could be a different condition that just looks the same, or your other cat could have individual problems that require a different approach. Prescription medication must only be used on the animal it was prescribed for.

It depends on the problem and the policy of the cattery. Most reputable catteries can cope with routine treatment for problems such as arthritis, heart conditions and skin conditions. Experienced catteries can also handle more complex medical conditions such as the daily injections and treatment for diabetic animals. Speak to both your veterinary surgeon and the cattery in plenty of time to make sure they are happy to manage your pet while you are away.

It is likely that you will have to administer medicine to your pet at some point in its life. If the need arises speak to your veterinarian and ask for extra help if you do not feel confident giving pills to your pet. Your veterinarian would much rather work out the best way to treat your pet properly rather than have you struggle and risk your pet not getting the proper treatment.