Pet Meds: How to Make Medicine Time a Painless Process

     Giving your pet the medicine that they need can be as stressful for you as it is for them. Your pet is not a person. You can抰 explain to them that this is going to make them feel better. You can抰 tell them this is something they need.

Nobody wants to see their pet suffer and when your pet has to take their medicine they can sometimes be a little bit nervous. This is bad for both of you and can make the whole process a disaster if you aren抰 careful.

Luckily, there are a few techniques you can use to make sure that medicine time is calm and easy for both you and your pet. Here are a few tips to help the medicine go down.

The Old Switcheroo

The best and easiest way to get your pet to take their medicine is to trick them into it. This isn抰 a dirty trick. It is necessary, and if executed properly, you can do it again and again.

Of course, the basic gist of the trick is just to wrap the pill up in some food. Let抯 say, for example, you have a cat with allergies. Well, they may have been prescribed a pill called clemastine. Clemastine is a pill that can be taken with food, and the easiest way to get it into your cat抯 belly is probably with a piece of cheese.

Pick out a cheese that isn抰 too crumbly or soft. Feta will crumble. Nacho cheese will get all over the place. Good old-fashioned Kraft singles usually work pretty well for this type of mission.

Once you have the pill wrapped up, you can just feed it to your cat like it was a special treat. Don抰 make a big deal out of it. Pills for cats are usually pretty small, so they should take it down with no problem.

But it isn抰 always going to be so simple. Some dogs with separation anxiety issues have to take a pill called clomipramine. Clomipramine can turn your dog from a maniac that tears around the house all day ripping things apart when you aren抰 around to a chilled out best bud who is still pumped when you come home. Naturally, you are going to want to get that drug into his belly.

Now, you can administer clomipramine with food, but not with cheese. Always remember to ask your vet when they prescribe your pet a pill what foods are okay to give it with, if any.

In this case, there are a few other options you can use. One is to just plant that pill in a big scoop of peanut butter. You can also wrap it in bread for a little bit less of a mess.

Just make sure that your dog actually eats the pill. Some smart pups will just eat all the good stuff and spit the pill back out. Make sure they swallow it. Try again and again if necessary.

Unfortunately, you can抰 always give your pets their pills with food. Sometimes you actually have to get them to swallow it. With the right technique, this can be a lot easier than you think.

Forcing it Down

If your cat suffers from seizures, then it is possible they may have to take a drug called gabapentin. Gabapentin, though effective, cannot be taken with food. You are going to have to go it alone.

Start out by calmly hanging out with your cat. Pretend like nothing is up. Have the pill ready, but just hang on the couch, pet your cat, and make sure they are calm. More importantly, you need to be calm.

If you are worried about your cat fighting you about this you can try wrapping them up in a blanket with just their head sticking out. This way they can抰 fight as much. Feel free to get a friend to help if need be.

Now move fast. Hold the pill with thumb and index finger and use your other hand to lock your cat抯 jaw hinge open. Tilt back their head and gently press down right between their bottom canine teeth. Get the pill as far back in their throat as possible and then hold their mouth closed.

Here is a little trick to get them to swallow. You can blow on your cat抯 nose or even softly rub it to stimulate swallowing. For whatever reason, this works like a charm.

Dogs, naturally, work a little bit different. If your dog has an infection, he may need to take the antibiotic amoxicillin. To start you need to back your pup抯 hindquarters against a wall or in a corner. That way, they can抰 get away so easily.

Just like with a cat, you then want to grab the pill with your thumb and forefinger and use your other hand to lift his snout up. Tilt back by grabbing behind the upper canines and then use one finger to push down between the lower canines while tossing the pill in. Now close their mouth and use the same nose-rubbing trick as you would on a cat.

With cats and dogs, the most important thing about administering medication is positive reinforcement. Reward them after they take their medicine and they will be more inclined to take it with ease again and again. This will keep them healthy and you happy for years to come.