Cat Health

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’t explain to them that this is going to make them feel better. You can’t 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’t 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’t 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’s 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’s belly is probably with a piece of cheese.

Pick out a cheese that isn’t 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’t 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’t 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’t 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’t 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’t 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’s 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’s 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’s hindquarters against a wall or in a corner. That way, they can’t 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.

About the Author

Adrian Blue is a freelance writer who writes about pet care and pet meds.

Source: Article Bazar

Common Meds Pet Owners May Encounter

Caring for a pet can be one of life’s most rewarding experiences. If you put in the right amount of love, care and affection, then your pet will surely return it twofold. More often than not, you will get a lot more than you put in.

Pets are great. They are there when you come home. They are not judgmental. They will always listen and they can’t exactly talk back. But caring for your pet also requires a whole lot of effort on your part.

Your pet is not a person, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need plenty of attention. You have to make sure you keep them on a healthy diet, get them plenty of exercise, and don’t leave them cooped up in the house all day.

Even if you do everything right, however, your pet can still get sick. Nothing can make a pet owner feel worse than seeing their beloved pet in pain. Luckily, veterinary science has advanced to the point where, in many cases, there is a cure for what ails your hurting animal. Here are a few examples of common medications that you may encounter when your pet is sick.

Bones and Joints

Just like human beings, your pets can experience problems in their bones and their joints. Part of the reason for many joint problems with pets is over-bLeeing. A purebred dog might look beautiful, but oftentimes a mutt from the pound will be healthier. They will certainly be more grateful.

But even pound puppies have joint problems sometimes. Still, the best way to treat joint problems is to prevent them from happening in the first place. Cosequin DS is a supplement that has been proven in controlled studies to help maintain joint health.

Cosequin is made from a combination of chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine, and manganese ascorbate. It is available in chewable form for either cats or dogs.

But if your pet already suffers from joint problems due to osteoarthritis or pain following surgery, they may need to be prescribed an anti-inflammatory drug. Rimadyl is a common non-steroid pill that will reduce pain and inflammation for dogs.

Talk to your vet if you see your pet limping or if they appear to be unusually stiff. They could be experiencing the wear and tear on their joints that causes osteoarthritis. Pills like Rimadyl won’t cure the problem, but they will help your pet deal with the pain. Talk to your vet before putting your pet on any prescription or supplement regiment.

Heartworm

If you are concerned about your pet contracting heartworm disease, then you should first and foremost take them in for a test at your vet. After that, your vet may prescribe a preventative heartworm pill.

Heartguard Plus is an anti-parasite drug that destroys heartworm larvae in the tissue stage. It will also control ascarids and hookworms. This medicine is chewable and can be given with or without food. You might have to break the pills up a little bit and sneak them into treats for it to work effectively.

For cats, there are also heartworm medications, and they even come in topical form. Advantage Multi Topical Solution for Cats will help to prevent heartworm disease and also helps to prevent flea infestations, ear mites, and intestinal parasites.

To apply this solution you just rub it in between your cat’s shoulder blades every thirty days or so. Your cat should be older than eight weeks before you start treating them with this solution. There are versions of this drug for dogs as well. Make sure that you use the cat version on cats and the dog version on dogs. This is very, very important to remember. You don’t want to make things worse. Talk to your vet to see if there are any other considerations to bear in mind.

Other Medications

Of course, there is a whole world of other potential medications your pet could be put on. Many pets in this day and age suffer from separation anxiety. Clomipramine is a pill that can help to chill your pet out if they are spending all day fretting around the house when you are gone.

But if you are going to put your pet on anti-anxiety medication, it should also be in combination with other, more proactive steps. Your pet may be freaking out all day because she is lonely. Consider hiring a dog-walker to come in and take her out for even just a half hour while you are at work. Combined with a prescription like Clomipramine, this could drastically improve your animal’s mental health.

Worrying for a sick pet can be almost as bad as worrying for a sick child. It is important that when you first see signs of sickness in your pet that you take them to the vet as soon as possible. When you get there, ask lots of questions and make sure you listen to all the suggestions the vet has to offer. Then you will be well on your way to having a happy and healthy animal in your life once again.

About the Author

Adrian Blue is a freelance writer who writes about pet care and pet meds

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Source: Article Bazar