Interventions for Administering Medicine to Cats

In this video, Dr. Craig Webb offers tips on giving medication to cats, who are often noncompliant in receiving medication.

Craig Webb, DVM, PhD, DACVIM: A noncompliant patient is pretty much the definition of a cat, unfortunately, and it is a serious challenge for owners to medicate these guys, or to get the cat to eat the appropriate diet. There are a variety of potential interventions, from just trying to make the environment of the cat less stressful and the administration of the food more inviting. So, even presentation of the food can make a difference to a kitty cat.

If necessary, we have a couple of pretty solid appetite stimulants in kitty cats, because it’s importance for kitties to get their appropriate nutrition, so we’ll reach for that. If need be, ultimately, I would have a lot more practitioners putting esophageal feeding tubes into their sick kitties. It’s not difficult to do. It is a tremendous way to empower the owner because you can get the kitty out of your hospital and to home, which is always the best place for a kitty cat, and owners can put medicine in there, they can put food in there, they can put fluids in there and the kitty deals with it quite comfortably.