I would like to take you through today, one of the things I think causes people a lot of grief and a lot of angst, hopefully not for us today, which is how to give a cat a tablet.
It's a gentle process, I'm not gonna shove it down it's throat. Cats are different to dogs, dogs you can get on top of emotionally, cats, if you try to do that, if you tried to browbeat them physically, you've got a fight and they don't give in, they get worse.
So this process is gentle. So see how I'm sort of making friends with him, i'm relaxing him. I've got a nice surface, it's not scratchy, it's not shining and it's not slippery.
He's getting worried which is good from this point of view because he's increasingly acting like many cats at home when you go to give them a tablet.
I've gotta get this tablet, into this cat, and I've got to do it twice a day. So what I want to show you are some techniques that will allow you to get that tablet into this cat, or your cat time after time after time, without stressing anybody.
The simplest way and the first one i show people is this one, you gently put your fingers either side, It might take two people to assist here with with your own cat. You put your fingers either side of his mouth like that and then you pull his head back now he's not cooperating so in a way its good, I'll get another get in a minute, to show when a cat cooperates how that could work for you.
The next way to go is you gently grab him by the back of his head like that, just like his mommy used to grab him when he was a kitten. See now how he's stopped moving, can you see that? now some worry that this is unkind to the cat, I don't think so.
There are less nerves in that area, and that's why their mother picks them up and carries them around like kittens. Notice how he's not so much relaxed, but he's become calmer.
So you get yourself into that position, it's called scruffing and you gently raise his head up until his nose is over vertical now he's not happy with this but then once his head is like that you can do that.
What I'm going to do now is put him away and I'm going to come back and show you what you can do for the cat that doesn't let you do that.
Now this is another cat that's in the hospital, fingers either side see how now I'm just gently dragging his head back without scruffing him on the back of the neck, it's a very gentle process.
Then you can do that and put down the back of his throat like that. Notice the big word is gentle, it's nothing forced about this, and you've gotta have calmness within yourself because if you're upset the cat will be upset.
About Dr RodIn 1993, Dr. Rod Graham opened the Village Vet and since then he’s been the heart and soul of the veterinary practice. Originally a horse vet in the Yarra Ranges, he moved on after 20 years of dedication to focus on giving all pet owners the support they need. He’s a great educator, a great listener and also has a fantastic sense of humour! You can find Dr. Rod on Facebook and on the Village Vet website.