Stupid question about my cat and antibiotics

With luck this won't be an issue in the morning but I have a
question about my cat and his antibiotics. Sometime between
the time I went to bed monday night and the time I woke up on
tuesday one of my cats managed to cut one of his toe pads on
his rear paw. It was a nasty cut that about cut the pad in half.

I had things I needed to do that morning but when I got home that
afternoon I took both of my cats to the local vet. They were both
due for their shots so I decided to combine trips. The vet took a
look at the paw and decided that while the cut looked bad to me was
already healing and didn't warrant stiches. The little guy had an elevated
temperature and just to be safe I was given antibiotics to give him
twice a day.

While I was there I had the brilliant idea of having him fixed. The thought
was that it would save a trip to the vet. Since the cat is ~15 months old
the vet agreed that he should be fixed and if we did it then he could clean
up the cut on his paw a bit to help it heal faster. I took him home this morning
and the nurse told me that he was still groggySP? from that surgery and that I
should open the door to the cat carrier and let him wander out has he felt up to
it. Of course when I opened the door to the carrier he flew out so fast he was
nothing more then a colored blur. That was the last I saw of him for the rest of
the day. He did pop his head out this evening to drink and take care of other business
but he was visibly nervous. I know there would be no way I could get close enough to him
to pick him up to give him his medication. I work nights and won't see him again until
morning. I hope by then he will have calmed down a bit. I don't want to chase him out
of whatever hiding spot he's found. My thinking is that it will traumatize him more and
make it harder for him to trust me in the future.

My question is how important is it to give him the antibiotics exactly twice a day? I
understand that it's the goal but short of keeping him locked up in his carrier 24hrs a
day it's not going to be possible for me to do. I tried locking him up in a room with no
place to hide once and he FREAKED out until he had a good hiding place. By good hiding
place I mean one that kept him out of view but also out of reach. The fact that I live
in a small apartment with another cat makes keeping him isolated impossible.
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Keep working millions on welfare depend on you

I don't know Frank, you might want to ask the vet -- but with an
elevated temp before you even started and then all of that
surgery/cleaning, I would want him to have the antibiotics.

He sounds like he's a former feral. Is he totally domesticated or just
very freaked?

If all else fails, you might try putting him in a bedroom by himself and
shutting the door. I know you said isolation is impossible, but isn't
there some room with a door that would work? You could then feed him a
little wet food with the pill mixed in (crunched up) to make sure he
gets the whole thing. Put out more food after he's eaten the smaller amount.

With cats, you have to be creative. I'm sure you'll think of some way to
make it work.

Rhonda

Frank Pittel wrote:


My question is how important is it to give him the antibiotics exactly twice a day? I
understand that it's the goal but short of keeping him locked up in his carrier 24hrs a
day it's not going to be possible for me to do. I tried locking him up in a room with no
place to hide once and he FREAKED out until he had a good hiding place. By good hiding
place I mean one that kept him out of view but also out of reach. The fact that I live
in a small apartment with another cat makes keeping him isolated impossible.

Rhonda wrote:
: I don't know Frank, you might want to ask the vet -- but with an
: elevated temp before you even started and then all of that
: surgery/cleaning, I would want him to have the antibiotics.

I agree unfortunatly he's better at hiding then I am at finding him.

: He sounds like he's a former feral. Is he totally domesticated or just
: very freaked?

He was feral. Born in a rail yard rescued by a conductor at six weeks, two weeks
after his mother died. He's got a very strong survival instinct which is anchored
by good hiding instincts. After I got him he hid away and I didn't see him for over
a week. Since then he has become totally domesticated. When I sleep he sleeps on my
pillow and while sitting at the computer or watching TV he sleeps on my feet!!

I think what happened was that between going to the vet twice in two days and his
very hurt foot (he doesn't walk on it. When walking he holds it up off the ground and
walks on three legs) I think he was scared, hurt and freaked which caused his "hiding"
instinct to take over. Fortunatly when I woke up this evening (I work nights and
sleep days) he had gotten over his fear enough to sleep with me. Getting him to "take"
the antibiotics wan't an issue. I've got the feeling it's going to be easier from here
on out.

: If all else fails, you might try putting him in a bedroom by himself and
: shutting the door. I know you said isolation is impossible, but isn't
: there some room with a door that would work? You could then feed him a
: little wet food with the pill mixed in (crunched up) to make sure he
: gets the whole thing. Put out more food after he's eaten the smaller amount.

Fortunatly the stuff I have is a pink bubble gum smelling liquid. This evening
at least he didn't seem to mind taking it and there was no struggle. Unfortunatly
I've never gotten the "mix the pill in with the food" method to work. The only
method I've gotten to work is hold the head back pry open the mouth and toss the
pill in.

: With cats, you have to be creative. I'm sure you'll think of some way to
: make it work.

Fortunatly he seems to be secure enough that after a day of hiding/sleeping he
came back out. The other cat seems to be going out of his way to be nice and
comforting.

Thanks for your reply.

Frank

"Frank Pittel" wrote in message
...

Fortunatly he seems to be secure enough that after a day of
hiding/sleeping he
came back out. The other cat seems to be going out of his way to be nice
and
comforting.


I'm so glad he came around. Here's to a quick healing and recovery.

"Frank Pittel" wrote in message
...
Rhonda wrote:

Fortunatly the stuff I have is a pink bubble gum smelling liquid. This
evening
at least he didn't seem to mind taking it and there was no struggle.
Unfortunatly
I've never gotten the "mix the pill in with the food" method to work. The
only
method I've gotten to work is hold the head back pry open the mouth and
toss the
pill in.


Frank

There is a space between the canine teeth and the molars. Tuck the pill in
there and you don't have to bother prying the cat's mouth open. It also gets
the pill consistently further back in the cat's mouth where it's more likely
to get swallowed pretty quickly instead of parked somewhere until you let
the cat go and they are free to spit it out.

Because of the previous fever and the surgery I'd try to get the full course
of antibiotic into the cat.

Good luck with your kitty and hope his foot feels better soon.

W

Wendy wrote:

: "Frank Pittel" wrote in message
: ...
: Rhonda wrote:
:
: Fortunatly the stuff I have is a pink bubble gum smelling liquid. This
: evening
: at least he didn't seem to mind taking it and there was no struggle.
: Unfortunatly
: I've never gotten the "mix the pill in with the food" method to work. The
: only
: method I've gotten to work is hold the head back pry open the mouth and
: toss the
: pill in.
:
:
: Frank

: There is a space between the canine teeth and the molars. Tuck the pill in
: there and you don't have to bother prying the cat's mouth open. It also gets
: the pill consistently further back in the cat's mouth where it's more likely
: to get swallowed pretty quickly instead of parked somewhere until you let
: the cat go and they are free to spit it out.

A bunch of years ago I had a cat that didn't mind taking pills. The only catch was
that it wasn't positioned correctly on his tongue he couldn't swallow it and ended
up spitting it out. The trick was to get on the back of his tongue and it would go
right down. Since then I've had cats that don't and didn't care for pills. The trick
still works. I open the mouth, tilt the head back, and then "toss" the pill onto the
back of the tongue. It seems that at that point they can't not swallow the pill.
Fortunatly the stuff I have now is a liquid and he doesn't seem to object to the taste.

: Because of the previous fever and the surgery I'd try to get the full course
: of antibiotic into the cat.

I'm trying my best. Unfortunatly he's better at hiding then I am at finding him. :-)

: Good luck with your kitty and hope his foot feels better soon.

He let me look at it today and while it looks bad (to my untrained eye) it's healing
well and even without stiches the wound had scabbed over and is closed. As importantly
there's no sign of infection. A couple of hours ago I saw him chasing the other cat
around and he's spending more time out without hiding so it looks like he's getting
better.

I just wish I could find what it was that he cut his paw on. He's in indoor cat which
means he did it inside. I don't want it to happen again to him or my other cat.
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Keep working millions on welfare depend on you

cybercat wrote:

: "Frank Pittel" wrote in message
: ...

: Fortunatly he seems to be secure enough that after a day of
: hiding/sleeping he
: came back out. The other cat seems to be going out of his way to be nice
: and
: comforting.
:

: I'm so glad he came around. Here's to a quick healing and recovery.

He's spending less time hiding. It still hurts for him to put his paw down but
he's not letting that stop him. Earlier today I saw him chasing the other cat around
which I'm taking to be a good sign. :-) At the same time there isn't any sign of infection
(I've had enough cuts get infected and know what the early signs look like) and
is eating and drinking. It looks like he's going to be alright.

--




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Keep working millions on welfare depend on you

"Frank Pittel" wrote in message
...
cybercat wrote:

: I'm so glad he came around. Here's to a quick healing and recovery.

He's spending less time hiding. It still hurts for him to put his paw down
but
he's not letting that stop him. Earlier today I saw him chasing the other
cat around
which I'm taking to be a good sign. :-) At the same time there isn't any
sign of infection
(I've had enough cuts get infected and know what the early signs look
like) and
is eating and drinking. It looks like he's going to be alright.


Excellent. I wonder how he cut his foot? That would worry me as I would want
to
get rid of the danger. I am so glad he is feeling better. Poor boy probably
had no
idea what hit him! But it is good that you got him neutered.

cybercat wrote:

: "Frank Pittel" wrote in message
: ...
: cybercat wrote:
:
: : I'm so glad he came around. Here's to a quick healing and recovery.
:
: He's spending less time hiding. It still hurts for him to put his paw down
: but
: he's not letting that stop him. Earlier today I saw him chasing the other
: cat around
: which I'm taking to be a good sign. :-) At the same time there isn't any
: sign of infection
: (I've had enough cuts get infected and know what the early signs look
: like) and
: is eating and drinking. It looks like he's going to be alright.
:

: Excellent. I wonder how he cut his foot? That would worry me as I would want
: to
: get rid of the danger. I am so glad he is feeling better. Poor boy probably
: had no
: idea what hit him! But it is good that you got him neutered.

I wish I could find what he cut himself on. I've been keeping my eyes open but
haven't seen anything that could cause that type of injury. The poor guy didn't
know what hit him and as a result did what every instinctive nerve in his body
told him to do. He hid and did so by making himself as invisible and hard to get
at as possible.

--




-------------------
Keep working millions on welfare depend on you

"Frank Pittel" wrote:
I wish I could find what he cut himself on. I've been keeping my eyes open
but
haven't seen anything that could cause that type of injury. The poor guy
didn't
know what hit him and as a result did what every instinctive nerve in his
body
told him to do. He hid and did so by making himself as invisible and hard
to get
at as possible.


Does he go outside?