Difficult Cat at the Vet

[towrtpoe]

My cat is extremely difficult to get to the vet. Once there, he growls, claws, and tries to bite. The towel only makes it worse. He has a breathing problem, and we need to take him in for a shot. We've tried multiple vets, including a cat-only vet, with the hopes of finding one that he finds less threatening.

The last vet gave us a prescription for low-grade Valium to give him before his next visit. First, has anyone given their cat Valium before? Second, we can't pill him (no matter how long I hold his mouth shut, he spits it out). Can we crush the Valium and put it over a treat?

Any advice will be helpful. He had a bad vet experience once, and ever since, he is a nightmare. Now, he really has to get this shot for his overall well being.

[Savas]

Two suggestions; one, get a "roof top"  door cage/carrier.  It's MUCH easier to get a cat out if you can pop off the top and just "scruff 'em".

the other...I don't know if this will work for you (I've had it go both ways) but you can "blindfold kitty". I know, kitty is not a horse, but depriving your cat of offensive and stressful visual stimulation could help keep him calmer, or more manageable.

And s.u.c.k.s. is a VERY naughty word around here!!! :)  i've had to get inventive with even my rated P.G. swearing on this site. It can be amusing at times.

[aligator79]

ummm s.u.c.k.s.?  Bad word??

[aligator79]

With my Lucy- who will not be picked up- LOVES tummy rubs and plays fetch, but don't try to pick her up- she's got about 15 legs all with 25 claws.   The easiest way to keep her calm at the vet is to put a towel on the bottom of the carrier and shove her in.  When We get there and it's her turn- I take off the top of the carrier.  She doesn't come out unless it's absolutely necessary.  They generally do her exam and shots while she is curled up getting tummy rubs in the carrier.  If you do dump her out she is off like a shot and you can't pick her up and put her on the exam table- not pretty.   She is also practically impossible to pill- even the towel trick with 2 people doesn't work.  She's too freaked and claw-y to do- *****...

[towrtpoe]

Now the problem is that my vet doesn't want to sedate him before he comes in for the visit. Because he has breathing problems, she is concerned this would be an issue. We don't live in an area with a vet who will do house calls. So now I don't know which is worse: taking the risk with the sedation or having the stress at the vet put him over the edge and cause a respiratory attack.

Thanks for all the good advice. Unfortunately, the towel doesn't work with him either. I swear, you'd think he was feral when he gets there instead of a lovey cat he is when he is at home.

[lindasp62]

I used to have a cat like that and I found the best thing was to stay with her all the time at the vets, and for ME to do as much as the vet would allow. I always put a towel over the carrier when I took her, so to keep her calm. I always insisted that the whole exam and even the blood-draws, etc be done in the examining room with me holding the cat.  When it would come time to actually take her out of the carrier when I arrived for my appointment (not before the vet came into the room), I had to turn the carrier upside down for her to "tumble" out....it was much too traumatic (and dangerous for me/vet/etc) to try to reach in and grab her......My cat was always much more calm when I had her wrapped in the towel, and covering her face with it during the exam/blood-draw, etc. She was good when she couldn't see what was going on. If they had to weigh her, they would weigh her IN the carrier, then the empty carrier, and just do the math.  I must applaud all my vets for putting up with her and ME !  Of course, a couple of times, she did bite someone, and I DID have to leave her for surgery or something once in a while, but when I could, I tried to make it as stress-free as possible by being there with her.

As far as the meds go, I have a cat now that I have to give both a pill and a liquid, and I find that if I put the pill in his mouth, then hold  his mouth shut then quickly put in the liquid in, he HAS to swallow.  The difficult cat mentioned above, instead of a liquid, I would put in a dab of something lilke nutri-cal (a vitiamin goo) just after the pill to force her to swallow.

Good Luck!

[Savas]

If it's dissoluble (should be) use a feeding syringe to administer the dose (keep the water ratio as low as possible). you can pick one up at any pet store. If you have any questions about it's usage the pet store can't answer, ask about here, I'm sure one of us can help you out.

[meggers570]

yes to crushing it, but if you do that it's going to hit alot faster. try breaking it in half or in quarters. if you break it up at all give less as the coating helps to take the time for it to work. thought abut taking a full wet leaf of cat nip and rolling a partial pill in it? it works to get them to eat things they don't want to.
my cat refused food and water if left over night, so i am not actually able to leave him overnight at all at the vet, unless they have him on an iv.