Complete Care for Your Aging Cat - Amy Shojai [43]
Collar restraint: Commercial cone-shaped collars that surround the pet’s neck like the elaborate ruff of an Elizabethan noble are called Elizabethan collars or E-collars. They come in a variety of sizes to fit any pet. However, some cats have trouble eating or navigating with them on. A newer alternative, called a Bite-Not Collar is more similar to the stiff cervical collars designed for people to wear after neck injuries. These collars are used to prevent cats
Kneeling restraint: This is one of the best techniques for medicating cats, especially when you are by yourself. Place the cat on the floor between your knees, facing outward. That helps confine his movements. (third photo) Then put one hand on top of the head, and the other beneath his jaw to hold him still. Slip one finger into the side of his mouth to prompt the cat to open wide—and pop in the pill or liquid medicine. (fourth photo)
from pawing head wounds or from chewing body injuries. They are available at most pet supply stores or from your veterinarian.
Body restraints: A baby’s T-shirt provides the cat with freedom to move while keeping him from bothering healing wounds, stitches, stomach tubes or catheters. His front legs go through the armholes, his head through the neck, and the loose end is safety-pinned behind his rear legs beneath the tail.
Muzzle: Yes, there are muzzles designed for cats. The commercial muzzles typically cover the entire face and are fixed behind the ears, and prevent your cat from biting out of fear or discomfort during treatment. When you don’t have a commercial cat muzzle handy, a pillowcase works nearly as well and also contains the claws. Place your cat inside the pillowcase with the body part that needs treatment exposed through the opening. Oftentimes, simply being inside the bag helps calm the cat.
COMFORT ZONE
The “Warm Whiskers” Pet Therapy Jacket with a comfy reversible fleece lining is designed for hot and cold home treatment for your dog. Jackets come in five sizes and fits pets from five- to 200-pounds. Heat and cold packs that easily attach to the jacket and address achy joints or injuries on hard-to-treat lower legs or various areas of the pet’s body. Heating the “red pack” (filled with buckwheat and lavender) in the microwave for thirty seconds provides twenty minutes of moist and aromatic heat therapy. Freeze the nontoxic “blue pack” and apply for an hour of cold therapy. The product uses a Velcro system to fit the jacket, and elastic extensions for leg placements. The cold or hot packs can be applied inside or outside of the jacket, where needed. It’s designed to soothe joint and muscle pain from arthritis, injury, surgery rehab and more, and comes with aromatherapy for anxious pets.
Medication
Giving cats pills is notoriously difficult, but often you can request another form of medicine and make administration easier on you both. A pill may be turned into a liquid, or compounded into a flavored treat. Some medicines can even be turned into a transdermal preparation that is smeared on the skin and absorbed—no pilling necessary.
Medicating your cat often becomes a quality of life issue for cats, and may negatively impact the bond you share. If your cat hides from you out of fear of being pilled, don’t be shy with your veterinarian about asking for alternatives. After all, not only his comfort but also the cat