After having medicine from the vet he won't let me touch him -- I can't give him his medicine anymore!!

by Julian
(Canada)

I got a cat on the verge of death. He had been slowly starving for weeks. The previous owners had let him swallow some items, and then when he was vomiting and sickly wanted to get rid of him (put him down). I took him as a favour to my friend, not knowing he was sick. When he was vomiting at my house and not eating or excreting I took him to the vet of course. After surgery to remove the items he is on a pill and transdermal pain medicine. I had a friend visiting me and she had cats so she gave him the pills (open his mouth and shove it down his throat), and the pain medicine just needs a little drop to be rubbed into his ear.

Now I have never had pets before, and I had just got this cat when he was sick. I had known him for the past 2-3 years as he was my friends cat and he was always affectionate and playful with me. After returning home he became the same cat I once knew, playful and affectionate, but since my friend left and I have had to try giving him his medicine he has stopped trusting me and won't let me touch him. I have tried every method to get him to eat his pill but he refuses -- pill pockets, crushing it with his food, sticking it to his favorite treats -- and he won't let me touch him to put the pain medicine in his ear.

Now he is just upset and angry all day at me (his tail is almost always swishing side to side), won't let me come near him and starting to become slightly aggressive by knocking things off desks and shelves -- I've seen him do this when upset at his past owner's house.

1. How do I get him to trust me enough to give him his medicine?
2. How do I get him to be comfortable with me again after he no longer needs medicine but still refuses to play with me?
3. How do I show him that he has to respect me?

Thanks for your time


Answer by Kate
well first let me say well done for taking in this poor unfortunate cat. without you he would no longer be with us.

As for these other issues. well the poor guy has been through a lot in recent weeks and so he will be feeling rough in himself and will also be feeling extremely unsettled in his new home and surrounded by different things and people.

Basically it will take time for him to relax and to learn to trust you again. he is probably just very afraid of everyone in general at the moment but it seems like you're getting most of the blame for the way he is feeling. this is normal and you should not take it personally.

he times on his own terms to come to you so at the moment your role is to feed him and to administer his medicine which you will have to do confidently and quickly, just like the vets do. this way it is over quickly and there is no fuss. There is a video on this page to help you give him his pill
https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-medicine.html

it does take a little practice you must remember you are boss and doing it for his own good. If you do it quickly he will hate you for awhile but he will get over it.

i also have a page about bonding with a cat, this process is helpful as it puts the cat in the driving seat and does not force them to do anything which will make the bond stronger in the long run.

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/new-cat.html

Don't worry things will work out when he is feeling better and he has had some time to settle down.

best wishes Kate

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