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How to give liquid meds to my scared cat without ruining our bond?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 8 years old | 13 lbs

Hello, My cat was prescribed 30 x Metronidazole 50 mg/ml (compounded liquid) and also Gabapentin to use as needed. The Metronidazole is for stomach upset that has caused her to eliminate on my bed. She gets very upset by the meds - have to wrap her in a towel etc. Now she is scared of me and pulls away when I go to just pet her. I am afraid if I keep administering the meds she will never be the same with me again. But she needs them and I’ve tried hiding it in food of all kinds.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Makenzie Kurth, DVM

Answered By Makenzie Kurth, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on April 8th, 2019

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This one is really hard and common among cat owners.

A few tips:

- If Gurl is food motivated, use treats or her food.
example: give a treat, give the meds, give more treats or dinner. In time, she'll hopefully associate the medication with the treats/food.

- Use the gabapentin to your advantage. Gabapentin has mild sedating and anti-anxiety effects (along with pain control) in cats. If you can get that down her, you may find that an hour or two later, the metronidazole goes dow easier.

- Consider having the pharmacy add in some flavoring.

-try mixing them into wet food, tuna juice, chicken broth, etc. get creative

- try the pills - it may seem counter-intuitive but some cats you can pill easier than you can get liquids down.

-Talk with your vet about other options. Depending on her underlying issue, maybe a diet change, steroid injection, or other medication or supplement can help.

Best wishes to you and Gurl!
Vote Icon1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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