How to give liquid meds to my scared cat without ruining our bond?
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!
Updated on September 23rd, 2025