So recently one of the two lovely cats has been diagnosed with Thyroid problems and is now on medication. Conversation with vet about which type of medication I would prefer. The options given a liquid which can be mixed into food or a tablet which would have to be given whole. The vet clearly biased towards the liquid.
My response - how can you tell the cat will eat all the liquid medication? Vets answer - oh they usually eat it all (not my experience of cats).
Next question how do you keep the other cat from it (they have a shared bowl) and this was the vets response that I was surprised at - you shouldnāt have shared bowls because itās stressful for the animal, they should have their own bowls.
So my question is - do you have shared or separate bowls if you have two pets of the same breed? If you have separate bowls how does each know which is their bowl and what stops them continuing to eat the otherās food once they finish theirs? As cats come in at different times they are fed at different times making two bowls pointless. One lovely cat will even start eating the dogās food if the dog isnāt fast enough and she has to be moved away.
By the way the tablets are a success now that I have discovered a wonderful product called āpill pocketsā which is the human equivalent of hiding medication inside a delicious chocolate bonbon.
My dog gets her thyroid meds (and previous meds) in liquid form. I administer it using a syringe and she has no choice. Itās unusual that thyroid meds are given with foodā¦maybe itās different with cats, but myself and dog both need to take it a couple of hours away from eating anything.
When I had two cats (pre dog), they had separate bowls each, on different sides of the kitchen. One bowl was on the counter off the floor due to one cat scoffing food like mad then trying to eat the other oneās dinner, so I had to keep hers away. Not ideal as I had to supervise the meal times, but they were in a routine eventually so it all worked out.
I would never dream of expecting animals to share the same bowl, no more than I would want to share someone elseās dinner plate.
For one thing, the fastest eater will get most of the food.
You canāt monitor who has what.
When medicating, the wrong animal could eat it.
It encourages ācompetitive feedingā, when natural instinct takes over and makes them eat quick, before someone else nicks it.
And lastly, once the bowl is empty, how do you know who is eating and who isnāt?
No, not a good idea to my mind, and certainly wouldnāt do that with dogs.
When I used to breed dogs, all puppies had to be taught to eat from individal bowls before they left home. The reason was, if they got used to eating in a group, when they went to their new homes and had to eat alone, they often wouldnāt, as it was the first time in their little life they had ever dined alone, and the competition had gone.
I used to tell the new owners to sit with them, or hold the bowl and encourage them, but they got used to it after a few days. The greediest puppes would gulp food down just to stop the next one having some, that is what I mean by ācompetitive feeding.ā
The strongest survive in nature!
Thereās a low wide bowl of cat kibble that is always topped up & wide enough for both to share without any infringements, so I know they always eat their fill. The bowl that has wet food is the one they might competitively eat but they have some sort of catiquette and let each other have a share. They are very polite cats a mother and a daughter. They have their moments but itās never about food.
Probably far easier to train dogs to use separate bowls. Cats think they own everything in the house including the owners (who are their servants). You canāt tell them what to do, you can only distract them with something more attractive.
Then I canāt see how you will medicate in the food then, Annie.
I had 7 German Shepherds once, and there would probably have been a fight if there was only one food source between them, or else the meakest would have gone without.
I donāt think itās fair to make them share. Would you want to?
Mind you, I would never leave food down all day anyway. They have set meal times, and eat the lot within minutes. Then itās bowls washed up and done with.
The latter happens with the wet food which is always cleaned out after feeding. The kibble is out all day & is topped up. The water bowls are all changed every morning and left out all day. I use any leftover to water the geraniums.
They come and go, itās like a hotel. They are very happy cats 12 and nearly 13 years old. Have always had a glowing report of health from the vet until this year.
The pill pockets are working very well so I plan on sticking with the little pink tablets unless this loses appeal with the cat. She is looking lovely since starting the meds so they are clearly working. Her coat is all shiny and she seems to be much healthier.
I totally agree that with dogs you need separate bowls but they tend to understand that sort of thing with training. I think the most I ever managed a cat to do was give me a paw for a treat. But usually you just get a sardonic stare.
Well I would give the Cats separate feeding bowls, its cleaner as well.
As for pills, just hide them into their favourite treat.
We give our Cat a pill every day, which we can twist and open it and pour the powder into her food and she eats it all up no problem.
That medication is amazing isnāt it? My little dog looked so forlorn with her fuzzy dry coat, dry skin, hair thinning out and so very tired. Now she has been 6 weeks on this medication, her fur is soft and growing back in, skin clearing up, so full of energy and is nudging me all the time to go play ball out in the garden! Itās like sheās 5, not 12!
My cats had fixed meal times and separate bowls for their food but one large bowl for water - they didnāt mind sharing that one - probably because it was their idea in the first place. Vets may know everything there is to know about the biology and medical needs of Cats - but few of them can fathom cat psychology!
yes that is exactly what I envisage happening if I put two bowls out. Or one bowl will be ignored because they are full and dry outā¦ They seem to enjoy eating together. Sometimes one licks the otherās head affectionately
Put the cat to be medicated in the room with a very small amount of tasty wet food mixed with medication
Keep the other cat out until first cat has eaten medicated food .
Other wise use a syringe and expect to get scratched .
Muddy when I googled syringes they have very bad press as you can injure an animalās throat by accident. So I thought that would make my relations with lovely cat even worse than the throat-shoving method.
I then found āpill pocketsā and the last couple of days have been stress-free. She just gobbles up the medication like itās a treat. Iāve made it into a routine with lots of attention and then her wet food which she also loves. Then more petting and one happy cat and destressed owner.
When I had two dogs, they used to go for their own bowl to begin with then theyād switch. Thankfully, they were both puppies at the time (same age). They drank from the same fountain. They lived to the ripe old age of 15 for the first and 14 for the second one. Two weeks apart.
Nowadays, itās much easier, one beloved kitten, currently 8 months old. He has one main feeder for his dry, which he munches on whenever heās peckish. Then he gets two pouches a day of wet food.
Bought a new stainless steel fountain with a bubbler and a spare set of filters. He loves it. Two scratch post and a bargain priced scratch posts with two sleeping areas. He loves Catnip and gets a kitten milk yoghurt once a week as a treat.
Plus two litter boxes with wood pellets. One upstairs uncovered and the downstairs one is a hooded transparent one which he uses exclusively (very strange) for his number twos, so funny!
No need for medication yet, but in the past I used Chicken paste from cats or dogs food wrapping the pill in and they swallowed it, no problems.
For my kitten, I use a vegetable brush for weekly brushing. Itās soft rubber on one side for massage and the other side with soft rubber bristles. I use diluted cider vinegar as a rinse after baby shampoo to get rid of fleas for both cats and dogs. Never anything with chemicals.
