I have written several times about my relationship with Jackson, my cat.
For those visiting me for the first time I will say in a nutshell that Jackson is the most loyal cat or dog I have ever head in my life. This week our friendship had a rough row to hoe.
I noticed when we were in the TV room that Jackson would put up her rear legs and scoot along the floor. Although it looks funny, it is always a sign a cat has a kiester problem.
Now Jackson trusts me completely and unlike most cats she allowed me to inspect the area.
I couldn't see anything except a little pink: no doubt from rubbing her butt along the rug.
Still, I got an old rag dampened with warm water and thoroughly cleaned her off for a better inspection. I promise you that anything on television is better than this visual chore.
I couldn't see anything but when she did the scoot again the next day, I checked again and saw a tiny larvae pop out of her.
Yep, she had worms. Although as a 100% housecat I'm not sure how that happened. Maybe she caught them from me or one of those weird concoctions of leftovers that should have been thrown out that we share together. I imagine I had best start checking my stools to see if I gave her these nasty little parasites.
Of course I had to get worm killing medicine. I didn't get the pills because I was sure Jackson wouldn't let me shove something down her throat that didn't smell and taste like bacon or her other favorite, mushroom soup. I decided on a brand that was liquid that boasted it had a great taste that cats love. Fat chance.
The directions said a half-teaspoon per 5 pounds so I knew I had to get three of these spoons down her mouth and I figured I had a 50/50 chance of that happening. The first went fine as she and I have this trust and maybe she thought it was another spoonful of red wine that she savors when we have a glass together.
I could tell by the way she was waving her tongue around that she didn't think much of the taste and I hurriedly got the second mouthful down her before she bolted.
If you have ever tried to catch a cat in a big house that doesn't want to be caught you know I wasted my time running around with a spoonful of worm medicine.
To make matters worse, our other cat Smirky came up and smelled Jackson's breath and immediately went into hiding too. I guess Jackson spread the word that medicine was making the rounds much like the warning that a bath was in the plans for the two of them.
I wasn't sure if Smirky had worms since a person can't get within a hundred flea feet of Smirky's butt. The directions said to treat all animals in the house to be certain the nasty villains don't spread so I went to plan B. I had no alternative since giving a cat medicine it doesn't want is harder than catching the wind with a tennis racket.
The directions said I could sprinkle it on their food and so I did put just a little in an entire bowl of cat food and that didn't go over well with either cat. They both refused to eat and kept looking at me for new food but they are both chubby and I planned on waiting them out. It took the better part of the day before they finally decided they were hungry enough to have to eat the treated cat food.
In the meantime, Jackson was boycotting being my buddy. She wasn't on my lap at the computer. She wasn't on the back of the recliner when I was watching TV and she wasn't even coming to bed when I turned in.
I tried to explain from a goodly distance that I was only trying to help but you could tell she was miffed at me.
I used the one universal remedy I have in my repertoire when I want to find the cats: I opened a can of tuna and that brought Smirky at the run but no Jackson.
Smirky will kill for tuna so as she gobbled it down I was able to lift her tale and check for worms. She looked clear and clean if there is such a thing with a cat's kiester.
It took a day before Jackson would sit next to me. She was tentative at first and gave me that look like I had violated her trust in me. I finally got her to not run away when I reached out for her and after a long scratch job our friendship was reestablished. The problem is she no longer will allow me to check her so I had to start doing stool sampling to make sure the critters were dead. It seems that all is well now with both but I fear the follow up in 14 days will start this process all over again.
The only thing left now is to check my own stool for worms and my wife says there is no way she is helping with that.
Freelance writer, columnist, author and writing coach, ex-Chicagoan Mike Fak presently resides in Central Illinois. More information about Mike's services are available at his home website www.mikefak.com
Mike currently writes primarily humor columns for searchwarp bi-weekly and is the managing editor of www.lincolndailynews.com
Mike now offers a 26,000 word e-book on making money as a freelance writer for only $10.00 at this page. http://www.mikefak.com/id45.html
» left by Dianne Lehmann from Dewey, AZ (212 days 4 hours ago.)
Hi Mike.
Maybe next time you'll try the pill instead. :)
Man, you're lucky. At least you can wipe her behind and inspect it. Can't get anywhere near our Winnie with a towel or cloth in hand.
When I was having to give Bear (Winnie's brother who we had to put down) his meds several times a day, the pills were the easiest. There is a place toward the back of their jaws where their teeth don't come completely together. So if you use a thumb and index finger of one hand on the in the crease of their cheeks near the jaw hinge and squeeze inward, their jaws will come apart a bit. Use your other index finger to push the pill into this small gap and along the side (if you try to push it down the middle the gag reflex takes over and you get nowhere) of the throat and as far in as you can. Occasionally, it will come out again, but usually it will go down.
Of course it gets better with practice and I had a lot of that. It probably also helped that he was somewhat on the weak side due to his failing kidneys. But hey, it's worth a try the next time you have to give Jackson medications.
Good luck and thanks for the tail ... I mean tale. Ooh boy, that could actually sound pretty bad. :)
Dianne, I just had a very strong feeling you would have read and made a comment on this article. I saw it earlier and sure enough, you had been here! LOL
Now Mike, you and Dianne can take care of the cats. I would never attempt to give a cat medicine! Fak's always a great read, even about cats! *nostril upturned*
How funny. I can empathise though. Our cat, sheba (part Burmese), had a cyst on her cheek a few weeks ago. We had to give her medicine for that...riiight. You never heard such hollering or saw such chaos in our house just to accomplish the task; and that was just our son!
» left by sue thom from nj (209 days 23 hours ago.)
hi mike,
i can do just about anything to my little maltipoo, but cats??????
i brought our 16 year old wild cat to the vets, and they had to throw a blanket over her to contain her. that was in one minute, the next minute, the vet is asking me if i could give this "fit to be tied" cat their oral medication? i just looked at him, pointed to the blanket, and said, "i don't think so." they had to keep the cat to give her the medications.
ah, what we animal lovers will go through for our beloved pets.
Sounds Mike you really had a hectic time running after your cat because you saw it coming out there. Can send the baby to a vet clinic for a deworm treatment. Guess that is easier for the both of you but I sincerely hope there won't be a next time .
» left by Sue from Melbourne, Australia (197 days 10 hours ago.)
Oh my God, how funny was that story. I love it. It felt like you were writing about me and my cat. I've been scouring the net looking for ways to make my cat take her medicine without her taking my arm off, and I came across this great story.......... it was totally unhelpful in educating me in cat-medication-administering, but it made me laugh -) Thanks!
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