Are my cat mavens ready for absolutely the last two questions?

He is an outdoor cat…I noticed him stalking rodents and birds the other day.

@gail, love lurve the tags!

Those claws can be a necessary tool for an outdoor kitty. Are you just trimming slightly? or cutting them way back?

Big bully tomcats can have their way with your Milo is he’s essentially defenseless. :-\

In any case, I suggest going with the pro. Better for you, Milo, and your friend. Plus, if cats are anything like dogs, trimming too far back can be damaging. A pro would help ensure that doesn’t happen.

Gail, you can trim Milo’s nails. It’s a bonding experience. He may not want them all trimmed at once, and it’s possible your friend accidentally cut too far back and hurt him, but he may have just gotten fed up. Wait till he’s all cuddly in your lap, squeeze his hands in a friendly way to establish non-harmful intent, then squeeze each claw out and snip off just the last quarter-inch, or even less if that makes you feel more confident (if it goes well, you can do it again in a week). Milo will be okay outdoors if he has nails to climb with and is vigilant. If there are frightening other cats around, and he gets a bite or a scratch, yes he may need claws. Wait and see. It’s very unusual for a cat to KILL another cat. They mostly just argue and batter.
I bet this is SO reassuring.

You can also wrap him in a towel first. Wait until he’s napping.

I’m going to re-suggest this book:
Is your cat Crazy? by John C. Wright with Judi Wright Lashnits.

Its cute, funny, and has a WHOLE lot of incredible information in it. I think you really really might enjoy it and it will probably give your confidence with milo a huge boost. :]
The cover is a bit wacky, but I swear the text is incredible.

**Waits for user@syz to find this question and give an absolutely incredible answer**

@andrew. I used to do that with my kid when he was a baby, but I didn’t need the towel.
@gail. If you do attempt this yourself be careful not to cut where you can see the vein. It will bleed and you will need a styptic.

@all; My male friend has had two cats forever and knew what he was doing. It took Milo 4 claws to notice, but it was just a little off the top, so to speak.

@Andrew; could you be more precise? Perhaps w. three-dimensional diagrams and origami lay-out? Milo never seems to be drowsy -asleep or on red alert.

@susanc: gas up the Lear jet, come on over and show me.

@Seesul:when my kids were infants, my grandmothers told me to bite their nails for the first year. I didn’t, but it might have been easier.

@Seesul; who’s the stypic stick for, Milo or me?

@Del: OK. I will check out the book, but it seems that every cat has his own mysterious personality. “All cats go mad for catnip,” for example. Not the one that allows me to live with him.

Don’t worry, gail, they talk about all different cat personalities in this book. This guy (the author) deals with absolutely everything and does so in a cute and funny way. The information gained from this book is priceless. My friends like to call me the ‘cat whisperer’ as a half-joke when everything that I didn’t learn from experience about feline behavior actually came from this book. (But that’s our secret. ;P)

Sorry to disappoint, delirium, but I suggested that gailcalled try it on her own and she wound up getting scratched. I am sufficiently abashed that I am refraining…....

For reference (and remember, Fluther gets a cut from Amazon sales), here is the link to the book on amazon.

@andrew; too late. I ordered it used (the s/h cost more than the book.) Had I but known…

@syzg: my male friend cut 4 claws and I watched as Milo got more and more enraged; finally my friend fled. Milo simply snubbed me for the rest of the day..

However.. two days ago MIlo went into a lethargic fast and then almost comatose over the past 24 hrs…I thought he was at death’s door. At least he hauled himself down two flights of stairs for a very messy BM in litter box.

So, I had my first experience w. a Vet this morning. (MInd you, we are only on day 14. And I am carting a ziplock bag of runny poop and Milo in an antique carrier that Noel Coward probably used on the Queen Mary). Milo submitted docilely to the most humiliating treatment (anal thermometer, IV hydration, penicillin shot, all claws trimmed and a lesson from vet on how to pick up a cat by the scruff of neck -thanks, Del – in order to administer antibiotic drops.)

Once home, he has been giving ME the cold shoulder. I finally got the first dose of drops down him, but he was neither docile nor happy. We had a vigorous 20 minute chase around the house. Diagnosis; fever, gippy tummy (something he ate in my field?) and “watch him for a week.”

And I used to be such an interesting person.
Gail

@syz: I’m sure that they (gail and milo) aren’t holding grudges…. well….. milo might..
@gail: I am enjoying the cat updates/stories significantly more than I should be. I seek them out and get a good laugh (which turns to guilt for having laughed). It seems that both you and milo are equally strong-minded.

You might be able to trick him in to not hating the drops all that much by doing them, refusing to let him go after, and having a snugglefest (lots of ear/cheek scritches) to get his emotions about the whole experience to be slightly less negative.

So, Del; how can I tell an enraged Milo that I want to snuggle? Remember, I play fair and don’t use my teeth; he cheats and does.

I had been worrying this evening about him becoming dehydrated but solved that problem. How? I used toilet, and then flushed. The noise brought him, so when tank had refilled, I raised the lid and seat and gave M carte blanche to drink from the bowl. “Gave” is not the precise word; more precisely, I didn’t drag him out of bathroom.

Usually holding him by the scruff of his neck and scritching his cheeks and ears works for me when we have to give Miss Madaline pills. (And she’s quite the she-devil about the whole situation, and also is quite the cheater herself.)

See! You’re mastering the art of feline communication! Another great way to do it is if you have a bathtub you can leave it dripping, or turn on the sink a tiny bit for him. My cats ADORE drinking out of the sink. So much that they’ll get up on it and paw at the handle until it comes on a little bit. (They’re never considerate enough to turn it back off, though.)

@gailcalled: This trick also works well with my cats: leave the sink on a low flow and they love to drink out of it.

Is it flagelle (or however it’s spelled)? Good luck administering that. I can’t even get my persian to take it.

Also, I’m sorry I didn’t recommend this before, but pick up a copy of The Cat Owner’s Manual. It’s brilliant, funny and very useful. You were looking for diagrams of how to clip and administer meds? This has it.

Well, the Vet picked M up by his scruff. Everyone stayed calm. Then I practiced in their presence. Everyone stayed calm. Last night at home, neither of us stayed calm, but I did have a nice long exercise unit. This AM I called for reinforcements but tonight I am on my own. If I don’t check in later, ask Ben to call my daughter and alert the paramedics.

RX: Clavamox= amoxicillin and clavulanic acid.

@Andrew: thanks for the book suggestion; brilliant and useful is good. Funny I can do w/o at this particular moment.

I had a very hard time with my last kitty giving her meds (and she needed a lot towards the end at 18 yrs.) With my new kitten, it is the exact opposite. She needs L-Lysine twice a day now and they are honkers in size. I just use a pill pusher and place them in her mouth and she takes it from there. With my other kitty, I had to resort to the old bath-towel/blanket trick. I finally found that an inexpensive microfiber down throw worked best as a comfort for her and a guard for me. I just had to make sure that I wrapped her as tightly as possible without hurting her. I talked calmly while I did it, apologizing the entire time.

Best of luck. There are some very funny how to give a cat a pill things going around on the internet, btw.

@seesul: Unfortunately these are drops (1 ml) that requires an eye-dropper. I am supposed to pick up this 11lb. 6 yr old cat by the scruff, thereby reminding him of his mom (not a chance) and squirt the drops in the side of his mouth, away from tongue. Otherwise he will squirt it out.

I got about 75% of last quirt into him, other 25% on me. I guess that we will both survive.

And it seems as tho I spend half my life apologizing to this big guy. And then, there are those moments when he shows up, collapses on my lap and snoozes contentedly. and I originally thought that I would not like a cat next to me in bed; now have changed my mind.

I am wondering about squirting the doseage into a tiny chunk of mashed tuna. Is that a good idea or a really stupid one?

I used the wrap up method with liquid drops as well, you just might have to wash it more often. I know the scruff thing is supposed to release endorphins and mommy reminders, but I’ve found that when that fails, I just wrap and go. Tuna idea might work, but I’d fly that by the vet’s office first. If the kitty really likes tuna, it might work. I was supposed to try putting the L-Lysine powdered on food, but that didn’t work for me because HRH only eats dry food. Then they gave me this gel goop that she pushed the reject button on nearly immediately. I tried the tablets and to my absolute amazement they worked (or rather she did). Best thing is at Trader Joe’s they only cost 5 cents a day!

Good thoughts, Seesul, but the nearest Trader Joe’s is 70 miles away. I live in hicksville, USA.

Okay, let us imagine that I am wrapping and that Milo is holding still (fat chance). So how to get the mouth open and the drops in the side of mouth away from tongue w/o having the fangs embedded in my thumbs.

So perhaps I should be teaching Milo to dial 911.

Love the HRH; may I steal that? We too are on a dry food only rule here, but my daughter
trained him w. tuna and allows that I may use a little. Maybe I’ll try an unmedicated smidgeon as a trial run.

@gailcalled: Get the book I recommended. They have a diagram of exactly how to do this.

Milo might be what we call A Bad Kitty. I’m sorry to say such a thing, Gail. It will be okay if you’ll just get that book Andrew keeps reminding you about. It will show you what to do about Bad Kitties.
I’ve been giving my boy Grisgris amoxicillin drops for a few days – nasty, smells like faux banana – and all I have to do is put my arm around his nicely collected little seated self from behind, stick the end of the dropper in the side of his mouth and plunge the plunger. He swallows, scats, and comes right back. He is A Good Kitty. I’m sorry Milo isn’t.

I do give Grisgris a little spoonful of delicious canned Turkey UltraSupremo as a reward after he swallows his amoxicillin. Why not. Usually he only gets SensibleChoice in kibble form.

Do you want me to teach you how to train Milo to “sit” and also “sit up”?

gailcalled, it’s fine to mix the clavamox dose with his tuna. Be sure to keep the meds refrigerated.

If you’ve got Milo wrapped up, use the end of the dropper (not your fingers) to lift his lip and then push the end of the dropper between his teeth. There is a natural “notch” between his canines and his carnassials (premolars) that you can push the dropper through. If you have him tilted up (head toward the ceiling), the clavamox should run down the back of his tongue.

@All: I have ordered the books; but in the meantime…I have to administer the drops until Sat. AM.

This morning went smoother. Maybe because I was more masterful. The Vet DID demonstrate, and I had a perfect trial run while he watched. I know what to do in theory, including finding the notch. But somehow, in that examining room, on that table, Milo was mesmerized. Here….well…

Thank you, everyone. W/O you, I would be cowering up a tree now.

xx Gail

It ALWAYS looks easier in the vet’s office. They also have the advantage of catching them off guard a lot of times, with a first time experience. They do it so quickly, the cat doesn’t have time to think about it and react. Think about it, you are in a small room with slick surfaces as well, not to mention experienced people who have done this many, many times. Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.

@All; by George, I got it. Of course, His Holiness was asleep and I simply jerked him up by the scruff, tilted his head back and squirted. I’ve stopped worrying about whether his head will separate from his body.

@Andrew; if you ever are looking for a definition of a really good set of Fluther answers, these are they. None of the google sites would have given me the info and the confidence that I garnered here.

Of course, I may be back tomorrow, whining again. But I am, as Seesul said, starting to get hang of it. And I haven’t hung M. yet.

Yea, gailcalled! Congrats.

A friend says I have succumbed to the Stockholm Syndrome (google Patty Hearst) and that Milo is a Symbionese.

I do notice that I am raking the litter in an artistic manner and thinking of adding a nice bonsai and several small stones.

I, for one, don’t need to google Patty Hearst. As I was in the ER, she was upstairs in the police unit of the hospital, having just been taken into custody. The really weird thing is that it was for a serious spider bite on the face and I just answered an eye color question that I believe delirium told me caused the brown in my eyes. Sorry, random comment, probably caused by the fact that HRH is taking a full bath while leaning on my leg therefore putting my left foot) and most likely brain to sleep. That should answer your age ?, gc.