Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 3, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE C1 WIDE OPEN and say ‘ meow’ A SIDE from climbing Mount Everest and scuba diving with sharks, it is one of the most difficult things to accomplish without losing a limb. As most pet owners have already deduced, I’m talking about the potentially lethal challenge of getting your cat to swallow a pill. This task is so famously difficult it has been immortalized in an Internet gag listing a lengthy set of mock instructions, including No. 14: “ Consume remainder of scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room. Sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye.” In contrast, there are just two steps for giving a pill to docile dogs: “ 1) Wrap it in bacon; 2) Toss it in the air.” In a sincere and humanitarian effort to improve the lives of pet owners, I visited the Winnipeg Humane Society’s shelter on Hurst Way last week to learn the safest method for giving a cat a pill. If you don’t mind the sight of blood, you can watch a video of this adventure right now by using the Blippar app on your smartphone to scan this page, or by visiting www. winnipegfreepress. com. Well, while no blood was actually spilled, when I told friends, family and colleagues what I was about to attempt, they all advised me to have an ambulance on speed- dial. “ Giving a cat a pill? What could possibly go wrong?” is how my colleague Jeff Slusky put it. I agreed to put my fingers and forearms on the line because devoted readers of our Fit Pet Project, a monthly series about the epidemic of overweight and obese pets, besieged me with emails seeking advice on getting pets to take their medicine. Before I was allowed to get up close and personal with a cat, I sat down for a few lessons from Dr. Erika Anseeuw, director of animal health for the humane society, who has seen all the Internet jokes about the dangers of pilling a cat. “ It often ends up being that way if you don’t get the pill in on the first shot,” she says, laughing. “ That’s when you end up going through the 20 steps because it ( the pill) tastes bad. I’ll show you my sure- fire method, and then it’s easy.” For the record, Dr. Anseeuw suggestes that before starting this process you might want to get your cat’s nails trimmed. “ That’s like taking the bullets out of its gun,” I note. She did not disagree. Step 1 : Place the cat on your lap or on a table or counter. “ They may get kind of suspicious if you’ve never done that before,” the vet notes. Step 2 : Butter up the cat by giving it treats and attention. “ That way the next time you give them a pill, they won’t be as difficult,” Dr. Anseeuw advises. Step 3 : Hold the cat’s head, kind of like a softball, gripping firmly but gently with your non- dominant hand. “ If I’m right- handed, I hold it with my left hand to keep it still.” Step 4 : Hold the pill with the thumb and index finger of your dominant ( writing) hand. Step 5 : Tip the cat’s head back with your non- dominant hand to the point where your pet’s mouth is pointing toward the ceiling. Step 6 : Use the middle finger of your dominant hand ( the one holding the pill) to firmly pry open your pet’s mouth. “ It sounds very awkward, but it works,” Dr. Anseeuw says. ( She demonstrates this technique on the skull of a deceased badger. “ Badgers are very hard to pill,” she jokes. “ They’re so ornery and cantankerous.”) Step 7 : Drop the pill to the back of the cat’s throat. “ The trick with pills is to get it at the back of the tongue so they don’t really taste it; they just swallow it,” the vet said. “ Gravity is your friend.” You can make this a team effort, with one person holding the cat, the other dropping the pill. Step 8 : Close the cat’s mouth and keep it gently shut until the animal licks its nose “ and that means the pill is gone,” she says. Step 9 : You can rub your kitty’s chin and throat to help the pill go down. Step 10 : “ Apologize to the cat and give it some loving and treats so it will be easier to give it a pill the next time.” SCAN PAGE TO SEE DOUG TRY TO GET A PILL DOWN A CAT’S THROAT DOUG SPEIRS BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Doug Speirs managed to escape with all his fingers intact after learning how to give a cat medicine under the watchful eye of humane society veterinarian Dr. Erika Anseeuw. Continued Please see CAT C 3 ISTOCK SAVE 30 % OFF All 2015 Winter Apparel & Riding Gear SKI- DOO, FXR, SLEDNECKS, FOX & SCOTT! Visit us at EnnsBrothers. com It takes more than a spoonful of sugar to get a cat to take its medicine Once upon a time, he was cool / C3 ARTS & LIFE ARTS@ FREEPRESS. MB. CA I WINNIPEGFREEPRESS. COM I HOROSCOPE C4 I MISS LONELYHEARTS C4 I DIVERSIONS C7 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2015 C 1 C_ 01_ Feb- 03- 15_ FP_ 01. indd C1 2/ 2/ 15 5: 35: 10 PM ;