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What do you do when you have trouble administering medication?

This has happened to me a couple of times. I take on a client, whether it is a dog or a cat (cat in this case), and everything goes swimmingly for the Meet and Greets. I agree to administer medication for their pet while they are away. I even practice with them (the owners) there.

And as soon as the owners are out of the vicinity, and I am at their house, their pet will absolutely not be approached by me.

What do you do?

This has made for some really awkward conversations between me and the owners. I usually have to give disappointing news that their pet is very vocal and clear about their lack of comfort with my approaching them with a syringe, a pill, a thyroid medication pen. I've been hissed at, growled at, pawed at, and scratched before.

What do you do in all aspects of the situation – in attempting to administer the medication, in talking to a frustrated or anxious owner, explaining your end of the story without insulting the pet, the vet bills (if the pet ends up boarded), the pet taxi fees, the Rover fees, etc.?

In my current situation, it is Day 1 of a 6 day house sitting stay. 13 year old kitty has been hissing at me anytime I make it in even the same room as her. I tried to coax her with voice, toys, and treats, and she came out of her hiding spot to literally try to pounce on me, which stressed me out, as well. I am trying to take a 'hands off' approach and hope that Kitty eventually feels safer around me. But the clock is ticking. And I know if she doesn't get her medication within the next day or two, the situation will get uglier.

I've already been in contact with Kitty's parents and it is stressful knowing how upset, stressed out, and afraid they are on the phone. It's the sort of situation that doesn't end up boding well for anyone – the pet parents, the sitter, and of course, the pet.

As an addendum, I will say it is really frustrating that Rover doesn't have support available in situations like this. They dissuade pet sitters from using the "Emergency" phone line. Is this situation a life threatening, immediate emergency? No. But it could become one eventually.

4 Answers

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Carly H.

If the cat absolutely must have the medication within a certain time frame, you ask the owners if you can have a friend assist you. One of you could toss a towel over the cat and hold it in a way that the other could administer the medication. This is obviously far from ideal as it would stress you and the cat out, so I'd encourage you to keep trying to win the kitty over, but if it's life or death, a scared cat is better than a dead cat!

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Thank you Carly! This is exactly what I ended up doing. My boyfriend came over and we tossed the towel over the cat. Some days, it took one hour to get her from out from under the bed (using a broomstick no less!) You're right -- a scared cat is better than a dead cat. But what a stressful situation

Shreeda S.

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Deb A.

Book a Stay
Irvine, CA

I don't care for cats. The most similar situation was a little dog that understandably didn't want to take his oral dose of chemo. (made him feel ill) I informed his parents of how it was going. I also called his vet and asked for tips on how I could get him to accept it. His oncologist's office gave me tips. It didn't come to this but if I hadn't gotten him to swallow, I would have taken him there with the Rx and asked for their help, not to take over and board him, but to show me how to administer the medicine.

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You're right Deb -- cats are extremely frustrating in this regard. I have administered medications to dogs and honestly, it is easier to communicate with dogs and approach them. That is a good idea, to go to the vet and ask for advice. Thanks so much for your input.

Shreeda S.

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Walt G.

Book a Stay
Woodbridge, VA

Cats are the worst in my opinion. Sorry you are having issues but with cats, it can be expected, sounds like this cat would be better off at a vet that offers to board

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Thank you so much Walt. Yeah ): It's rough -- I agree that in the future, this cat would be better off boarded with a Vet.

Shreeda S.

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Melissa L.

I am having this issue right now. The cat takes the pill in a pill pocket from the owner, but when I arrive she hides from me and half the time I can’t even find her. I can see that she eats her dry food, eats a little bit of wet food I put out, goes to the bathroom, but she now has ignored the pill for two days. The owner and I worked together trying to make it happen, but at this point I don’t know what to do. I can’t even get a hold of her with a second pair of hands. Fortunately, they are coming back tomorrow so hopefully she will be OK. However, they have a weeklong booking with me next month and this 19 year old cat will not survive a week without her medication. Last summer, I got her to take it most of the time, but this time it’s a hard no from her.

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This scenario, I’d tell the petparent what’s happening. I’d ask if they want you to take the cat to an emergency veterinarian (or someone else) and pay for them to dose the cat. Owners can pay with C/C over phone or reimburse you in cash) While expensive, I’d make I’d let them make that decision.

Deb A.

Got lucky and the cat ended up taking the meds, but there’s no possible way I would even be able to catch her. She goes into all these hiding places that I can’t even get into and growls and snarls and things like that. I ended up crushing them and mixing with food. She took enough to be ok.

Melissa L.

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What do you do when you have trouble administering medication?

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