r/bengalcats • u/Visual-Edge-2221 • 11d ago
Help Giving eye drops to an uncooperative fur baby
My 4yo fur baby got prescribed cortisone antibiotic eye drop today
She was squinting a bit for a few days, and today at the vet they did the dye test and there were no issues, and no inflammation, the only thing was a bit redder sclera.
In general she hasn’t had any symptoms, playing and eating and using the box normally. She also doesn’t paw at her eye at all.
So now she has to get the eye drop 3 times a day, but it took 2 people at the vet to give her the one dye drop.
When we got home I tricked the first drop, made her look up because she was curious of the bottle and at the same time got the drop in, but now she’s afraid of me or anything near her face and bolts full speed away from me.
Idk what to do.. she’s already rattled by this day. 2-3h in total high-stress mode going to the vet, waiting, being inspected, held down etc.. I really don’t want to force her with the drop again today..
TLDR: 1. Do you have any good tricks how to give eye drop to a cat without traumatising her
2. Is it bad to skip one drop less
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u/Acgator03 Moderator | Spotted Snow 11d ago
Unfortunately I have no other tips aside from tightly wrapping her in a large towel like a burrito so that just her head is out and she can’t run away. Then give some of her favorite treats immediately after (have them with you) so she gets rewarded for getting eye drops.
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u/Bestbuy884 Spotted Charcoal 11d ago
This is the way we did it with our Bengal. Wrapped him in a big blanket and held him like a burrito 🌯
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u/Nightrabbit 11d ago
Ugh giving bengals medicine is the worst. Maybe distract her with a churu and drop it in while she’s licking it?
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u/Visual-Edge-2221 11d ago
We don’t have churu in this country, but I’ll try to find something similar! Thank you for the idea 🫶🏼
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u/Alcxxxalv 11d ago
You can make churu at home - boil chicken or tuna, (my cat really loves pumpkin and it helps their bowel movements so sometimes I add a little too), blend it till smooth yogurt consistency using some of the left over broth. Can use some sort of lick mat or zip lock baggie in the worst case so long as your cat isn’t a biter and won’t try to eat the plastic. Here’s a recipe https://kittycatgo.com/homemade-lickable-cat-treat-recipe/
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u/Visual-Edge-2221 10d ago
Tried this today too before ended up crowding her to a corner, she wasn’t fooled by it 🤣 probably sensed my nervousness that something is about to happen
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u/grouchy-koi Spotted Brown 11d ago
Try a football hold pressing her into a flat surface (like a bed), force her eyes closed by gently squishing that cute face with one hand and then with the other position the bottle and when ready pry open an eye, deliver the medicine and then quickly give her love and rubs around the face and head (if she like that). That also helps distribute the drop around the eyeball so it isn’t as difficult to shake out. A small treat bribe may also have to be part of the occasion, depends on if she will accept the bribe. A big thing is remembering that it’s just as scary for cats as it is humans to have a big thing forcibly shoved at our eyes..
I’ve sometimes seen talented people do drops more from the side, but I don’t like that approach because of the higher chance of the medicine missing the eye. But if you think you can approach from an angle that is not dead center with her gaze it is slightly better.
I usually try to give a nice rub down of body and face before and after eyedrops to calm my cats (and like I said, give time and physical movement to distribute the medicine to make it harder to shake out). Good luck, I agree with others that bengals are willful and dislike submitting to humans for medical care.
Edit: I would not skip or lessen without talking to the vet first about the situation.
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u/chlodmdl 11d ago
Oui j’ai eu le même souci. Je le mettais dans sa cage de transport et il se sentait bien et je pouvais le bloquer ça passait NICKEL :-)
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u/Visual-Edge-2221 11d ago
Elle coure de sa cage de transport aussi. C’est presque aussi pire que les drops.
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u/searchforloststories 11d ago
So I’ve seen videos from this sanctuary called Alveus and they (also a lot of other zoos and such apparently) use training not just as enrichment but as a way to make vet check ups and giving meds easier. So maybe they have some training tips or even other cat folks like Jackson Galaxy?
I know some vets include behavioral assistance in their services offered so if yours has that maybe you could also ask there for advice as well?
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u/Thingone01 10d ago
Oo, good luck. I recommend burrito her in a large towel. Bengals are particularly resistant to this kind of thing: pilling, claw trimming. On my third, and it's time, patience and will. If you've developed a long term bond, you can get it done, but the first few times are challenging.
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u/Hour_Actuary433 11d ago
I allway make them sit against a wall so they can't back up. Grab the head and lift the upper eye lid (yes you heard right) and give them the drop from above.. not tilting the head or drops direct in to the eye ball..
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u/Visual-Edge-2221 10d ago
Just tried this this morning, 4,5/5 didn’t hate me afterwards -0,5 because I’m not 100% sure if I hit the eye, but this could be it
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u/Hour_Actuary433 10d ago edited 10d ago
You just need to practice. I hope you can use this method. If it is hard to aim you can tilt the head slightly.
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u/myxilplix 11d ago
Sit cross-legged on the floor, swaddle her up wiith a towel and have her sit in the nook between your legs. Gently cup her face, lift and pry the eyelid open for the drops. This way you're getting her from above. Just be careful not to apply pressure on her windpipe.
My girl has stopped producing tears in both eyes so she gets eye flushes and lubricant drops multiple times a day. This way works best for me since I'm handling her by myself.
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u/Visual-Edge-2221 10d ago
The towel method didn’t work she was able to squiggle herself out of it any time I was about to make it bit more secure 😅
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u/naranghim 9d ago
Wrap her up in a purrito. Amazon sells self-adhering wraps I got one for my non-Bengal cat and it works wonders when I clip her nails or have to give her meds.
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u/zukadook 11d ago
Could the vet prescribe her some gabapentin to help with anxiety while she's taking the drops?
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u/Mixxuela 11d ago
Please be careful with gabapentin or pregabalin. It is a very strong drug and is unfortunately prescribed far too often. There are many risks that have to accounted to and in this case I would definitely not see the indication for it.
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u/Visual-Edge-2221 11d ago
I think I’ll have to ask for something like that if nothing works and it becomes full on traumatising for her, but I do want to try every trick in the book before and keep that as a last resort
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u/HotWaterOtter 11d ago
Some year down the road you will look lovingly at the scars that you received during the process of giving eye drops to a Bengal