Andy’s well aware why I’m coming into the guest bedroom now: To catch him to give him his medicine! And his new strategy is to hide out on the nightstand in the farthest corner of the room, presumably to give him additional time to run away. Poor little guy. I don’t want him to fear me…
…so I have my own strategy! I go in there periodically during the day to just talk calmly with Andy, tell him what a good boy he is, then “skritch” and pet him till he is all relaxed and purring.
It isn’t obvious in the photos, but Andy is purring up a storm. He has a surprisingly loud and deep purr for a little guy. It makes me happy to know he is enjoying himself!
=(^+^)=
I’ve used the opportunity afforded by having Andy captured to give him medicine to work away on the mats in his hair.
He is tolerant of me pulling them apart manually, though he doesn’t like being brushed. On the other hand, once I’ve pulled the mats apart, a light brushing helps sort out the dead, loose hair from the attached hair.
The end result is Andy now is as silky and sleek-looking as his brother! Little by little, when I stroke the kitty boys, I feel little mats, pull them apart while they are easily dealt with, and they and I feel better about things! I suspect Andy might even tolerate brushing more since there’s less tangled hair to snag and pull in the brush.
Dougy protested he wasn’t getting enough attention in the blog this week, so here’s something for the Dougy fans! (He has cat fuzz on his face and has been snooping to find out what Andy and I were doing over here – I brushed Andy by this lamp today.)
Give the boys a scritch for me too, Doug! That is a good strategy you used on Andy.
Will do, Lavinia! Andy and my little game evolves. Mostly I catch him with no fuss, but there are days when his strategy changes, requiring me to become more clever again!
Great strategies on all accounts. Give the boys some scritches from me, too. 🙂
Will do, Amy! They will love you for it!
Mr. Doug, how much longer does Andy have to be on the medicine? I don’t know about Andy but I don’t like when medicine gets squirted in my mouth! Mom gets most of it on her or on my cheek as I squirm! Tee hee hee. Does Andy do that too?
For life. At least that is my understanding.
Oops! Missed the rest of your comment! Yes, I have the same problem with Andy. He takes the first few sips with no problem, then he stops swallowing in protest. That part of the dose dribbles down his face. Sometimes I over-shoot the syringe and Andy and I get medicine on us. I’ve found if I give him bigger amounts early on, I usually can get more of it into him since he does swallow the first three or four squirts before he holds his lips tight.
Regardless, I wrap him in a towel (kitty burrito) so only his head is sticking out. It is partially immobilized that way and any spillage goes onto the towel. More of the spillage goes onto the towel, rather. Any on the kitty I wipe off with a wet washrag. I started doing that because the medicine dried hard in his fur, and acted pretty much like a mat.
The nice part about the kitty burrito is I can spend a little quiet time with Andy after the medicine, telling him how good he is and stroking his head and ears. I want the medicine time to be a pleasant time for Andy to the degree I can make it one. Of course, after the medicine’s taken, we have the quiet time, I let him down so he can run to where I give him the kitty treats for his reward for being a good kitty!
Good idea to mix some scritches in so Andy doesn’t get fearful.
I mostly works!
doodz…..ya both look veree handsum…..eye dunno bout that matt stuff…
buz cuzin daiz doez…..N her sayz itz knot fun……glad dadz figured a way ta help ya out 🙂 ♥♥
tuna of moon
Mats are a pain!
You take fab care of these guys, Doug! 👍🏻😎❤️
I try!
Ah if Dougy only knew Andy was the focus of so much attention because of illness and medicine. Your strategy appears sound with calming him and placating Dougy, too.
It seems to be a winner, Angela. He hasn’t completely decided to give in, but he mostly accepts the process.
oooh you two are beautiful boys… and your daddy is the best, what a sensitive and good way to give the meds to Andy ;O)))
It seems to have lowered his stress, which, for Andy’s blood pressure issue is critical. I hated upsetting him to give him medicine so he didn’t suffer the effects of being upset!