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my 6lb, 13 year old cat needs to have an ointment put in her lower right eye lid.

Easy peasy, right? For 2 or 3 people holding her body down, paws tied, and two hands free to hold head and the ointment at the ready.

Any shortcuts from experienced cat owners?

Edited to add: she is not a lap cat so I can't catch her unawares.


One of my pals who worked at the JAC used to wrap the cat tightly in a blanket which she referred to as a "kitty burrito". Only the head out. But you could use an extra pair of hands. It might help to put the ointment on your finger and smear it in the on. It's a rare cat that will welcome seeing the point of the tube coming at it so while not the completely sterile option it may work.


Agree on the blanket or towel roll. And Be quick, know what you are doing ahead of time.


With a dog, it helps to work from behind their head rather than approaching from the front. If you use the heel of the hand holding the tube of ointment to pull back the skin around the eye, you can squirt it in quickly. I used to give the dog a special food treat at the same time and, after a day or two, he would stay quietly for the ointment to get his treat. Never had to try it with a cat.

eta: when I said you could squirt the ointment in, I meant from behind the animal's eye. Doing it this way makes it less likely they will pull their head back from the approaching tube. A vet tech showed me this trick and said it always worked for her.


My two cents ~ Don't point the tube directly at the eye.  Hold the tube at an angle.  You know how quick cats are to move around and you don't want to "poke" the eye with the tube end.  Quickly is best too.  It seems the more time you take to get ready or fuss about it, it makes it worse in your mind.     



ellenlynn said:

My two cents ~ Don't point the tube directly at the eye.  Hold the tube at an angle.  You know how quick cats are to move around and you don't want to "poke" the eye with the tube end.  Quickly is best too.  It seems the more time you take to get ready or fuss about it, it makes it worse in your mind.     

That's why I put the ointment on my finger.


got the blood test results on my cat today. Indicates that she has early onset hyperthyroidism and now I have to give her pills everyday along with the eye ointment tongue rolleye  All in all it was good news. I feared the worst, of course. The meds start tomorrow! Wish me luck



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