Last week I took my neighbor's cat to the vet for pain meds;
neighbor is an older lady who takes blood thinners & she bleeds easily & profusely, so she had the cat de-clawed.

Then of course she couldn't keep him still, & he jumped & romped until his paws hurt, & he started hiding from his owner, peeing in the laundry basket, etc.

The vet gave her some tablets, which she could not get down him, no way no how.

I went over to help her, & I lost every battle with that cat.

By this time the cat was realllly angry with her, & she didn't want to make it worse by taking him to the vet, so I took him in for her, & the vet said to try a liquid.

I said, fine, wonderful, *you* give him the first dose.

snork!

Vet, vet tech, & I all 3 held onto that cat at the same time, resulting in cat hair all over the exam room & medicine & slobber all over the exam table & everybody's clothes, but not one drop of liquid went down the cat's throat.

Vet finally gave him some liquid that works by absorption into the mucous membranes in the mouth.

peace at last.

which is to say...

some of them dang cats are just like that!

If Henry doesn't actually have fleas, I'd leave him alone.

If he does have fleas, I'd ask the vet to do it.

no sense in having Henry run when he sees you & pee in your laundry basket & hide on the china cabinet.

I have every sympathy for you, & I wish you the best.

What Sylvia said. LOL at the pee in laundry basket remark. Been there and done that with kitty retribution, and nobody can convince me they DON'T give you paybacks.

Sounds like one smart cat, and you only got the meds on once by stealth and he's wise to you now. Possible solution if they even make it any more. When systemic flea meds came out years ago they were powder to be sprinkled on food. That's how I had to dose my cats until the skin method. Perhaps there is still one made you can get for Henry. Ask your vet. If I'm not mistaken, there is also an injectable form of ivermectin a vet could administer.

Sylvia..that cat sounds just like Henry. Is he a large cat as well? If Henry were the size of my 10 pounds cats, it would be a piece of cake. Getting him in a crate to take to the vet would be nearly impossible too. While the other cats don't like it, they wait and then jump down when it's done. With Henry there was fur everywhere, husband had a bloody thumb(Henry has claws) and that happened THRU the towel. While we don't have a big flea problem like we have had in past years, occasionally I'll see one and it's usually on him. He has very dense thick fur as well making it harder to apply. All jokes aside and there was many funny ones circulating, he is causing me anxiety. Right now he's sleeping (or faking it) on the kitchen floor. I might try again. Wish me luck.

Well, mission half accomplished. He was sound asleep and I sat down beside him and he rolled on his back. He loves belly rubs. I rolled him so his claws faced the other way and started putting the frontline on. He freaked and got away and ran to the basement. There is a small amount still in the vial. I don't even know if it was between his shoulder blades because he is so muscular with very thick fur. Now he hates me for sure....sigh

Lily, put some drops on a rag or old washcloth, and see if that helps. And remember to have positive thoughts and feelings when approaching the cat. Try not to tense up or expect the cat to react.

I found an oral flea med for cats but it wasn't the powder, and I must have not remembered correctly. It was Program and available in a liquid or tablet. It can be put over food, and if you do, I'd recommend something really stinky like fish. ;0) He eats the fish cat food, he gets his medication. (If he eats the doctored cat food). If your vet doesn't ordinarily carry Program, he can write you a script for it.

That might be a solution. It would have to be sprinkled on the food because no way could I get him to take a pill. I don't know how he got so weird. I took him and his brother from his feral mother five years ago when they were one month old. I wanted to give them a chance and I fostered them together for three months, and then his brother Buster went up for adoption, and I kept Henry. He is the only male cat and is very affectionate to me. Many times he lays flat on his back with his giant white stomach up in the air. In no way is he feral but very suspicious. He's hanging around me now but squinting his eyes at me. The little brat..

Of course he's hanging around you right now and squinting his eyes. He KNOWS you are on the keyboard with other humans, cooking up secret, covert and diabolical schemes to usurp his authority and otherwise invade his personal space.

I know this wont help but -I LOVE HENRY!!!! What a little monster ;o)
I always tend to love the ones who drive me the most crazy!

Neighbor's cat Kona (named after the fragrant Hawaiian coffee) is a hefty muscular blue-eyed Siamese/Burmese mix.

He's nearly a year old, & it looks to me like he's still growing!

I'll tell him he has a fan club. If I can figure it out, I'll try and post a picture of him. He's at my feet now and I have what's left in the vial, so I might try and sneak it on.

You may not have any workable fingers left to post that picture. He KNOWS what you are going to do. He can probably read (or read your mind).

LOL, calliope! I suspect you are right.

Is Henry a very large white cat, by any chance?

Henry is not white but has a very LARGE white stomach. He's black and dark grey striped with a white nose. I did manage to squirt the last of the Frontline on him as he lay by my feet. He is very suspicious of me now and squints his eyes every time I get near him . He definitely has a psychic thing going on. Never had a cat like him. He's handsome if on the obese side and was a precious kitten. I'll try to post two pix of him... one when he fit in the palm of my hand and one where I struggle to lift him off the floor.

I have a sneaking feeling I'll have a similar situation on my hands soon. I took in two kitties this summer. The striped marmalade tabby is showing signs of some main coon cat. He has ear hair so long it sweeps in a curve around to the back of his ears and his paws look like he has snowshoes on. If he grows into those feet, he'll be enormous. At fourteen weeks, his paws are already larger than any cat I've ever owned, and I have had a lot of cats. He's a lover, but also quirky. The little black nine week old tortie female is just the opposite. She's tiny and fine boned and has already been nick-named Ninja kitty. She looks like Yoda from the back with the ears and skinny neck.