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How to remember your cat's medication

The two mistakes with cat medication are a missed dose and a doubled one. Both usually come from the same gap: nobody is sure whether it was given. The answer is a fixed time, a reminder, and a record everyone can check.

Always follow your vet's instructions for the medicine, dose and timing. If a dose is missed or given twice, call your vet or the medicine's helpline before doing anything else. This guide is about the routine, not the medicine.

1. Tie it to something that already happens

Give the medicine at the same moment every day, linked to an existing habit: breakfast, your first coffee, or the evening meal. A dose tied to a routine is far harder to forget than one at a floating time. If the medicine goes in food, give it at the start of a meal so you know it's eaten.

2. Set a reminder that knows when it's done

A phone alarm works, but it rings whether or not the dose has been given, which trains everyone to ignore it. A better reminder goes quiet once someone has logged the dose, and only nags when it's actually overdue.

3. Log it the moment it's given

Write it down at the time, not later. A tick on a printed chart by the food, or a log in an app. The record answers the question "did she have it?" without anyone having to remember.

4. Make one person responsible, and share the record

If two people share the job, decide who does which dose. Everyone should be able to see the record, so the second person checks before giving it.

5. Plan for days away

Before a trip, write the dose and time exactly as on the prescription label, explain how you give it, and ask your vet what the sitter should do if it's refused. See the cat sitter checklist.

How Bowlie helps

Bowlie lets you add each cat's medication schedule, sends a reminder when a dose is due, and stops reminding once anyone in the household has logged it. Everyone sees who gave it and when. Bowlie is a reminder tool: it doesn't give veterinary advice or calculate doses, so always use the dose your vet prescribed.

Related: cat feeding schedule.

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