Cat Meds Part II

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

I know we had a recent thread about liquid cat meds and people had great ideas. I've got a problem in that I need to give my cat 2 pills at night that he will not take. We are trying to avoid knee surgery, but I need to get these meds into him. Anyone have ideas? He has no interest in people food and not the biggest fan of wet food. I'm at a loss how I'm going to manage this.

 

[BrianL]

I know we had a recent thread about liquid cat meds and people had great ideas. I've got a problem that I need to give my cat 2 pills at night that he will not take. We are trying to avoid knee surgery, but I need to get these meds into him. Anyone have ideas? He has not interest in people food and not the biggest fan of wet food. I'm at a loss how I'm going to manage this.

Ugh - I feel your pain! As the one jamming liquid meds down my cat's through, I still find that infinitely easier than pills. Cats are not like dogs, you can't just hide that pill in a peice of cheese and expect them to gulp it down - they are too clever by far!

I have seen my vet give the cat a pill, and of course, somehow, he can do it. He held her head, kind of squeezed her jaw to open, tossed it back in her mouth and closed her mouth. It's like a magic trick and I found it impossible. Did you ask if there was any way to get that in a liquid form. Sometimes a compounding pharmacy can do it, though it might be pricey. Still, it would probably be chaeper and easier than surgery.

Good luck with it!

 

[barb969]

There are you tube videos. The trick is approach from behind, hold him against you with 1 hand and put your finger in the corner of his mouth to open it and push the pill down his throat. That’s what the vet on the video said.
It would probably be easier if you had help But both should come from behind. Hold his mouth closed for a while or he will spit it out. I have never tried this.

Have you tried a pill popper? I’ve had success with it but you have to hold the mouth closed.

i used a cat grooming bag for liquid medicine. It should help with pills.

I tried greenies. |The cat just pulled the pill out.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

I knew it was your thread. I double checked to make sure it was liquids before I posted again. Both are a nightmare. I have nineteen more doses to go. He won't take any people food. I've seen these vet videos. I feel like an idiot because tonight I ended up bloody but we got it down him eventually. I can't figure out how the heck they do it!

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

It's pathetic. I have help. My DH is great with him. It's just awful and it's stressing Stout (our cat) out and us too!

 

[BrianL]

I knew it was your thread. I double checked to make sure it was liquids before I posted again. Both are a nightmare. I have nineteen more doses to go. He won't take any people food. I've seen these vet videos. I feel like an idiot because tonight I ended up bloody but we got it down him eventually. I can't figure out how the heck they do it!

Well, at least you got it down. Another thing to do is to immediately reward him for a successful take. He may start to associate that with the pill. That barely works with my spoiled cat, but it's woth a shot.

 

[hopemax]

We would give our cat his pill with water. Fill a syringe, pop the pill in the back of his mouth, hold his mouth shut while getting the syringe in on the side, and squeeze it out. But this cat was the most compliant cat either of us has ever had and I wouldn't want to try it with the current one.

We had a pill popper until it disappeared. But he would spit it out too frequently, so we had to add the water to force him to swallow.

 

[LoveDaisy]

I have a picky cat who takes two pills a day. Her brother will of course eat anything because that is how things work for me. I tried everything and found she loves pill pockets. My local pet store, target, Amazon and chewy sell them. They come in a couple of flavors mine only likes the salmon. Good luck.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

I'm going to try the pill pockets. We can't even get him to open his mouth. This is tough.

 

[LoveDaisy]

I'm going to try the pill pockets. We can't even get him to open his mouth. This is tough.

I hope they work for you. My picky girl doesn’t like how big the treats are so I cut her pill in half and break the pill pocket in half. I was amazed it worked and it took all the stress out of giving it to her, hoping for the same for you!

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

Independent of this injury I had just ordered him some probiotic treats since he has a sensitive tummy. They are soft enough I can smush the gabapentin in there. That's the twice a day med for 10 days. So hopefully that will work. Thankfully only two more doses of the anti-inflammatory which seems to be the big issue with him. Thank you guys for your support and suggestions!

 

[DisneyHardin]

We had good luck with a pill popper. I’d just squeeze the sides of her mouth until she opened, stick the popper in and push the pill to the back of her throat. She didn’t enjoy it, but it worked.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

We had good luck with a pill popper. I’d just squeeze the sides of her mouth until she opened, stick the popper in and push the pill to the back of her throat. She didn’t enjoy it, but it worked.

I'm going to try that next because I'm sure he's going to figure out the pill in the treat pretty quickly so I will need back up methods. This kitty is giving me a run for my money.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm going to try the pill pockets. We can't even get him to open his mouth. This is tough.

I had one cat who LOVED the Pill Pockets. Laid it in my hand and he willingly took it every time.

This cat needs thyroid meds twice a day the rest of her life. And she wasn't having it with the Pill Pockets. At all. I tried everything. I ended up using a pinch of Pill Pocket (maybe 1/4 of one) to attach the 1/4 of a pill (her dose) to her favorite treat (Temptations). So I'm really only using the pill pocket sort of as a paste. I put the medicated treat along with a couple others on a plate and she eats them. I refer to it as her charcuterie board. Works most of the time. Occasionally she eats the treat and leaves the pill so I just do it over again. Sly cat getting extra treats no doubt.

 

[PollyannaMom]

We had a pill popper with a previous cat. It wasn't pretty, but if worked. I would hold her and DH would pop it in.

One of the current cats is on lysine chews, and will usually take them if I cut them up small and pour some if the trendy "lickable treat" on it.

 

[carouselDL]

I ended up using a pinch of Pill Pocket (maybe 1/4 of one) to attach the 1/4 of a pill (her dose) to her favorite treat (Temptations). So I'm really only using the pill pocket sort of as a paste

Seconded! My cat doesn't really like the pill pockets, but if I stick it (with the pill inside) in the middle of a handful of treats, he'll usually ingest it by accident, so to speak (he did eventually learn how to pick apart the pill pocket and spit out the pill, but it sounds like these are short-term meds?).

Whatever technique you use, be vigilant for your cat spitting the pill out! I have picked up far too many pills off my kitchen floor long after I thought he had swallowed lol

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

Seconded! My cat doesn't really like the pill pockets, but if I stick it (with the pill inside) in the middle of a handful of treats, he'll usually ingest it by accident, so to speak (he did eventually learn how to pick apart the pill pocket and spit out the pill, but it sounds like these are short-term meds?).

Whatever technique you use, be vigilant for your cat spitting the pill out! I have picked up far too many pills off my kitchen floor long after I thought he had swallowed lol

Oh yes....he's a master at spitting it back out. We went through a few rounds of this with him last night. It's the first time I've had to give a cat a pill. I'm counting this as cardio because he isn't making it easy. Thankfully only two more doses of the anti-inflammatory (tonight and tomorrow night). But 9 more days of gabapentin twice a day so I'll get a lot of practice LOL!

We used to have an english bulldog and he would keep the pill in his cheek and spit it out like 20-30 mins later. Little devil!

 

[carouselDL]

Oh yes....he's a master at spitting it back out. We went through a few rounds of this with him last night. It's the first time I've had to give a cat a pill. I'm counting this as cardio because he isn't making it easy. Thankfully only two more doses of the anti-inflammatory (tonight and tomorrow night). But 9 more days of gabapentin twice a day so I'll get a lot of practice LOL!

We used to have an english bulldog and he would keep the pill in his cheek and spit it out like 20-30 mins later. Little devil!

Oh no lol! I have to hold his mouth closed and massage his throat, and then when he licks his nose I know he's (usually!) swallowed. I have heard that blowing on a cat's nose will induce them to swallow, but all my cat did was stare at me like I was a lunatic

 

[SharonZ]

I use the empty pill containers (size 5), from Amazon. I break the pill up and put it in the capsule, then I scruff the back of their neck and put the pill as far as I can in the back of the throat, then massage the neck. Also, check to see if the medication can be formulated into a transdermal gel that is rubbed in to the ear.

 

[BrianL]

Oh yes....he's a master at spitting it back out. We went through a few rounds of this with him last night. It's the first time I've had to give a cat a pill. I'm counting this as cardio because he isn't making it easy. Thankfully only two more doses of the anti-inflammatory (tonight and tomorrow night). But 9 more days of gabapentin twice a day so I'll get a lot of practice LOL!

We used to have an english bulldog and he would keep the pill in his cheek and spit it out like 20-30 mins later. Little devil!

I'm surprised about the bulldog. Every one of those that I have ever known ate pretty much ANYTHING indiscriminantly in one gulp! You wouldn't think they were that fast, but drop something on the floor and find out!

I hope things are going well for your kitty. I know pills are tough - good luck!