Giving a cat a pill...

[KatelynnsAuntie]

I used to use Pill Pockets but these cats are on to me and won't take them anymore. One of my cats needs three pills a day right now and is not very happy with me shoving them down his throat. Any ideas of what to put them in? TIA!

 

[Cinderella94]

Before I opened this thread I thought "pill pockets!" but since that's stopped working...
is it possible to crush a hard treat and crush a pill and then just mix them together? Or will that not work for this medicine?

 

[geffric]

Ug I hate hate hate giving my cat a pill.. it never works, stroke her neck and she just spits it out.. tried the crusted in food trick but the cat wouldnt eat the food..tried the side of mouth trick and hold the mouth shut so she has to swallow.. only worked i time..

my neighbor a nurse can do it.. so i enlist her aid.. good luck..

 

[akcire]

Depending on the medicine. If it is okay to crush it, I put it in a small amount of full fat yogurt vanilla flavor. I don't know why, but the cat loves the La Creme by Dannon--but only vanilla.

If I can't crush the pill. I put the cat on the counter, so we are as close to equal height as possible. I use my thumb and index fingers to open his top jaw and throw the pill into his mouth. I then will hold his mouth closed and blow air near his nose. He always swallows.

 

[PatsMom]

Reading this I am sincerely hoping that I never have to give my little fur baby any pills! He is very particular about what he swallows. He'll eat flies but somehow I can see him refusing medication

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

I JUST went though this with my own cat. She was on Orbax and I absolutely could NOT get the pill down her throat. Finally, they gave me a liquid form of Orbax and that was MUCH easier!

This has to be one of the hardest things to do...period!

Good luck. 3 pills is quite the struggle.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I bought a "pill dispenser" contraption from 'Dr Foster and Smith' years ago that always worked for me. No way did I ever want to be on the wrong end of all those sharp teeth

 

[Rora]

Depending on the medicine. If it is okay to crush it, I put it in a small amount of full fat yogurt vanilla flavor. I don't know why, but the cat loves the La Creme by Dannon--but only vanilla.

If I can't crush the pill. I put the cat on the counter, so we are as close to equal height as possible. I use my thumb and index fingers to open his top jaw and throw the pill into his mouth. I then will hold his mouth closed and blow air near his nose. He always swallows.

Good advice! This is what I usually do if our Pill Pockets don't work.

Sometimes I have to open a fresh bag or new flavor of Pill Pockets if my cats don't want to take it and I don't feel like shoving it down their throats.

Good luck!

 

[Tina]

Try crushing it very finely and mixing with Gerber baby food meats (beef or chicken or my cat's favorites). Works every time for me. I've even gotten some very nasty tasting liquids in them using the baby food. You don't need to use a lot of the food (and warm it in the microwave if you have to refrigerate any). If you use too much food, you risk them not eating all of it.

 

[fluffycow333]

If there is someone else who can help you, you wrap the cat tightly in a blanket and hold them and have the other person pry the cat's mouth open and stick the pill in its mouth. It worked for me.

 

[si-am]

The only thing that works for me is to sit on the floor, kind of straddling the cat, tilting the head back, forcing the mouth open, and shoving it down the throat. Sometimes they still manage to spit it out, but if you can get it far enough back in the mouth/throat, they have to choke it down.

Good luck!

 

[Maridw]

When I saw the title of your post, I automatically thought of the pill popper.

Here is a link to the type that I have:

http://www.gundogsupply.com/trophy-pet-piller.html

I use it all the time to give my cats pills. If I can have the vet give them a shot, I do that, but if they can't, then I use the pill popper.

The pill popper gets the pill to the very back of the throat and they have to swallow. I have rarely had to give it to a cat more than once. Most vets carry these and you could check Petsmart or other pet stores.

 

[KimR]

How To Pill a Cat

Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on each side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat gently in left arm and repeat process.

Retrieve cat from bedroom, pick up and throw soggy pill away.

Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for count of ten.

Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse in from garden.

Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into cat's mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.

Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill out of foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep up shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set on one side for gluing later.

Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with a pencil and blow into drinking straw.

Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

Retrieve cat from neighbor’s shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door just enough so that head is showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with plastic band.

Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Throw t-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

Call fire department to retrieve cat from tree across road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil wrap.

Tie cat's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table. Find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by a large piece of fillet steak. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.

Get spouse to drive you to emergency room. Sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearms and removes pill from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home and order new dining table.

Arrange for ASPCA to collect cat and contact local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters

 

[bicker]

We bought a little mortar and pestle just for crushing pills to mix in with cat food. Worked for us.

 

[Eliza32]

KimR....I have soooo been there!!! Best thing we found was to squish the whole pill into a bit of Laughing Cow. Cat loves it and it's so sticky that once it's in his mouth he can't spit it out. Problem solved!

 

[kathymc]

My cat was horrible and was hiding from us from the torture so my vet gave us a prescription that was made into a liquid gel and we rub it on the inside of his ear. I do not know if it is only certain meds that you can do this with (his is for his thyroid) but it has been a lifesaver.

 

[KristaTX]

When I saw the title of your post, I automatically thought of the pill popper.

Here is a link to the type that I have:

http://www.gundogsupply.com/trophy-pet-piller.html

I use it all the time to give my cats pills. If I can have the vet give them a shot, I do that, but if they can't, then I use the pill popper.

The pill popper gets the pill to the very back of the throat and they have to swallow. I have rarely had to give it to a cat more than once. Most vets carry these and you could check Petsmart or other pet stores.

Below is a picture of that device. I've also used one with our cats, and it does work well. I still had to do the maneuver mentioned here where I straddle the cat, put my left hand over its head, pull back the top jaw to open the mouth wide, and plop the pill way down the throat with the pill popper. The cat may still try to cough the pill up, but if you've plopped the pill down far enough the kitty will find it's just easier to swallow it instead.

 

[pixiewings71]

Try crushing it very finely and mixing with Gerber baby food meats (beef or chicken or my cat's favorites). Works every time for me. I've even gotten some very nasty tasting liquids in them using the baby food. You don't need to use a lot of the food (and warm it in the microwave if you have to refrigerate any). If you use too much food, you risk them not eating all of it.

This is what we do. One of our kitties had a urinary issue for a while, we had the hardest time getting the pill down her throat, she was very very good at spitting it back out. lol One of our kennel attendants (we had to board the cat while we were on vacation due to her meds) suggested the baby food and it worked like a charm. We did ask my vet tech BFF (who is also a family counselor lol) if it would be OK to use the baby food and she said yes, it would be just fine. We did half a crushed pill to 1 spoonfull of baby food and Tink scarfed it down every time.

My cat was horrible and was hiding from us from the torture so my vet gave us a prescription that was made into a liquid gel and we rub it on the inside of his ear. I do not know if it is only certain meds that you can do this with (his is for his thyroid) but it has been a lifesaver.

That's really neat!! I wish all meds could give administered to cats this way. LOL

 

[Mermaid02]

OT- Every time I see the title of this thread I think, "If you give a Mouse a cookie....."
"If you give a cat a pill, he's going to barf up a hairball on your new sweater...."

 

[KatelynnsAuntie]

OP here...thanks everyone. I guess I should clarify...physically I am able to give him the pill (not that way with all of my cats, but with him I can do it) I am just looking for something a little less traumatic...for both of us. I love the baby food and Laughing Cow idea...I am going to try those. Thanks!

That pill popper makes me nervous...I am afraid they'll choke on the pill or something. No?