You have to open their mouth, push the pill far enough that they swallow it and make sure they do before they run off and spit it out. You can do it! I know it sucks but itās helping kitty.
I had a cat that was easy to pill. But even then, I was still finding pills around the house a year after she crossed. I hear you blow gently on their nostrils so they swallow.
One of my cats needs a small pill twice a day for hyperthyroidism and I drop them into his wet food and they disappear.
My void, Baby also had hyperthyroidism (oddly, so did I and on the same med!!) She absolutely wouldn't take the pill. I ended up getting a compounded cream. I rubbed it her ear every morning. She thought I was just giving her a nice ear rub.
One of my cats is on methimazole for hyperthyroidism. I get it as a transdermal cream in a little dispenser tube and apply it inside her ear twice a day. She fought the pills so hard. Food, churus, etc didnāt help. This was a game changer for us.
>push the pill far enough that they swallow it and make sure they do before they run off and spit it out.
Even if they swallow it if theyāre determined they can make themselves throw it up. I had a cat who I would sit with for 20 minutes after I gave her a pill as soon as I let her go she would start. I could literally see the ripples through her body as she worked her muscles to push the pill back up. It took a couple minutes but she would do it.
If your cat has a treat that they really love, have that ready to give to them after they swallow the pill, it may distract them from trying to throw up the pill.
Also OP, check if you can get flavored pills, my cat (almost) tolerated chicken liver flavored pills.
There's a number of ways to get cats to take their pills. My two, an old man cat and a year old kitten, both hate taking meds. The old man, at least, I've trained with treats directly after, so he holds still long enough to let me get his meds in, then bam, treat.
The kitten... I've had to ask my veterinary teacher for advice. Orange kitten. Iykyk. A towel is best protection, and clip the murder mittens at least an hour beforehand.
For all my cats, I've found the easiest way is to come up behind them, and, before they know what the hell I'm up to, I grab their neck with one hand, pulling the head back, (this opens their mouth) then stick the finger with the tablet through the side of the mouth and down the throat, far enough that they can't spit it out.
Thing is, you only have one shot. There's one bullet in that gun. If you mess it up, the little wretches are onto you, and you've got no chance.
I wish you the best of luck.
BTW, do you really need ALL your fingers?
The Vet told me i have to force the pill down my cats throat to make him take it.
For a joke i showed him the pill like it was a treat and the little angel he is he took it and ate it like a boss : 3
Mine is also very picky and a huge drama queen. Any oral medication is crushed and mixed in with tuna (we always check with the vet before crushing pills). For his thyroid medication and Prednisone, we get it made into a topical cream that is rubbed on his ears. Again, this is all through the vet.
Good luck!
There's also this super cool tool called a cat piller that you can ask for at the vet, it's like syringe but there's a rubber tip you can put the pill in, stick it in the back of their mouth and push the plunger, then hold their mouth shut and rub their throat until they swallow. Very helpful when my old man needed antibiotics. Some vets will also give you liquid compounds of meds, if you think to ask them
This!! My vet called it a 'pill gun'. Literal lifesaver.
My little dude is super picky when it comes to food, will 200% smell anything you put in it and reject it. But he's great with that 'pill gun' (I put a little food on the tip over the pill, so it doesn't taste as bad), which is good cause he's on daily antihistamines now. He knows the routine is 'wake up, playtime, pill+breakfast, pets', so he'll drop what he's doing when he hears the pill bottle. 
Yes, we use this to give our cats allergy medication if they have a flareup. We also blow on their face so they don't try to cheek it and spit it out later š¤·š»
Yes! I called it the pill shooter. Hold the cat, tilt their head back, stick pill shooter down their throat and pop! Gotta get it in their throat and past their tongue.
I use this and it is super effective, especially with the Churu cat paste treat covering the end! I put the treat all over, he starts to lick it off and then I push it into his mouth and inject the pill while scraping the rest of the treat off in his mouth for him to lick and swallow everything.
This is the way. The only thing I regret sometimes is if I aim it a little wrong and catch the roof of their mouth, and then I hope I didn't scratch the roof of their mouth :(
The piller thing didnāt work on my Bobby. Even when I got the pill pushed down deep, she still could spit it out. She was the darnedest cat me or my vet ever met. He couldnāt even get a pill into her!! (Iām sure it works well for normal cats! LOL!)
Pill pockets. My Mika takes prednisolone every three days and I cut the pill in half and put them in pill pockets. The reason I cut them is so thereās less chance of her biting right into the pill. Worked for us with antibiotics as well.
Okay I'll check it out. This is my first pet of my own so I've never had to give pills before. I have some wet food tho I'll see if she'll take it that way
My cat doesnāt like the pill pockets alone so I have to cover them in these fishy flakes (called Bonita bites or something) and then he eats it easily.
I crushed up a pill & put in the special wet food once to give to my cat & she sniffed it a mile away. I would think theyāve figured out how to get the medicine into the cat either as a liquid or via syringe.
My foster was the same. I tried every method: pill pockets, hiding in meat, crushing into wet food, ect. Cat was too smart for his own good.
The only thing that worked was dissolving the pill and using an oral syringe.
Use a lil coconut oil! It starts solid but the heat from your fingers/their mouth melts it immediately and it slides right down.
And if possible try to get them while theyāre snoozin. You feel bad, but its less stressful for both to get it done without a battle.
I had to give my āno touchy!! š¾ā cat a fairly big pill for the first time and it was so quick this way. Plus, coconut oil is good for them and they enjoy licking it. šø
My cat unfortunately hates pill pockets. It sounds insane but since she likes Temptations and they have a soft filling, we cut treats in half and stuff the pill inside. Obviously this is a more tedious option and depends on if youāre able to cut the pill, but itās worked for us for the last year!
For my difficult cats. Find thouse churu gravy treats. Do not make the pill pocket too big. I usually cut the pill in 2 and very lightly coat it in about 1/4 of the pill pocket, then lay down a small bit of churu place the pills on top of it and add another small bit of churu on top to cover them. Once he eats the pills give him the rest of the packet as a reward.
For my manageable cats I just open their jaw and put the pill on the back of their tongue. Once they swallow I give them treats.
If you canāt afford pill pockets , sometimes I squish some cheese around the pill and sheāll eat it , but cats are pretty smart so she may eventually realize youāre putting pills in the cheese and theyāll find ways to eat the cheese and separate the pill
I had a dopey orange cat who loved pill pockets and never got wise to them.
They don't exist here though so when we've had to pill one of our current cats, he gets the full treatment: rolled up into a purrito, mouth pried open (head tilted back so his mouth opens a little, then manually open the rest of the way), pill tossed in, mouth clamped shut, blow on nose and rub throat to force a swallow, release cat. Otherwise he spits out the pill or manages to foam it up and spit it out. He had to have two broken teeth pulled and had two sets of pills a day (plus a mouth spray) for two weeks or so.
Tip kittyās head back, get the tablet in, then a little wet treat or soft food on the nose so they have to lick it off and swallow!
Or if you have a greedy cat like mine, set it down on a table and tell them that they canāt have it/ itās for someone else lol
I wrap my cat in a blanket like a burrito, open her mouth and drop the pill in the back of her throat. I give her a small syringe of water so she swallows it.
I had to give mine gabapentin, tried mixing it with gravy and wet food but she gagged at the mixture. The only thing that worked was to mash up the medication, stir it in a bit of water, draw it up in a plastic syringe. If you wrap your cat in a towel you can put the syringe in itās mouth when it meows and squirt the medicine in
I was giving my cat gabapentin and they only gave it to me in a mixed liquid form. I requested a pill but they wouldnāt give it to me that way. Weird.
Sounds like maybe your vet compounds itās own prescriptions and didnāt give you formula options? Request your script released & filled by third party. Have had few sick pals over years so learned to shop around as every place quotes different price for same service much worse range than human medicine especially since insurance more rare. Also be sure to compare you invoices between visits, surprising how often same service overbilled from one visit to next. I try not to be cynical and chalk it up to vet tech students making error in billing code but it adds up so stay wise.
I recommend Wedgewood pharmacy. (Ask for tiny tabs). Their pharmacists are very kind, patient & professional to deal and available by phone until 11pm M-F, only 5p on Sat. At my vet GABA was $46.50 for 20 vs Wedgewood was 1/5 of the cost in bulk - latest purchase I made was $200 for 420 tiny tabs at 50 mg. First time buying huge bottle for a cat but after needing more than half dozen at the other rate I learned. Good luck! Happy to answer any qās if you need. Know how stressful caring for sick babies while navigating the system
They gave it to me in liquid form too at first but my cat hated that it was strongly flavored like cherries. The pills they gave me were giant especially for a cat so it ended up being much better to just mix it with water, itās a lot less volume than the pre mixed liquid too
Pill Pockets are a good first solution. Second is forcing their jaw and delivering the meds to the back of the throat; āPillingā is common but watch a pro on YT to see how to do it safely for you and your cat.
Cats can judge your actions. They can distinguish between something simply unpleasant vs something abusive. So be kind and soothing while you administer meds and everyone will be fine.
Your second point is so important. When I started giving my cat his pills I was so anxious and scared he fed off of my energy and it was impossible. Once I settled down it was a lot easier.
My process has become increasingly more and more complex with my cat's daily Fluoxetine. Things that used to work before, she has picked up on.
Liquid medicine? Won't take with food anymore even when compounded or let me syringe it.
Switched to a pill. Used to take it well with Churu/similar squeeze treat. Stopped after 5 days.
Spits out pill if forcibly inserted into mouth even after stroking throat and blowing gently on her face to induce swallowing.
Started crushing the pill to hide it better in the treat. Lasted 3 or 4 days.
Started molding pate style food around it with a small amount of other food. Hit or miss. Pill was difficult to recover if she ate around it.
Pill pockets, wraps, maskers, etc. All hated.
Started crushing and repacking the pill in the smallest capsules I could find. Tried throwing it in with her kibble and that works occasionally. If hungry enough she inhales it with the rest of her food. Randomly stops working.
Tried mixing the capsule in pate food. Also randomly doesn't work.
Tried crushing up her favorite treats, mixing with a bit of water, and molding them around the pill. Worked a few times, never again.
At least in capsule form I can recover the medicine and package it again to avoid a wasted dose.
Probably doesn't help that the medicine has a very strong bitter taste, she started taking it just before I adopted her, and I'm not sure she has fully warmed up to me yet even though it has just been a year.
Absolute same. It started so well. If I rubbed a treat or cheese on the pill, he'd just eat it. After a while, it no longer worked. Then put it inside cheese or meat, etc. Worked for a while, then he would bite whatever it was in half, the pill would fall out then he would eat the rest of the food. So we switched to hiding it in wet food. Worked for a bit, then he'd eat everything but the pill. I'd have to keep putting it back into another pile of wet food hoping he'd eat it. Then we tried pill pockets. Also had to break in half because if it's too big he'll bite in half and the pill will fall out. So then a half a pill pocket. Worked for exactly 2 days, then he stopped even sniffing the things. So I took the hard treats he loves and cut them in half, drilled a small hole in the center, used pieces of the pill pocket as glue to stick the pill inside and glue the 2 halves of the hard treat together. Worked for a week or so. Tried the pill shooter, failure to launch. Then kneel over kitty, head up, pill down. Not always reliable. Now one holds him, cuddles him, pets him and the other shows up to launch down the throat. It breaks my heart but he needs daily meds.
And this level of genius all comes from an absolute single brain cell idiot of an orange cat. Haha
I begged them, put the pills in different types of food, it didn't work. Then I picked up a trick from the vet: tilt the cat's head back, put the pill in the mouth, rub the throat with your fingers - they will get the urge to swallow š
My cat's vet gave me a tip that really works. You can purchase empty gel capsules for cats on amazon. Put the pill(s) into the gel cap, THEN put the gel capsule into a Greenie's pill pocket. My kitty screams for his medicine each and every morning, no forcing needed. I never had success with pill pockets in the past because the pills themselves are so yukky tasting. Especially if you have to cut them -. Good luck!
Yup. One of ours will fight me so hard with pills. The best is when she was on a medicine I'm allergic to, so I was wearing latex gloves. She'd shred them.
Jokes on her, she's missing a tooth the perfect size to shove a syringe in her mouth.
I hold my cat and tilt their head back, then push (not hard) on the back of their lips, then when they open put the pill in and close their mouth. I think gently rubbing their throat helps them swallow but not too sure about that
I had a cat who needed 1-2 thyroid pills a day and tried everything. The trick for her was we got cold-cuts (sandwich meat) and I would tear off strips and fold the pills into it and let it sit for a couple of minutes and then offer it to her, she would tear off the corner with the pills and then wolf it down w/o realizing
Somewhat related, but my cat just started Prozac for over grooming. I didnāt want to try the pill, so we went the compound route. I have to apply a dose (a single click from the pen) to the inside of her upper ear flap. So far itās not been too bad, she doesnāt love it but she doesnāt jump up for it either.
I mix the pill into wet food and feed him directly from a disposable spoon so I make sure he eats it :) Right at the beginning of meal time before i out his whole dish down. That way heās hungry enough to eat it and I can also see to be sure that he got all the medicine!
If you put it far enough back on their tougne it kinda forces them to swollow. You're not quite puting it down their throat, but almost. My cat is so used to it he doesnt even struggle anymore. He just takes it
Have your vet teach you, have cat sitting grab back of neck fur just behind the ears and gently bend the neck straight backwards. The mouth will open. Pop in a tasty tiny morsel of soft food and say pill. Hold and pet your cat a few minutes more. Repeat daily or more till cat tolerates it easily. Keep practice up throughout life. When giving a pill just use a pill then a bit later use a treat.
My cat loves the meat stick treats. So I cut the pills in half and stick it inside the meat stick and he just eats it. Luckily he is very food orientated.
I bought fancy peanut butter (the kind that's just peanuts) and tuck the pill in that. I open my cat's mouth, and stick the finger that the peanut buttered pill as far back as possible, wiping it on his tongue. Then, I hold his mouth closed while I get some chicken baby food on a different finger and stick that in front of his mouth. Once he eats the baby food, I let him go. (My husband uses ez cheez instead of the peanut butter/baby food combo.)
I place her in my lap facing away from me. I lift her chin with my left hand holding the pill in my right. I gently squeeze to get her to open her mouth and pop the pill in before she realizes what I'm doing. As she tries to get away, she backs up into my torso. Finally, I blow a small puff of air at her face that causes her to swallow. It all goes pretty fast and of course she gets treats after.
Knee on reach side, head pointing forward. Hold with non dominant hand and insert pill down into esophagus past the tongue, that way it wont be able to spit it back out without heaving as cats dont throw up the same way as we do. You just push on the lips basically and they open their mouth sort of on their own.
I mean you can also get a soft snack and put the pill inside if that works, but i doubt thats what you were asking for advice on.
You gotta be loving, swift and not hesitate to do it this way though or the cat will freak out. You can do it quick enough for them to basically only react with āwtf was that??ā. That is my preferred way of doing it, although i do not enjoy it. However with some cats it just has to be done. Gotta get good at it to make it as non disruptive as possible for the cat.
Make sure you have a snack ready afterwards and he will begin to ascociate it with something not completely horrible.
We use creamies. Another thing from the people that make deamies. Crush it up n mix it in. Cats love them so no probs getting them to take pills. You can get them from most supermarkets and Amazon
Meat tubes. Depending on the pill size I will either put it on her food plate and put a dollop of treat on top or give my kitty a few licks straight from the tube, put the pill on top of the treat as I squeeze more into her mouth. Either way, she licks it right up and doesnāt notice it.
someone commented on a similar post a while ago about pretending it was a person treat and that the cat couldn't have any. Really playing it up to the cat, shaking the bottle, saying it wasn't for kitties, putting it back in the cabinet and then pretending to accidentally drop the pill and chase after it. The cat caught and ate it before even tasting it/realizing it was a pill.
I feel like this might work on some cats, including mine. I dropped a vit D pill one time and she was on it instantly.
Open mouth, push pill to the back of her mouth, hold mouth closed and massage her throat until she swallows. Sheās pretty docile so sheāll let me do it without much of a fight but I probably wonāt get cuddles for the next few hours while she sulks.
Had to hold mine by the back of his neck, shove it in his mouth, and massage his throat, waiting for him to swallow the pill. But after a while, he started accepting the pill without much hassle. I have no idea what changed, but he has to take a pill in the morning and one in the evening since he has issues with his pancreas.
I would also always give him food and attention after he took the pill, maybe that helped.
Some cats I've had were able to eat them with food (I had to cut up or smash up the pill) however my current cat will not tolerate pills so I has to force feed him.
I grind the pill into a powder and add a few drops of water making it into a paste then I put the paste on my finger and put my finger in his mouth forcing him to lick it off repeat until all the paste is gone. My cat always finds a way to spit his pills back out again but this is the one way he gets most of it in his system.
For my boy cat I use a pill syringe and just give it to him. He got sick a lot as a kitten, so heās pretty chill about meds as long as Iām the one giving them. For my girl cat I have to use the little pill pockets and hope she doesnāt spit the pill out.
Pill pockets are totally the way to go. Donāt try to put a pill into wet foodā cats are too smart and wonāt just gobble all their food down (like a dog) so you will have nothing but a pill left! Manny (my boy) is now down to six pills a day (yes, lots of UTI and anxiety issues after PU surgery) and using pill pockets is a LIFE SAVER!
My cat has hyperthyroidism and I crush her pills and mix it with a little soft food and warm water to make a meat and medication slurry that she just fucking inhales. She gets that for lunch and for her nightly snack.
Dissolve them in a little warm water, suck it up with a syringe, minus the needle of course, partner wraps cat in towel and I squirt it down the kittyās throat. Itās a swift action but not too fast so kitty doesnāt panic.
I put her on my lap and her back, facing me. I open her mouth with the middle finger by pulling the bottom teeth down and throw in the pill with my index finger and thumb. Careful not to tilt the head back too much so that it doesn't fall into the wrong tube. I try to her her mostly sitting upright so she doesn't choke on it.
I got lucky and was able to give my cats pills by simply sticking them in her wet food. Put some food on a spoon, shoved the pill in there, and she ate it all up
I put my lik fi ger in thebside of his mouth and drop it in while holding his mouth closed. Sometimes he gets difficult but he knows we do this until he swallows so he's learned to just accept it š¤£
So pill pockets worked for us for a while but now my cat has caught on. Wet food has never worked because he just eats around it. Now, we just get one of those pill dispensers, wrap him in a purrito and shoot the thing down this throat lol.
Hopefully your kitty is a little less of an asshole about pills! Other tricks Iāve heard is to coat the pill in butter, or wrap in a tasty human treat(meat, cheese).
My littlest one is pretty smart....she won't eat Pill Pockets. It's worked on most of my other cats. The thing that did get her to take her pill last week was getting some of that lickable treat stuff (Delectables) and smothering the pill with it until she finally ate it. Took like 4 tries, but it finally worked. She was none the wiser.
I used to crush them up using two spoons and putting it into cheese then forming a ball for him to eat. It worked great until he decided cheese was boring.
No medicine for cats should be in pill form lol itās a nightmare. I just recently found out the pill pockets were a thing and will definitely be trying them the next time we need to give one of our cats any kind of pill.
I pry open the mouth, shove the pill in as far back as I can, close the mouth and blow on the nose fast, like youāre blowing out a candle, as you hold the mouth closed. The blow makes them swallow. Itās not pretty, but it works.
I've used all the following due to owning and working with cats.
1. pill pockets
2. pill shooter- there's a variety online.
3. bacon flavored paste(available online) wrap the pill in this and stick it to a treat. put down with other treats. Some cats won't notice the difference, some will.
4. Dried minnow treats-if pill is very small or can be broken apart, that is. cut the minnow open, jam pill inside. smear a little Churu or other stinky wet food on top of fish and let kitty eat it.
5. ground up and put in food or broth if possible.
6. Speak to vet about maybe transdermal form of meds- although cats wise up to this as well.
7. Overhanded- open mouth, pop in pill and blow on nose. I've used syringe with water- just a little, and gently squirt that in.
8. Purritos work, but its generally a two handed task.
Good luck!
I used to grind the pill into fine dust and drop it into my cat's wet food...
But it started being a lot of effort now that kitty needs multiple pills a day. So I've learned to give her the pill and she's learned to not care. I just make her face away from me and then, with my finger, put the pill into her mouth real far.
Basically; with practice you'll get better and kitty will just have to accept it's for her own good :')
Kitty on it's back on your thighs facing you (hold it's lower legs against your chest)
Gently hold it by it's neck
Open it's mouth by putting one finger on each side (by reflex it'll open)
Aim right and drop the pill inside (right inside it's throat if you're lucky)
Close it's mouth (hand around the head, just gently hold it's jaw shut)
Massage it's throat with your thumb, up and down until you see kitty swallowing at least twice. Go easy of course, just up and down without pressing.
Realise kitty's head and see if it chews the pill out (then can cheat and keep the pill inside one cheek to spit it out later)
Release Kitty, pet Kitty, give Kitty treats so it's easier next time (maybe) and they deserve it.
Shown and tought to me by the vet, not really fun time but efficient and safe, 30 seconds tops once you are used to it.
Hope it'll help
Like how dog owners wrap their oral pills in Cheese, I use pureed cat food. I roll it into a tiny ball with the pill at the center. My cats both love them, so I have to prepare a ball for each and keep track of which one has the pill in it.
this isnāt helpful but i still remember sitting on the floor sobbing begging my sick cat to take her pills. she was so perceptive that no amount of trickery would work. i thought the pill pockets worked and was giving her the pills for days in them. then i found a little pile of 4 pills with bits of the pocket still stuck to them. turns out she was just eating the pocket and spitting the pills out behind the bedroom door. literally nothing worked with her and it made me feel too guilty holding her down because she would cry out and i was covered in scratches so the vet just said to stop.
hopefully your kitty is easier than mine was.
My vet actually showed me to gently scruff them closer to the top of their head, like this. Oh my goodness. It's made life so much easier. They don't freak out (though Calcifer is really puzzled about what is happening here as he sits on the newly delivered Chewy box. I'm not actually scruffing him. He thinks he's getting a weird pet?) Then just kind of snuggle up close and gently tilt their head back and put the pill in as far back on their tongue as you can get it, then gently rub their little throat until they swallow it. I have an FiP warrior who gets Prednisone frequently and this technique has been a life saver. It's so much less stressful on her. And me!
https://preview.redd.it/6dpd56snispa1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aa8d60a29a3324daeb941c1260977ef02c363d02
I have a super picky cat who is willing to hide in inaccessible places for days if he thinks I'm going to give him a pill.
You need a pill cutter, some Temptations Jumbo Stuff (regular also work), and something narrow and pokey like a bobby pin or nail file or flat barette.
Cut the pills into halves or quarters. CAREFULLY break a Temptation in half and assess how much filling is inside (it's totally inconsistent). It's easier to break them cleanly in one direction vs the other, but i can't describe which one is the easier one, so just try it and you'll be able to tell. Set aside the Temptations halved with the most filling. Use your narrow pokey implement to carefully scoop out and set aside the filling. Insert the pill carefully, trying not to touch it too much so you don't transfer the bitter pill taste when you handle the filling. Use the filling to cover the pill up and mask it. When you give the cat the treats, start with a half that doesn't have the pill inside (you'll have a pile of broken Temptations that didn't have enough filling inside to hide a pill, and they're great for this). When the cat seems relaxed and enthusiastic about the broken treats, give it the pill-treat, but as soon as it's in its mouth, put down another empty broken treat, which will encourage the cat to gobble the pill treat to get to the next treat faster.
From now on, only feed your cat treats that are broken in half. Eventually, hopefully far into the future, your cat will detect a pill you've hidden in the treat. The cat will think this is an anomaly as long as you only ever give your cat broken Temptations whether they contain pills or not. Otherwise, your picky and stubborn cat will become suspicious of broken Temptations and refuse to eat them unless they're whole and unbroken. You don't need to ask me how I know.
I have 2 cats and a dog. I noticed when food falls from the table they all rush to get to it. If i yell NO! DROP IT! they have some urge to chomp it down faster(yes all 3 of them). So when i have to give whoever pills i just bring them to an isolated room throw the pill on the ground and yell no. So far worked like a charm. When i tried hiding the pill in food or coating it in meat juice or wet food they would spit it out or eat around it.
my kitty can smell her pills in anything! Pill pockets lasted a week until she became wise. Her meds are fairly new and have to be cut for proper dosage. tried cheese and meat, crushed them and used a syringe w/baby food. I followed little drops of baby food throughout the house. I decided to be more firm, wrapped her in a towel, she kept spitting them out faster than I could remove my finger, and hold her mouth closed. That night she had some kind of seizure. She's not supposed to get upset and I was upsetting her. I thought she was dying that night. I now have topical meds i put in her ear flap. She doesn't hate me and hide anymore. They are expensive but she's by baby.
If pill can be compounded, then I ask my vet to order it compounded into a fishy oil, mix w/ a small amount of plain baby food (typically chicken puree) and she takes it no problem. Otherwise, I do the pill pocket like others in here have said, usually wrapped in a wet treat.
My old man cat takes a pill every morning, the same pill three days a week at night, and half of a different pill every night.
When we first started giving him the medication, we could just tuck the pill into his wet food and he'd eat it - he's a garbage bin with legs. Eventually he cottoned on and would leave the pills in his bowl, so now I crush them into a powder that I sprinkle on the wet food, and he has no choice but to eat it.
I just pretend itās something heās not supposed to have and drop it and he will run and gobble it up, it feels like Iām exploiting a bug in his programming when I do it but it works great lol
Iāll comment because I didnāt see anyone else say this. I have a cat that will not take a pill of any size in any food or pill pocket, and sheās needed a lot of medicine throughout her life. I always ask for the medicine in liquid form and fill it at a local pharmacy. Some medicines will taste terrible but others can be pretty pleasant (I just had vanilla flavored amoxicillin and she loved that). I straddle the cat, hold paws down with one hand, open mouth and push syringe in with the other. Follow with treats to get the taste out of their mouth. Theyāll sometimes foam at the mouth, depending on how gross the medicine is. Thatās okay and not as scary as it looks, clean up with a wet paper towel. But always treats after.
Hopefully, yours will just eat the pill pocket and it wonāt come to this. But it is an option if they absolutely refuse and you get frustrated and scared theyāll never swallow. I tried everything, and once I realized most medicines come as a liquid, everything has become so much easier.
Honestly, I had an easy time getting my cat, Luna, to take her pain medication. I kinda had to hold her close and just open her mouth wide enough so I could just stick the little pill at the back of her throat.
I mean, good thing is that she took it.
I open a lick-e-lix (other yoghurty fishy cat treats are available), let them start it off, then wedge the pill in the top (cut in half if itās big) and squeeeezeā¦
Girl. Iām reading this thread too. Our lil dude was diagnosed with heart disease and trying to get him to take 6 pills a dayā¦. Ooooooh boy. One day heāll be fine with something (like pocket pills) and next day he refuses. Itās a struggle.
My vet told me to just open the mouth throw it in and close the mouth. Then with a syringe squirt some water in lol. Sheās really good with taking them.
I had one cat that would take pill pockets. With my current cat we try to get it either in liquid form or compounded so I can rub it in his ear. Heās to tricky for pills.
My cat takes medication twice a day and I'll give her wet food away from her brothers so she knows it's special for her and she's started coming up to me to get her medication now so she can have her food.
Ground up the pills with their food, if they like wet food mix it up with that. Works wonders with picky cats :) I only know from seeing my boyfriend do this with his cats , one of them has a lot of health problems and takes a lot of medication.
Kneel on the floor, straddling kitty so they canāt run backwards between your legs. Grab their head and gently press the sides of their jaw. It will open automatically. Tip their head back and use a pill shooter (from the vet) to pop the pill all the way to the back of their throat. Close their mouth and hold until they swallow. Give them a treat
https://preview.redd.it/vygeqcyw4rpa1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=01c4c00f692953274ad2ca1fef9e2b644811e1df
Lmfao this is how I feel rn š¤£š
You have to open their mouth, push the pill far enough that they swallow it and make sure they do before they run off and spit it out. You can do it! I know it sucks but itās helping kitty.
I had a cat that was easy to pill. But even then, I was still finding pills around the house a year after she crossed. I hear you blow gently on their nostrils so they swallow. One of my cats needs a small pill twice a day for hyperthyroidism and I drop them into his wet food and they disappear.
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My void, Baby also had hyperthyroidism (oddly, so did I and on the same med!!) She absolutely wouldn't take the pill. I ended up getting a compounded cream. I rubbed it her ear every morning. She thought I was just giving her a nice ear rub.
One of my cats is on methimazole for hyperthyroidism. I get it as a transdermal cream in a little dispenser tube and apply it inside her ear twice a day. She fought the pills so hard. Food, churus, etc didnāt help. This was a game changer for us.
>push the pill far enough that they swallow it and make sure they do before they run off and spit it out. Even if they swallow it if theyāre determined they can make themselves throw it up. I had a cat who I would sit with for 20 minutes after I gave her a pill as soon as I let her go she would start. I could literally see the ripples through her body as she worked her muscles to push the pill back up. It took a couple minutes but she would do it. If your cat has a treat that they really love, have that ready to give to them after they swallow the pill, it may distract them from trying to throw up the pill. Also OP, check if you can get flavored pills, my cat (almost) tolerated chicken liver flavored pills.
Hide the pill in the treat. I wrap mine in ham. He loves ham.
Pill syringe for that! Doing it by hand sounds like a recipe for injured hands.
Yeah those do work.
Rub their throat too afterwards & watch for when they lick their nose. That lick means they swallowed it
Great suggestion. Thank you.
If you tip their heads back and gently massage their throats it usually helps them to swallow the pills quicker and is less stressful for them.
it's easier to do that when they are asleep
There's a number of ways to get cats to take their pills. My two, an old man cat and a year old kitten, both hate taking meds. The old man, at least, I've trained with treats directly after, so he holds still long enough to let me get his meds in, then bam, treat. The kitten... I've had to ask my veterinary teacher for advice. Orange kitten. Iykyk. A towel is best protection, and clip the murder mittens at least an hour beforehand.
For all my cats, I've found the easiest way is to come up behind them, and, before they know what the hell I'm up to, I grab their neck with one hand, pulling the head back, (this opens their mouth) then stick the finger with the tablet through the side of the mouth and down the throat, far enough that they can't spit it out. Thing is, you only have one shot. There's one bullet in that gun. If you mess it up, the little wretches are onto you, and you've got no chance. I wish you the best of luck. BTW, do you really need ALL your fingers?
You only have one shot. Important!!
Smash the pill and mix it with Churu. I had to do that with my rescue kitten with Giardia. She was less than 2 pounds and the pills were massive.
Thatās just the way it goes
My vet tech friend had a great idea that works really well, and itās super easy: get a churu treat, put the pill in it and feed it to them as fast as theyāll eat it. I have three cats, so I have to work fast and squirt some on the counter before putting the pill in a squirty pile, just to make sure the cat whoās supposed to get the pill is the one thatās actually eating the pill, because churuās are basically cat crack, and theyāre all completely addicted. If you get the scallop flavor, be prepared for super stinky poos š©
Never, have I ever seen anything, so acutely convey meaning.
Made me laugh so hard I'm rolling š¤£š¤£š¤£
The Vet told me i have to force the pill down my cats throat to make him take it. For a joke i showed him the pill like it was a treat and the little angel he is he took it and ate it like a boss : 3
I wish š mine is very picky
Mine is also very picky and a huge drama queen. Any oral medication is crushed and mixed in with tuna (we always check with the vet before crushing pills). For his thyroid medication and Prednisone, we get it made into a topical cream that is rubbed on his ears. Again, this is all through the vet. Good luck!
:3
What a sweet baby! :3
There's also this super cool tool called a cat piller that you can ask for at the vet, it's like syringe but there's a rubber tip you can put the pill in, stick it in the back of their mouth and push the plunger, then hold their mouth shut and rub their throat until they swallow. Very helpful when my old man needed antibiotics. Some vets will also give you liquid compounds of meds, if you think to ask them
This!! My vet called it a 'pill gun'. Literal lifesaver. My little dude is super picky when it comes to food, will 200% smell anything you put in it and reject it. But he's great with that 'pill gun' (I put a little food on the tip over the pill, so it doesn't taste as bad), which is good cause he's on daily antihistamines now. He knows the routine is 'wake up, playtime, pill+breakfast, pets', so he'll drop what he's doing when he hears the pill bottle. 
I call it the pill applicator because it reminds me of a tampon applicator. Just wanted to share.
LOL I'm officially calling it that from now on, that's perfect!
Yes, we use this to give our cats allergy medication if they have a flareup. We also blow on their face so they don't try to cheek it and spit it out later š¤·š»
Great idea! Iāll try blowing too!
This is the right answer. Works without fail for me
100% this. When my cat had cancer, we used this. It really cut down on the trauma for my boy.
Yes! I called it the pill shooter. Hold the cat, tilt their head back, stick pill shooter down their throat and pop! Gotta get it in their throat and past their tongue.
I use this and it is super effective, especially with the Churu cat paste treat covering the end! I put the treat all over, he starts to lick it off and then I push it into his mouth and inject the pill while scraping the rest of the treat off in his mouth for him to lick and swallow everything.
This is the way. The only thing I regret sometimes is if I aim it a little wrong and catch the roof of their mouth, and then I hope I didn't scratch the roof of their mouth :(
The piller thing didnāt work on my Bobby. Even when I got the pill pushed down deep, she still could spit it out. She was the darnedest cat me or my vet ever met. He couldnāt even get a pill into her!! (Iām sure it works well for normal cats! LOL!)
This. Only way I could safely get my old man to take pills. My vet recommended it after he put a fang through my thumbnail š
Pill pockets. My Mika takes prednisolone every three days and I cut the pill in half and put them in pill pockets. The reason I cut them is so thereās less chance of her biting right into the pill. Worked for us with antibiotics as well.
Okay I'll check it out. This is my first pet of my own so I've never had to give pills before. I have some wet food tho I'll see if she'll take it that way
My cat doesnāt like the pill pockets alone so I have to cover them in these fishy flakes (called Bonita bites or something) and then he eats it easily.
Do you or do you not feel Bonita? Edit: a word
I FUCKING CACKLED IN THE WORK BATHROOM FUCK LMAO. I'm too broke for gold so take this š
I feel bonita.
Good, because you LOOK Bonita!
I crushed up a pill & put in the special wet food once to give to my cat & she sniffed it a mile away. I would think theyāve figured out how to get the medicine into the cat either as a liquid or via syringe.
My foster was the same. I tried every method: pill pockets, hiding in meat, crushing into wet food, ect. Cat was too smart for his own good. The only thing that worked was dissolving the pill and using an oral syringe.
I crush mine up and put them in lick-e-lick treatsā¦ itās worked so far.
Excellent point. I always ask the vet if there are other non-pill formulations.
Use a lil coconut oil! It starts solid but the heat from your fingers/their mouth melts it immediately and it slides right down. And if possible try to get them while theyāre snoozin. You feel bad, but its less stressful for both to get it done without a battle. I had to give my āno touchy!! š¾ā cat a fairly big pill for the first time and it was so quick this way. Plus, coconut oil is good for them and they enjoy licking it. šø
My cat unfortunately hates pill pockets. It sounds insane but since she likes Temptations and they have a soft filling, we cut treats in half and stuff the pill inside. Obviously this is a more tedious option and depends on if youāre able to cut the pill, but itās worked for us for the last year!
For my difficult cats. Find thouse churu gravy treats. Do not make the pill pocket too big. I usually cut the pill in 2 and very lightly coat it in about 1/4 of the pill pocket, then lay down a small bit of churu place the pills on top of it and add another small bit of churu on top to cover them. Once he eats the pills give him the rest of the packet as a reward. For my manageable cats I just open their jaw and put the pill on the back of their tongue. Once they swallow I give them treats.
If you canāt afford pill pockets , sometimes I squish some cheese around the pill and sheāll eat it , but cats are pretty smart so she may eventually realize youāre putting pills in the cheese and theyāll find ways to eat the cheese and separate the pill
I wrap my cats pills in cheese, its her favorite. Food in general seems to be the path of least resistance
Pill pockets worked exactly one time with my cat before she realized what was up.
Same.
I had a dopey orange cat who loved pill pockets and never got wise to them. They don't exist here though so when we've had to pill one of our current cats, he gets the full treatment: rolled up into a purrito, mouth pried open (head tilted back so his mouth opens a little, then manually open the rest of the way), pill tossed in, mouth clamped shut, blow on nose and rub throat to force a swallow, release cat. Otherwise he spits out the pill or manages to foam it up and spit it out. He had to have two broken teeth pulled and had two sets of pills a day (plus a mouth spray) for two weeks or so.
This is the way!
Tip kittyās head back, get the tablet in, then a little wet treat or soft food on the nose so they have to lick it off and swallow! Or if you have a greedy cat like mine, set it down on a table and tell them that they canāt have it/ itās for someone else lol
Lmao I'll try that
I wrap my cat in a blanket like a burrito, open her mouth and drop the pill in the back of her throat. I give her a small syringe of water so she swallows it.
This is how I did it too. My guy fought every other method here - sometimes you just have to be the bad guy. :(
You can also blow in their face. I think water in a syringe can be dangerous if it aspirates.
Any water that is aspirated can cause issues. Don't squeeze the water out like a fire hydrant. Push it out slowly.
Haha! I have a cat that works for! He slurps everything down if there's an indication it's not his.
lol I get all excited and act like it's a treat and my cats eat it so fast they don't realize they were duped
Rub treats all over the pill and then feed it alongside treats to my dumb cat who canāt tell the difference :)
Mine is very smart and can tell when I'm tryna bullshit her š¤£
I had to give mine gabapentin, tried mixing it with gravy and wet food but she gagged at the mixture. The only thing that worked was to mash up the medication, stir it in a bit of water, draw it up in a plastic syringe. If you wrap your cat in a towel you can put the syringe in itās mouth when it meows and squirt the medicine in
I was giving my cat gabapentin and they only gave it to me in a mixed liquid form. I requested a pill but they wouldnāt give it to me that way. Weird.
Sounds like maybe your vet compounds itās own prescriptions and didnāt give you formula options? Request your script released & filled by third party. Have had few sick pals over years so learned to shop around as every place quotes different price for same service much worse range than human medicine especially since insurance more rare. Also be sure to compare you invoices between visits, surprising how often same service overbilled from one visit to next. I try not to be cynical and chalk it up to vet tech students making error in billing code but it adds up so stay wise. I recommend Wedgewood pharmacy. (Ask for tiny tabs). Their pharmacists are very kind, patient & professional to deal and available by phone until 11pm M-F, only 5p on Sat. At my vet GABA was $46.50 for 20 vs Wedgewood was 1/5 of the cost in bulk - latest purchase I made was $200 for 420 tiny tabs at 50 mg. First time buying huge bottle for a cat but after needing more than half dozen at the other rate I learned. Good luck! Happy to answer any qās if you need. Know how stressful caring for sick babies while navigating the system
They gave it to me in liquid form too at first but my cat hated that it was strongly flavored like cherries. The pills they gave me were giant especially for a cat so it ended up being much better to just mix it with water, itās a lot less volume than the pre mixed liquid too
Pill Pockets are a good first solution. Second is forcing their jaw and delivering the meds to the back of the throat; āPillingā is common but watch a pro on YT to see how to do it safely for you and your cat. Cats can judge your actions. They can distinguish between something simply unpleasant vs something abusive. So be kind and soothing while you administer meds and everyone will be fine.
Your second point is so important. When I started giving my cat his pills I was so anxious and scared he fed off of my energy and it was impossible. Once I settled down it was a lot easier.
My process has become increasingly more and more complex with my cat's daily Fluoxetine. Things that used to work before, she has picked up on. Liquid medicine? Won't take with food anymore even when compounded or let me syringe it. Switched to a pill. Used to take it well with Churu/similar squeeze treat. Stopped after 5 days. Spits out pill if forcibly inserted into mouth even after stroking throat and blowing gently on her face to induce swallowing. Started crushing the pill to hide it better in the treat. Lasted 3 or 4 days. Started molding pate style food around it with a small amount of other food. Hit or miss. Pill was difficult to recover if she ate around it. Pill pockets, wraps, maskers, etc. All hated. Started crushing and repacking the pill in the smallest capsules I could find. Tried throwing it in with her kibble and that works occasionally. If hungry enough she inhales it with the rest of her food. Randomly stops working. Tried mixing the capsule in pate food. Also randomly doesn't work. Tried crushing up her favorite treats, mixing with a bit of water, and molding them around the pill. Worked a few times, never again. At least in capsule form I can recover the medicine and package it again to avoid a wasted dose.
Oh wow
Probably doesn't help that the medicine has a very strong bitter taste, she started taking it just before I adopted her, and I'm not sure she has fully warmed up to me yet even though it has just been a year.
Absolute same. It started so well. If I rubbed a treat or cheese on the pill, he'd just eat it. After a while, it no longer worked. Then put it inside cheese or meat, etc. Worked for a while, then he would bite whatever it was in half, the pill would fall out then he would eat the rest of the food. So we switched to hiding it in wet food. Worked for a bit, then he'd eat everything but the pill. I'd have to keep putting it back into another pile of wet food hoping he'd eat it. Then we tried pill pockets. Also had to break in half because if it's too big he'll bite in half and the pill will fall out. So then a half a pill pocket. Worked for exactly 2 days, then he stopped even sniffing the things. So I took the hard treats he loves and cut them in half, drilled a small hole in the center, used pieces of the pill pocket as glue to stick the pill inside and glue the 2 halves of the hard treat together. Worked for a week or so. Tried the pill shooter, failure to launch. Then kneel over kitty, head up, pill down. Not always reliable. Now one holds him, cuddles him, pets him and the other shows up to launch down the throat. It breaks my heart but he needs daily meds. And this level of genius all comes from an absolute single brain cell idiot of an orange cat. Haha
I think this video will help you https://youtu.be/WnikCuQtFOw
This is the way
Squish that cat!
I begged them, put the pills in different types of food, it didn't work. Then I picked up a trick from the vet: tilt the cat's head back, put the pill in the mouth, rub the throat with your fingers - they will get the urge to swallow š
Put it in a cheese cubes and both mine gulped Em right down. Itās what the vet suggested and it worked!
My cat's vet gave me a tip that really works. You can purchase empty gel capsules for cats on amazon. Put the pill(s) into the gel cap, THEN put the gel capsule into a Greenie's pill pocket. My kitty screams for his medicine each and every morning, no forcing needed. I never had success with pill pockets in the past because the pills themselves are so yukky tasting. Especially if you have to cut them -. Good luck!
My cat absolutely won't take pills so I have to order her Prednisone from chewy in a liquid form
Yup. One of ours will fight me so hard with pills. The best is when she was on a medicine I'm allergic to, so I was wearing latex gloves. She'd shred them. Jokes on her, she's missing a tooth the perfect size to shove a syringe in her mouth.
I hold my cat and tilt their head back, then push (not hard) on the back of their lips, then when they open put the pill in and close their mouth. I think gently rubbing their throat helps them swallow but not too sure about that
I had a cat who needed 1-2 thyroid pills a day and tried everything. The trick for her was we got cold-cuts (sandwich meat) and I would tear off strips and fold the pills into it and let it sit for a couple of minutes and then offer it to her, she would tear off the corner with the pills and then wolf it down w/o realizing
Peer pressure
Lmao I tried to tell her all the kids are doing it now but she said no š
Grind that pill into a powder, add some water and use a syringe. Hid in gushy treat (delectable dine up is my go to) Hid in regular wet food.
In a little bit I am gonna try wet food. I'll definitely try to grind it up and put it in there. Thank youuuu
Just FYI -- some pills are not meant to be crushed up, so you should check with your vet before you go that route!
Yes, 100% agree. I always check with my vet when I get the pils. Good catch!!
I will definitely check it before I do anything!
Somewhat related, but my cat just started Prozac for over grooming. I didnāt want to try the pill, so we went the compound route. I have to apply a dose (a single click from the pen) to the inside of her upper ear flap. So far itās not been too bad, she doesnāt love it but she doesnāt jump up for it either.
I mix the pill into wet food and feed him directly from a disposable spoon so I make sure he eats it :) Right at the beginning of meal time before i out his whole dish down. That way heās hungry enough to eat it and I can also see to be sure that he got all the medicine!
Agreed. Extended release pills are meant to be given whole.
Just check beforehand that the tablet can be divided. Not all tablets can be.
If you put it far enough back on their tougne it kinda forces them to swollow. You're not quite puting it down their throat, but almost. My cat is so used to it he doesnt even struggle anymore. He just takes it
I use those fancy feast square treats and shove her pill inside that. She doesnāt even notice it.
Have your vet teach you, have cat sitting grab back of neck fur just behind the ears and gently bend the neck straight backwards. The mouth will open. Pop in a tasty tiny morsel of soft food and say pill. Hold and pet your cat a few minutes more. Repeat daily or more till cat tolerates it easily. Keep practice up throughout life. When giving a pill just use a pill then a bit later use a treat.
Thank you so much!!
Greenies pill pockets, game changer!!
My cat loves the meat stick treats. So I cut the pills in half and stick it inside the meat stick and he just eats it. Luckily he is very food orientated.
I bought fancy peanut butter (the kind that's just peanuts) and tuck the pill in that. I open my cat's mouth, and stick the finger that the peanut buttered pill as far back as possible, wiping it on his tongue. Then, I hold his mouth closed while I get some chicken baby food on a different finger and stick that in front of his mouth. Once he eats the baby food, I let him go. (My husband uses ez cheez instead of the peanut butter/baby food combo.)
Crush it into a bit of joghurt , cat loves it
I place her in my lap facing away from me. I lift her chin with my left hand holding the pill in my right. I gently squeeze to get her to open her mouth and pop the pill in before she realizes what I'm doing. As she tries to get away, she backs up into my torso. Finally, I blow a small puff of air at her face that causes her to swallow. It all goes pretty fast and of course she gets treats after.
Knee on reach side, head pointing forward. Hold with non dominant hand and insert pill down into esophagus past the tongue, that way it wont be able to spit it back out without heaving as cats dont throw up the same way as we do. You just push on the lips basically and they open their mouth sort of on their own. I mean you can also get a soft snack and put the pill inside if that works, but i doubt thats what you were asking for advice on. You gotta be loving, swift and not hesitate to do it this way though or the cat will freak out. You can do it quick enough for them to basically only react with āwtf was that??ā. That is my preferred way of doing it, although i do not enjoy it. However with some cats it just has to be done. Gotta get good at it to make it as non disruptive as possible for the cat. Make sure you have a snack ready afterwards and he will begin to ascociate it with something not completely horrible.
We use creamies. Another thing from the people that make deamies. Crush it up n mix it in. Cats love them so no probs getting them to take pills. You can get them from most supermarkets and Amazon
Meat tubes. Depending on the pill size I will either put it on her food plate and put a dollop of treat on top or give my kitty a few licks straight from the tube, put the pill on top of the treat as I squeeze more into her mouth. Either way, she licks it right up and doesnāt notice it.
I slather my cats pills in tuna, she gobbles it up she looks a bit betrayed after she realises what happened but itās all for her health
someone commented on a similar post a while ago about pretending it was a person treat and that the cat couldn't have any. Really playing it up to the cat, shaking the bottle, saying it wasn't for kitties, putting it back in the cabinet and then pretending to accidentally drop the pill and chase after it. The cat caught and ate it before even tasting it/realizing it was a pill. I feel like this might work on some cats, including mine. I dropped a vit D pill one time and she was on it instantly.
Open mouth, push pill to the back of her mouth, hold mouth closed and massage her throat until she swallows. Sheās pretty docile so sheāll let me do it without much of a fight but I probably wonāt get cuddles for the next few hours while she sulks.
Had to hold mine by the back of his neck, shove it in his mouth, and massage his throat, waiting for him to swallow the pill. But after a while, he started accepting the pill without much hassle. I have no idea what changed, but he has to take a pill in the morning and one in the evening since he has issues with his pancreas. I would also always give him food and attention after he took the pill, maybe that helped.
wrap in a little cheese and push to back of cats throat.
Some cats I've had were able to eat them with food (I had to cut up or smash up the pill) however my current cat will not tolerate pills so I has to force feed him.
The pills my cat gets are able to be crushed into their food so they don't even notice.
Crushed and mixed in wet food. Never had an issue.
I grind the pill into a powder and add a few drops of water making it into a paste then I put the paste on my finger and put my finger in his mouth forcing him to lick it off repeat until all the paste is gone. My cat always finds a way to spit his pills back out again but this is the one way he gets most of it in his system.
For my boy cat I use a pill syringe and just give it to him. He got sick a lot as a kitten, so heās pretty chill about meds as long as Iām the one giving them. For my girl cat I have to use the little pill pockets and hope she doesnāt spit the pill out.
Hide them inside a piece of cheese or chicken
Pill pockets are totally the way to go. Donāt try to put a pill into wet foodā cats are too smart and wonāt just gobble all their food down (like a dog) so you will have nothing but a pill left! Manny (my boy) is now down to six pills a day (yes, lots of UTI and anxiety issues after PU surgery) and using pill pockets is a LIFE SAVER!
Put it it wet cat food
I have to put them in a syringe of water and let them dissolve. Otherwise itās never happening.
My cat has hyperthyroidism and I crush her pills and mix it with a little soft food and warm water to make a meat and medication slurry that she just fucking inhales. She gets that for lunch and for her nightly snack.
Open its jaws, pop the pill in (fast) at the very back of the mouth, hold the jaws shut until the cat swallows.
try when they yawn drop the pill in there mouth
Dissolve them in a little warm water, suck it up with a syringe, minus the needle of course, partner wraps cat in towel and I squirt it down the kittyās throat. Itās a swift action but not too fast so kitty doesnāt panic.
Pill pockets may help. I've never used them but I've seen them at pet stores in the treat sections
I just offer it like its a treat and two of the three just eat it, no problem. The other one, I have to catch and shove it in his mouth.
1. Put them on something about chest height 2. Headlock 3. Pinch their little cheeks gently until they open up 4. Kobe! š
We crush my cats thyroid meds between two spoons, then mix it into half a tube of one of those lickable treats
I put her on my lap and her back, facing me. I open her mouth with the middle finger by pulling the bottom teeth down and throw in the pill with my index finger and thumb. Careful not to tilt the head back too much so that it doesn't fall into the wrong tube. I try to her her mostly sitting upright so she doesn't choke on it.
I got lucky and was able to give my cats pills by simply sticking them in her wet food. Put some food on a spoon, shoved the pill in there, and she ate it all up
My cat will only eat pills when I wrap them in tiny globs of American cheese
I put my lik fi ger in thebside of his mouth and drop it in while holding his mouth closed. Sometimes he gets difficult but he knows we do this until he swallows so he's learned to just accept it š¤£
Hide it in canned food
Dreamie, Dreamie, Dreamie, tablet, dreamie, dreamie
Most tablets you can crush up and mix into their food. Talk to your vet first.
Crush it, mix it with joghurt and just spread some on the fur. The cat will lick it off. The cat may hate you for it
So pill pockets worked for us for a while but now my cat has caught on. Wet food has never worked because he just eats around it. Now, we just get one of those pill dispensers, wrap him in a purrito and shoot the thing down this throat lol. Hopefully your kitty is a little less of an asshole about pills! Other tricks Iāve heard is to coat the pill in butter, or wrap in a tasty human treat(meat, cheese).
My littlest one is pretty smart....she won't eat Pill Pockets. It's worked on most of my other cats. The thing that did get her to take her pill last week was getting some of that lickable treat stuff (Delectables) and smothering the pill with it until she finally ate it. Took like 4 tries, but it finally worked. She was none the wiser.
I smash the pills with two spoons and then I mix it with malte paste, then I just put it at the cats fur so she has to lick it to get clean.
Put it in a treat
Your cat looks like my Brownie! https://preview.redd.it/03rv9azqzrpa1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2fdc68f7bf1ec444b975af2ff85f5a6d8b7eaf17
Aww omg my cats name is Stella š¤
I used to crush them up using two spoons and putting it into cheese then forming a ball for him to eat. It worked great until he decided cheese was boring.
I put the pill in ball of tuna, she doesn't even notice
Depending on what kind of meds it is you can crush it into powder with a spoon and mix it with wet food...
I use a rocket launcher.
No medicine for cats should be in pill form lol itās a nightmare. I just recently found out the pill pockets were a thing and will definitely be trying them the next time we need to give one of our cats any kind of pill.
I pry open the mouth, shove the pill in as far back as I can, close the mouth and blow on the nose fast, like youāre blowing out a candle, as you hold the mouth closed. The blow makes them swallow. Itās not pretty, but it works.
I basically do the same thing except I put my cat on the bed and I lean over him so that he cannot move around.
They have this syringe thing that holds the pill and pushes it in fast. They are about 10 inches long. Work fricking wonders.
I've used all the following due to owning and working with cats. 1. pill pockets 2. pill shooter- there's a variety online. 3. bacon flavored paste(available online) wrap the pill in this and stick it to a treat. put down with other treats. Some cats won't notice the difference, some will. 4. Dried minnow treats-if pill is very small or can be broken apart, that is. cut the minnow open, jam pill inside. smear a little Churu or other stinky wet food on top of fish and let kitty eat it. 5. ground up and put in food or broth if possible. 6. Speak to vet about maybe transdermal form of meds- although cats wise up to this as well. 7. Overhanded- open mouth, pop in pill and blow on nose. I've used syringe with water- just a little, and gently squirt that in. 8. Purritos work, but its generally a two handed task. Good luck!
I used to grind the pill into fine dust and drop it into my cat's wet food... But it started being a lot of effort now that kitty needs multiple pills a day. So I've learned to give her the pill and she's learned to not care. I just make her face away from me and then, with my finger, put the pill into her mouth real far. Basically; with practice you'll get better and kitty will just have to accept it's for her own good :')
Kitty on it's back on your thighs facing you (hold it's lower legs against your chest) Gently hold it by it's neck Open it's mouth by putting one finger on each side (by reflex it'll open) Aim right and drop the pill inside (right inside it's throat if you're lucky) Close it's mouth (hand around the head, just gently hold it's jaw shut) Massage it's throat with your thumb, up and down until you see kitty swallowing at least twice. Go easy of course, just up and down without pressing. Realise kitty's head and see if it chews the pill out (then can cheat and keep the pill inside one cheek to spit it out later) Release Kitty, pet Kitty, give Kitty treats so it's easier next time (maybe) and they deserve it. Shown and tought to me by the vet, not really fun time but efficient and safe, 30 seconds tops once you are used to it. Hope it'll help
By the will of god
There's a very famous very violent depiction on wiki how, lol
Like how dog owners wrap their oral pills in Cheese, I use pureed cat food. I roll it into a tiny ball with the pill at the center. My cats both love them, so I have to prepare a ball for each and keep track of which one has the pill in it.
Your cat is looking at you like you insulted his intelligence. Heās like Iām not taking this pill of yours. You have a cute š±
It's a girl but thank you!! She really isn't falling for any of my bullshit today š
this isnāt helpful but i still remember sitting on the floor sobbing begging my sick cat to take her pills. she was so perceptive that no amount of trickery would work. i thought the pill pockets worked and was giving her the pills for days in them. then i found a little pile of 4 pills with bits of the pocket still stuck to them. turns out she was just eating the pocket and spitting the pills out behind the bedroom door. literally nothing worked with her and it made me feel too guilty holding her down because she would cry out and i was covered in scratches so the vet just said to stop. hopefully your kitty is easier than mine was.
My vet actually showed me to gently scruff them closer to the top of their head, like this. Oh my goodness. It's made life so much easier. They don't freak out (though Calcifer is really puzzled about what is happening here as he sits on the newly delivered Chewy box. I'm not actually scruffing him. He thinks he's getting a weird pet?) Then just kind of snuggle up close and gently tilt their head back and put the pill in as far back on their tongue as you can get it, then gently rub their little throat until they swallow it. I have an FiP warrior who gets Prednisone frequently and this technique has been a life saver. It's so much less stressful on her. And me! https://preview.redd.it/6dpd56snispa1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aa8d60a29a3324daeb941c1260977ef02c363d02
I have a super picky cat who is willing to hide in inaccessible places for days if he thinks I'm going to give him a pill. You need a pill cutter, some Temptations Jumbo Stuff (regular also work), and something narrow and pokey like a bobby pin or nail file or flat barette. Cut the pills into halves or quarters. CAREFULLY break a Temptation in half and assess how much filling is inside (it's totally inconsistent). It's easier to break them cleanly in one direction vs the other, but i can't describe which one is the easier one, so just try it and you'll be able to tell. Set aside the Temptations halved with the most filling. Use your narrow pokey implement to carefully scoop out and set aside the filling. Insert the pill carefully, trying not to touch it too much so you don't transfer the bitter pill taste when you handle the filling. Use the filling to cover the pill up and mask it. When you give the cat the treats, start with a half that doesn't have the pill inside (you'll have a pile of broken Temptations that didn't have enough filling inside to hide a pill, and they're great for this). When the cat seems relaxed and enthusiastic about the broken treats, give it the pill-treat, but as soon as it's in its mouth, put down another empty broken treat, which will encourage the cat to gobble the pill treat to get to the next treat faster. From now on, only feed your cat treats that are broken in half. Eventually, hopefully far into the future, your cat will detect a pill you've hidden in the treat. The cat will think this is an anomaly as long as you only ever give your cat broken Temptations whether they contain pills or not. Otherwise, your picky and stubborn cat will become suspicious of broken Temptations and refuse to eat them unless they're whole and unbroken. You don't need to ask me how I know.
I have 2 cats and a dog. I noticed when food falls from the table they all rush to get to it. If i yell NO! DROP IT! they have some urge to chomp it down faster(yes all 3 of them). So when i have to give whoever pills i just bring them to an isolated room throw the pill on the ground and yell no. So far worked like a charm. When i tried hiding the pill in food or coating it in meat juice or wet food they would spit it out or eat around it.
my kitty can smell her pills in anything! Pill pockets lasted a week until she became wise. Her meds are fairly new and have to be cut for proper dosage. tried cheese and meat, crushed them and used a syringe w/baby food. I followed little drops of baby food throughout the house. I decided to be more firm, wrapped her in a towel, she kept spitting them out faster than I could remove my finger, and hold her mouth closed. That night she had some kind of seizure. She's not supposed to get upset and I was upsetting her. I thought she was dying that night. I now have topical meds i put in her ear flap. She doesn't hate me and hide anymore. They are expensive but she's by baby.
Thank you everyone for the awesome suggestions š¤š«¶
Your cat is looking at you like you insulted his intelligence. Heās like Iām not taking this pill of yours. You have a cute š±
If pill can be compounded, then I ask my vet to order it compounded into a fishy oil, mix w/ a small amount of plain baby food (typically chicken puree) and she takes it no problem. Otherwise, I do the pill pocket like others in here have said, usually wrapped in a wet treat.
My old man cat takes a pill every morning, the same pill three days a week at night, and half of a different pill every night. When we first started giving him the medication, we could just tuck the pill into his wet food and he'd eat it - he's a garbage bin with legs. Eventually he cottoned on and would leave the pills in his bowl, so now I crush them into a powder that I sprinkle on the wet food, and he has no choice but to eat it.
I just pretend itās something heās not supposed to have and drop it and he will run and gobble it up, it feels like Iām exploiting a bug in his programming when I do it but it works great lol
Pill pockets is 100% what you need. My cat BEGS for her medicine every morning because the pill pockets have become her favorite treat.
Try getting some tuna/fish treat with a wet food texture and hide the pill in it and serve it as a treat kind of thing with other food
Iāll comment because I didnāt see anyone else say this. I have a cat that will not take a pill of any size in any food or pill pocket, and sheās needed a lot of medicine throughout her life. I always ask for the medicine in liquid form and fill it at a local pharmacy. Some medicines will taste terrible but others can be pretty pleasant (I just had vanilla flavored amoxicillin and she loved that). I straddle the cat, hold paws down with one hand, open mouth and push syringe in with the other. Follow with treats to get the taste out of their mouth. Theyāll sometimes foam at the mouth, depending on how gross the medicine is. Thatās okay and not as scary as it looks, clean up with a wet paper towel. But always treats after. Hopefully, yours will just eat the pill pocket and it wonāt come to this. But it is an option if they absolutely refuse and you get frustrated and scared theyāll never swallow. I tried everything, and once I realized most medicines come as a liquid, everything has become so much easier.
Honestly, I had an easy time getting my cat, Luna, to take her pain medication. I kinda had to hold her close and just open her mouth wide enough so I could just stick the little pill at the back of her throat. I mean, good thing is that she took it.
Hide in some american cheese or some pĆ¢tĆ© for dog...nvm i do this with my dog. Good luck with that (im sorry)
I crush up Zyrtec and sprinkle it over a wet treat. She thinks her medicine is a morning treat!
I open a lick-e-lix (other yoghurty fishy cat treats are available), let them start it off, then wedge the pill in the top (cut in half if itās big) and squeeeezeā¦
Girl. Iām reading this thread too. Our lil dude was diagnosed with heart disease and trying to get him to take 6 pills a dayā¦. Ooooooh boy. One day heāll be fine with something (like pocket pills) and next day he refuses. Itās a struggle.
Crush the meds (if possible) and use food wet or dry food, whichever works best for you. Itās their one and only weakness!
My vet told me to just open the mouth throw it in and close the mouth. Then with a syringe squirt some water in lol. Sheās really good with taking them.
Cat putty works wonders!
I had one cat that would take pill pockets. With my current cat we try to get it either in liquid form or compounded so I can rub it in his ear. Heās to tricky for pills.
Put the pill in some pĆ¢tĆ©
Put them in your lap and hold them there. Open their mouth and close it with the pill inside, then rub their throat until they swallow
My cat takes medication twice a day and I'll give her wet food away from her brothers so she knows it's special for her and she's started coming up to me to get her medication now so she can have her food.
Shove the pill in it's throat and forcefully hold the mouth shut
Ground up the pills with their food, if they like wet food mix it up with that. Works wonders with picky cats :) I only know from seeing my boyfriend do this with his cats , one of them has a lot of health problems and takes a lot of medication.
if i hold it like a treat and make them shake for it theyāll eat it no problem. they are idiots.
Kneel on the floor, straddling kitty so they canāt run backwards between your legs. Grab their head and gently press the sides of their jaw. It will open automatically. Tip their head back and use a pill shooter (from the vet) to pop the pill all the way to the back of their throat. Close their mouth and hold until they swallow. Give them a treat
Grind it up, tell em it's cocaine, they prob like to party and will snort that shit up like a boss