Hey cat lovers, i gotta give my cat a pill twice daily... How the f--- do

i do this?

it is a capsule. a tiny one, but it can't be chopped up. I guess it tastes awful.

My cat is super finicky about eating. I need a good method. This is life and death we're talking...

and the other to force it down. Sometimes he manages to spit it back up but eventually he chokes it down.

I can tell you he definitely will not eat it, no matter how much you try to hide it in his food :(

The squirm and struggle method, and then there is bribery.

Squirm and Struggle. With you kneeling on the floor, put your cat between your legs, head out, and clamp down gently but firmly. Angle cat's head up, and gently but firmly squeeze at the back of your cat's jaw in order to get the cat to open mouth. Pop pill in, hold mouth closed and stroke the throat until you feel the cat swallow the pill. Advantages, you will know that cat has taken all of pill, is usually quick. Disadvantages, your cat might try to rip face or other body part off.

Bribery. Find your cat's favorite food, the one food that your cat will bolt down without thinking. Stick pill in the middle of said food and feed kitty. Advantage, less traumatic. Disadvantages, cat will unerringly find said pill, and eat all the food around the pill without even touching the pill. You might have more success with this by cracking open the capsule and sprinkling the contents on the food. However cat may still eat around it:shrug:

Good luck, pilling a cat is never fun. If you're having real difficulty, check with your vet and see if they have the medication in liquid form. Then all you have to do is open kitty's mouth and squirt it in.

teeth. Then shove the pill to the back of the tongue. Close mouth and stroke. Keep your hands one cat's mouth so it is closed. Cat cannot spit it up that way.. need open mouth to cough it up. More important to get pill in that be friends with your cat. Plus your cat will forgive you the momment you feed it.. later.

Pretty soon they trust that you are not trying to hurt them. And go through the routine just the same.

After the first time, it just doesn't work. When I crushed one and mixed it in with the food, he wouldn't touch any of it.

Make sure to trim the claws first. That's my only advice.

or a chair. Have another person quickly open the cat's mouth and put the pill on the BACK of the cat's tongue and then shut mouth and hold closed. Massage the cat's throat until you see/hear them swallow.

Repeat as required. Good luck. (Wrap cat completely in the towel with only the head sticking out.)

Cut about a third of the gel cap off and put the pill in the other part. My cat likes the flavor and it goes down easily. Put the gel cap in through the side (not the front) of his mouth and push it toward the throat. Works great.

:hi:

That way you don't have to put your finger in the cat's mouth. I've given so many pills to cats over the years, I swear by those things. I just hold the cat firmly in my left arm and use my right arm to open the mouth and put the pill in.

Or if this fails, get some meat-flavored baby food and put the pill in a spoon of it and give it to the cat. Good luck!

We do that. It costs more and they overnight ship it.

Otherwise, my best advice is don't be timid or hesitant. Just grab kitty by the scruff, crane her neck back, pry those fangs open and stick it as far back as possible. Clamp her mouth shut and blow on her face.
There are also long plastic pill-guns. You stick the pill in and the gun goes to the back of her throat...push the plunger and voila!

Good luck. Those cats are buggers!

squeezing the jaw muscles. Other hand holds the pill in thumb and forefinger, and uses the fingernail of the middle finger to grab kitty's small bottom teeth and push jaw down - and immediately shove the pill as far back in the throat as you can. Hold kitty's mouth closed and gently massage the throat til you feel kitty swallow.

This does take a lot of practice. But once you've done it a few times, it's relatively easy.

ALWAYS follow up this procedure with a very special treat. Chop a piece of cold chicken off, or give a bit of tuna juice, or butter, or yogurt -- just a bit. Kitty will learn to tolerate the pilling better if he knows there's a treat.

Good luck.

Oh -- and try to get a pill shooter. Someone else suggested this and it's a good idea.

pick him up, but not off his hind feet. Just stand him up and take the pill and push it down his throat. I wish I could be there to show you, I am an expert at giving cats pills.

But that is probably due to operator error.


I like the idea about the cod liver oil gel caps. Up until now I have been just coating the pill with a little butter to help it slide down better when kitty swallows. I have tried other things to coat the pill, like mayo and yogurt, but butter seems to work the best and to be the least distasteful to kitty. (Actually, it is an excellent vegetarian substitute for butter.)

I do agree with Bertha about always following up with a little treat. And lots of praise and cuddlin.'


Kitty used to run and hide every time the pill package came out and it was a pain to find and catch him, but now with the butter-treat-cuddlin' routine he is fine with it.


I have also gone the flavored liquid prescription route, it is pricey but works very well.


Good luck.

Then get a medicine syringe. Wrap the cat in a towel and have someone help you by holding the cat firmly. Lift the corner of his/her mouth, insert the tip of the medicine syringe and quickly depress the plunger. Hold the cat's mouth shut for a moment or two until he/she swallows.

Or you can try the method below:


HOW TO GIVE A CAT A PILL

Sit on sofa. Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your elbow as though you were going to give a bottle to a baby. Talk softly to it.


With right hand, position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. (be patient) As cat opens mouth pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow. Drop pill into mouth. Let go of cat, noticing the direction it runs.


Pick the pill up off the floor and go get the cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process. Sit on floor in kitchen, wrap arm around cat as before, drop pill in mouth. Let go of cat, noticing the direction it runs.


Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away. Scoot across floor to pick up pill, and go find the cat. Bring it back into the kitchen. 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 a count of ten. Drop pill into mouth.


Pry claws from back legs out of your arm. Go get the cat, pick up half-dissolved pill from floor and drop it into garbage can.


Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of closet. Call spouse from backyard. 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 mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.


Retrieve cat from curtain rod, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered Doulton figures from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.


Get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down 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 onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with rubber band.


Fetch screwdriver from garage and put 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 the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take another 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, force cat's mouth open with small spanner. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of fillet steak. Hold head vertically and pour one cup of water down throat to wash pill down.


Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call at furniture shop on way home to order new table.


Get last pill from bottle. Go into bathroom and get a fluffy towel. Stay in the bathroom with the cat, and close the door.

Sit on bathroom floor, wrap towel around kitty, leaving only his head exposed.

Cradle kitty in the crook of your arm, and pick up pill off of counter.

Retrieve cat from top of shower door (you didn't know that cats can jump 5 feet straight up in the air, did you?), and wrap towel around it a little tighter, making sure its paws can't come out this time. With fingers at either side of its jaw, pry it open and pop pill into mouth. Quickly close mouth (his, not yours).


Sit on floor with cat in your lap, stroking it under the chin and talking gently to it for at least a half hour, while the pill dissolves.


Unwrap towel, open bathroom door. Wash off scratches in warm soapy water, comb your hair, and go find something to occupy your time for 7-1/2 hours.


Arrange for SPCA to get cat and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

Then, with the cat's head pointing upwards, shove the pill down kitty's mouth. Kitty should have little trouble taking the pill.

:hide:





:rofl:

a vet told me this and it does work. I think they hate the air bowing in their face more than they hate the foreign object in their mouth so the swallow the pill so they can deal with the more annoying problem facing them.

than way down the bottom of the "scruff" -

when you do it properly it forces his mouth open and basically "paralyzes" the rest of him.

Shove the pill down the throat with one finger.

is to insert it in the cat's rectum

with your tongue

this applies to all cats, regardless of breed

and to all cat owners, regardless of breed.

for dogs they are called 'pill poppers', it's a treat you put the pill in and the animal eats it like candy.

It was great to read all of your answers.

I ended up making a fake treat with some food and stuffing it in there. He swallowed it fine which surprised me completely.

The sad part is that he is not keeping anything down. This started last night. So now i don't know if he is getting anything out of it. Ugh. Very worried....

here's a pic cuz i know you all like kitty pics. He's so cute here...
>

keep him in your good thoughts... his name is Moses.

to Moses. He is beautiful!

I'll keep both of you in my thoughts and prayers.

:-)