Giving a cat a pill!

[Anne]

Originally Posted by megaflyer

When I have had cats I followed advice from a old family friend who is a retired vet and crushed said pill in mortar and pestle and sprinkled over small amount of food - cat fooled and medicine taken

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Our cat still seemed to know medicine was on the food and wouldn't eat the food when we did that.

[Guest]

My cat needed antibiotics and steroids over the winter. I hated holding her down and putting the pill down her throat so I got some pill pate that I wrapped around each pill. It was liver tasting and she loved it! However it did make her put on a little bit of weight but she has since lost that so it was worth it

[Guest]

My cat is on daily medication and thankfully takes it really well now. The vet taught us to hold her jaw with a thumb and middle finger right on the hinge. I put my left hand on her jaw and use my right hand to open her mouth. The left hand should stop their mouth closing. Be as quick as possible and aim for the back of the throat! We rub her neck afterwards to make sure she swallows.

[Emmie2016]

My boy is in his twenties and has a few pills each day. You can buy dog liver treat paste and I roll it into balls with the pill inside. Cheese is a good one or licky stix. Basically food for my boy.

[Vinniecat]

I haven't read all of the replies but I have a cat that refuses tablets. I asked the vetinary nurse to give him his worming tablet once and she tried to force his mouth open and shove it in his mouth. This resulted in him being scared of the vets. For the first 12 years of his life he was happy to go to the vets for routine checks and even an operation. Now at age 14 he has a warning on his notes that he is extremely vicious this has all stemmed from that one episode. When I mentioned this to the vet she said just put the tablet in some strong smelly cheese that has worked a treat for us although I have to watch for him spitting it out.

[arosiem]

We have to medicate our 15yo cat twice daily - she’s never been one for treats so I was apprehensive about crushing & putting them in the lick-e-lix treats, but she loves them! She comes to us like clockwork at the times we give them, they’ve honestly been a godsend. There’d be no way we could’ve got her to take a whole tablet. Definitely recommend this method!

Edited to add - not sure what affect this would have on weight - it has made my Willow put on weight but she’s a British short hair so they are very stocky anyway, and she is on steroids so I have no idea if it’s the treats or the steroids that made her put on weight! She seems to have reached a steady weight now though and hasn’t put on for a while.
I did query this with the vet and he basically said it was fine and not to worry.

I’m sure with antibiotics that aren’t going to be long term it’d be fine, anything long term I’d check with the vet but I’m sure it’d be fine too!

[TigerMom]

Check out the Vancouver vet on YouTube. There is one episode about giving a cat a pill. I followed his advice and now giving either of our cats pills is stressless for all. Our largest cat is 8.5kg so keeping him calm is important.

[Smilesonfaces]

We bought this off eBay. It was recommended by the vet. Oscar can be a little feisty and we have had no problems using this pill syringe followed by a treat.

[willow]

Thanks for all your tips. Will give them a try. Hopefully only a few one days of her having to take the pills, I can’t cope with the face she gives me afterwards, she looks at me like I’ve tried to kill her

[wombat girl]

our cat needed daily tablets for a couple of years and many things did not work.

Hiding the pill in small amount of Diarylee Triangle always worked and he enjoyed it. Other makes had more salt in so we avoided it.

Our cat was around the same age.
Good Luck.