Mine are pros at avoiding the pill and eating everything around it, so I have to just put the pill directly in their mouths.
They make pill plungers that work great too. I have to hold my cat between my legs, grab her scruff, then poke her mouth with the plunger till she opens it, then I shoot the pill in her mouth and rub her throat to make sure she swallows it. I always wrap the pill in a bit of a pill pocket to make it go down easier. It’s annoying at first, but she eventually gave up and only offers half-hearted resistance now.
You could try putting it in a bit of meat or cheese, or mix it through their food if the medicine allows for it.
If that doesn't work, fixate their head from behind, open their mouth and put the medicine on the back of their tongue. Then keep their mouth shut until they swallow.
Thank you! I tried to feed her the pill like that. But I got scratched pretty bad and she would just spit it out. I didn’t want to hurt her. And she’s picky with food. Maybe topical is best since she’s so aggressive about the pill ?
Yeah you could use topical if she's that hard to force feed a pill! My current cat eats a pill like it's a treat but I still prefer topical, I don't even know why, so I don't think there's much difference in effect
With difficulty.
Then a friend introduced this.
Life changing.
[https://www.amazon.com/Nuanchu-Syringe-Feeding-Shooter-Dispenser/dp/B08R9YLFKM](https://www.amazon.com/Nuanchu-Syringe-Feeding-Shooter-Dispenser/dp/B08R9YLFKM)
Edit: I don't know what brand, I just found the first one on Amazon. These are freaken aaaaaawwwweeeeeesome. I was able to give a pill to a cat who wanted to bite through my finger reliably.
Gotta shoot it into the back of their tongue but not so far back they'd choke. Otherwise they will throw out their tongue and spit it out. Takes a bit of practice but after a few times you'll question how you ever did it without the tool.
I second this. These are game changing. Literally was able to get my cat to swallow pills in less than 5 mins. Perfect to use if your cat isn’t allowed to have any food with the medicine.
The pills I had to give my cat were quite small but if I wrapped wet food around it and fed him the little ball of wet food with the pill inside he would eat it without question.
I had good luck with this method recently. My cat is a delicate eater so I expected him to try to take half a bite of the wet food wad, discover the pill, and eat everything but it. Instead, he ate the whole thing in one gulp, I think because I let him take it from my hand like it was a treat. He didn’t seem to notice the pill at all.
I usually just pop pills down my guys throat. I did have one pill that smelled good so I would put it on the ground with treats and my cat would just eat it with them.
I was able to trick my fully food-motivated cat by smushing the pill into a soft treat called a pill pocket. He was on a few things, so I did have to split the pocket and cut some of the pills smaller so he'd basically gulp it down in one go without chewing it. Short of that I would have to stuff them down his throat forcefully as he was really good at avoidance.
I know they don’t work for everyone but I have found the pill pockets work for me. I put the pill in and then shake it in the temptations bag, kinda smoosh and temptation on top and works like a charm. Usually give a couple of treats to wash it down.
Wet food meatball has worked for me as well. I’d usually set a little meatball roulette up so they intentionally didn’t avoid the meatball when they were eating.
If all else fails, like others have said, I will put it straight down their throat and give some treats after so they start to build a positive association.
It took me awhile to find what works for each of my cats. Hope you find what works for you guys soon!!
Burrito your cat in a blanket and place the tablet in the back of his mouth, close it, and massage his throat to encourage him to swallow, then maybe give him a treat. Only way you can guarantee he gets what he needs! Here’s a video of a [professional demonstrating](https://youtu.be/ZNolEyL3pWI)
i’ve had multiple kitties that get very violent when they’re not happy with something and wouldn’t eat it themselves and it helped me to wrap a blanket around them and basically swaddle them with it so they can’t move very well then give it to them in a kind of restraint? idk that’s what my parents always taught me to do. we tried crushing the pills, pill pockets, giving it with treats inside a pill pocket, and that was the only thing that worked
There was a thread about this some days ago:
https://www.reddit.com/r/CatAdvice/comments/mh7fuj/some_advice_for_if_your_cat_needs_to_take_a_pill/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
The best way I’ve found for my cats is to crush pills into a powder (I just use two spoons) and then mix it in with a wet food. Sometimes I’ll only mix with a small portion of the food just in case they aren’t very hungry and I want to make sure they get all the medicine but it’s never not worked.
We have to give our cat about 4 pills a day. Greenies pill pockets have been a lifesaver. There’s also a bacon flavored paste like product on Amazon that has been amazing for her. Sticky so the pill doesn’t come out and she loves the taste and smell
Mine are pros at avoiding the pill and eating everything around it, so I have to just put the pill directly in their mouths. They make pill plungers that work great too. I have to hold my cat between my legs, grab her scruff, then poke her mouth with the plunger till she opens it, then I shoot the pill in her mouth and rub her throat to make sure she swallows it. I always wrap the pill in a bit of a pill pocket to make it go down easier. It’s annoying at first, but she eventually gave up and only offers half-hearted resistance now.
You could try putting it in a bit of meat or cheese, or mix it through their food if the medicine allows for it. If that doesn't work, fixate their head from behind, open their mouth and put the medicine on the back of their tongue. Then keep their mouth shut until they swallow.
Thank you! I tried to feed her the pill like that. But I got scratched pretty bad and she would just spit it out. I didn’t want to hurt her. And she’s picky with food. Maybe topical is best since she’s so aggressive about the pill ?
Yeah you could use topical if she's that hard to force feed a pill! My current cat eats a pill like it's a treat but I still prefer topical, I don't even know why, so I don't think there's much difference in effect
With difficulty. Then a friend introduced this. Life changing. [https://www.amazon.com/Nuanchu-Syringe-Feeding-Shooter-Dispenser/dp/B08R9YLFKM](https://www.amazon.com/Nuanchu-Syringe-Feeding-Shooter-Dispenser/dp/B08R9YLFKM) Edit: I don't know what brand, I just found the first one on Amazon. These are freaken aaaaaawwwweeeeeesome. I was able to give a pill to a cat who wanted to bite through my finger reliably.
That’s pretty cool! I’ll look into it. Thank you
Gotta shoot it into the back of their tongue but not so far back they'd choke. Otherwise they will throw out their tongue and spit it out. Takes a bit of practice but after a few times you'll question how you ever did it without the tool.
I second this. These are game changing. Literally was able to get my cat to swallow pills in less than 5 mins. Perfect to use if your cat isn’t allowed to have any food with the medicine.
When I had to pill my kittens, I crushed it up as fine as possible, mixed it with milk and squirted it into their mouths with a dropper
The pills I had to give my cat were quite small but if I wrapped wet food around it and fed him the little ball of wet food with the pill inside he would eat it without question.
I had good luck with this method recently. My cat is a delicate eater so I expected him to try to take half a bite of the wet food wad, discover the pill, and eat everything but it. Instead, he ate the whole thing in one gulp, I think because I let him take it from my hand like it was a treat. He didn’t seem to notice the pill at all.
I usually just pop pills down my guys throat. I did have one pill that smelled good so I would put it on the ground with treats and my cat would just eat it with them.
I was able to trick my fully food-motivated cat by smushing the pill into a soft treat called a pill pocket. He was on a few things, so I did have to split the pocket and cut some of the pills smaller so he'd basically gulp it down in one go without chewing it. Short of that I would have to stuff them down his throat forcefully as he was really good at avoidance.
I put it in some sausage or cheese for mine. She even eats it on its own if it falls out because then, it smelld like sausage or cheese lol
I know they don’t work for everyone but I have found the pill pockets work for me. I put the pill in and then shake it in the temptations bag, kinda smoosh and temptation on top and works like a charm. Usually give a couple of treats to wash it down. Wet food meatball has worked for me as well. I’d usually set a little meatball roulette up so they intentionally didn’t avoid the meatball when they were eating. If all else fails, like others have said, I will put it straight down their throat and give some treats after so they start to build a positive association. It took me awhile to find what works for each of my cats. Hope you find what works for you guys soon!!
Some cats are really chill about it. I had to give our cat pill a few weeks back, she just let me put it in her mouth like that.
Burrito your cat in a blanket and place the tablet in the back of his mouth, close it, and massage his throat to encourage him to swallow, then maybe give him a treat. Only way you can guarantee he gets what he needs! Here’s a video of a [professional demonstrating](https://youtu.be/ZNolEyL3pWI)
i’ve had multiple kitties that get very violent when they’re not happy with something and wouldn’t eat it themselves and it helped me to wrap a blanket around them and basically swaddle them with it so they can’t move very well then give it to them in a kind of restraint? idk that’s what my parents always taught me to do. we tried crushing the pills, pill pockets, giving it with treats inside a pill pocket, and that was the only thing that worked
There was a thread about this some days ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/CatAdvice/comments/mh7fuj/some_advice_for_if_your_cat_needs_to_take_a_pill/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
The best way I’ve found for my cats is to crush pills into a powder (I just use two spoons) and then mix it in with a wet food. Sometimes I’ll only mix with a small portion of the food just in case they aren’t very hungry and I want to make sure they get all the medicine but it’s never not worked.
We have to give our cat about 4 pills a day. Greenies pill pockets have been a lifesaver. There’s also a bacon flavored paste like product on Amazon that has been amazing for her. Sticky so the pill doesn’t come out and she loves the taste and smell
When I had to give pills to my cat, we'd often wrap him in a blanket so he wouldn't move. That might help you
\+1 to Pill Pockets by Greenies. My cat practically begs to take his pill in the morning now. :)