Advice on giving cats tablets?

My vet gave me some tablets to feed Lily - 1 morning and 1 evening for 4 days, meant to be mashed up in her food.

The only problem is...since Lily had her spay and since she had this hematoma on her wound she will not eat very much - she never really has eaten much, she is a tiny cat.

So, i fed her a little bit in the morning (9:30 am) with the tablet mashed up in it...it's still not gone 6 hours on!! It is very good food, top of the market, and salmon and chicken "flavour", which i know she likes. i bought it for her especially because she was poorly. She has eaten around half. is that enough for her to digest some tablet...but the thing is, i'll have to feed her some more tonight so she gets the amount she was prescribed (1 morn, 1 eve)

Does anyone know any tips?

Any food cats can not resist? Maybe i should go down the shop and buy some actual tins of tuna or salmon?

Do you have a compunding shop nearby that would be able to make it into liquid that you could just give her?

If not, you could always boil some chicken and try to give it to her in pieces of chicken. Sometimes, when kitties dont feel well something bland like that is more palatable.

I hope she feels better soon

What about pill pockets.

If your cat likes treats, then pill pockets are magic! Bijou had to take antibiotic pills twice a day for 10 days. I cut each pill into quarters, put that piece in 1/2 a pill pocket and he ate those treats right up like a good boy.

You should be able to get them at a pet store.

in the past i've just squashed the pill into a little ball of cheese - they seem to go for that. they can't resist a nice warm bit of white fish - especially when they're ill, maybe try mashing it in amongst some coley/cod? if worst comes to worst you may just have to pop it down her throat, not nice but necessary. just be sure to say lots of sorrys after!

Originally Posted by laureen227


i butter the pill, then stick it down the throat. then i hold the mouth closed & stroke the throat until the cat swallows. usually works.

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Thats exactly what I do but I never buttered it, good idea, it would taste better! If the cat won't sit still, scruff it. They will forgive you really fast, just give some treats after. Actually scruffing kind of calms them down a bit.

Originally Posted by laureen227

i butter the pill, then stick it down the throat. then i hold the mouth closed & stroke the throat until the cat swallows. usually works.

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I do the same thing minus the butter, then give a special treat (i.e. a little meat, or wet food) to wash it down. After a couple of pills my cats look forward to the treat and don't fight me as much.

How much food are you mixing the pill into? Are you feeding a full meals worth? I would mix it into the smallest possible amount of wet food, maybe just a teaspoon. Also, don't leave food out all day for her to snack on. Just feed when she needs a pill. Give her the tiny amount with the pill crushed into it, and when she finishes give her more food. Only leave each meal out for say, 30 minutes, then pick it up. Theoretically she'll be hungry enough at the next meal to finish the food with the pill in it.

I put the tablets in an empty gelcap. Odo gets a pill twice per day, so I give it to him after he takes his first few bites of his wet food. It is important to always follow the pill with either food or water so that it does not get lodged in the esophagus.

You can get the large pill popper from your local pet stores. They are in the dog section sometimes, sometimes in both. We have to use one on our cats. My husband made a smaller one from a ball point pen. Works wonderly on the small pills.

good luck and hope your kitty gets better!

I am about to confront this same issue beginning tonight when I give Petunia her pill. The vet suggested wet food or wrapping the pill up in some some cheezewhiz. What exactly are pill poppers? I've never heard of those. Also, the vet gave me a syringe to fill with water and give her after I put the pill in her mouth to help her swallow it. While at the vet yesterday one of the vet assistants gave her her first dosage and she hated it, started salivating at the mouth but the assistant said that is normal due to the pill being bitter. I hope the wet food will help get the job done as I really see her fighting me on giving it to her the traditional way.

Originally Posted by BarkleysJester

. . . started salivating at the mouth but the assistant said that is normal due to the pill being bitter. I hope the wet food will help get the job done as I really see her fighting me on giving it to her the traditional way.

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That's exactly why the pill pockets work so well. They don't end up getting much of a taste (if any) of the actual pill.

I've done the pill down the throat business and hated it and so did my cat so I'm just thrilled they will eat the pill pockets.

Pill pockets are probably a good option if she's a treat eater.

When we gave Zoey her pills, it took two of us. My boyfriend would wrap her in a blanket and hold her still while I would tip her head back, stick the pill as far into the back of her mouth as possible, and the hold her mouth closed for a few seconds. Sometimes she would spit it out and we'd have to repeat the process. We all hated it, but she got over it immediately. She was quite the fighter (in all ways ), and it was the only way to get the pill into her!

What are pill pockets? can i get these in england? i have never seen them!

Also, just to update you all on what's happening with my kitty:

I went to the vets, he gave me some canned food called "Hills: Prescription Diet" and i gave her a teaspoon of that with her tablet crushed in it and she wolfed it down in seconds!! she adored it!!

Thank you for all advice, it has been really helpful

If i have to give tablets that are meant to be swallowed, i'll be sure to use some of your tips!!! thanks a million!

Would it be wrong to crush the pill before mixing it in with the wet food? When I was at the vet yesterday the assistant made mention that the pill should not be bit down on by Petunia. The response came after I asked about putting it in with her dry food to get her to eat it and she said that since it would have to be crunched that wasnt a good idea.

Originally Posted by BarkleysJester

Would it be wrong to crush the pill before mixing it in with the wet food? When I was at the vet yesterday the assistant made mention that the pill should not be bit down on by Petunia. The response came after I asked about putting it in with her dry food to get her to eat it and she said that since it would have to be crunched that wasnt a good idea.

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Some pills are pretty awful tasting and if the cat gets a taste of it, they will refuse to even eat the food where it is crushed and mixed in with. If it's a nasty tasting pill (which it sounds like), I would suggest trying to pill the cat or do the pill pockets. I also found with the pill pockets that they were pretty large so I broke each tablet into 4 pieces and put 1/4 of the pill in 1/2 of a pill pocket so there was more pill pocket and less pill. Chances of them tasting the pill that way were slimmer.

Pill popper looks like a syrine but the bottom is "open" to hold a pill. We use them on our, then as someone said, the vet stated give a syrine of water afterwards.


good luck