Ideas for "hiding" pills?

I'm glad the spray cheese is working as a back-up for you.  Have you tried Carolina's trick using the soft Whiska Lickin's yet?  That one works for me once in awhile.   Also, once in awhile I can get away with using a Greenies Pill Pocket, but I have to smoosh it up first because the 1/4 pill still won't even fit in it,  After I smoosh it up, then I can wrap it around Sven's 1/4 pill.  I can't tell you how many of his "spiked" treats have been thrown away because he won't eat them! He has refused "spiked" hot dogs, spray cheese, cream cheese, liverwurst, motzarella cheese, and I think something else but I can't remember right now!   I was wondering, though, HOW you hid it in tuna.  Are you talking about an actual tiny piece of raw tuna steak?  Otherwise, how would you hide a pill in a piece of tuna that comes in a can?  Isn't that flaked?  (just curious, because I'm getting desperate here!)

We live in Germany, and the Whisker Lickins and Greenies pill pockets aren't available. Bayer used to sell pill pockets, but they've been discontinued. I've substituted some chewy "cat stick" treats for them, but he gets tired of them and they're only soft enough when they're really, really fresh.

I'm using flaked tuna in water from a can, and just molding it around the pills. I really have to squeeze it to get it into a semi-round form. Luckily Jamie is greedy and pretty much just swallows each little ball whole. I baked some chicken for him last week, but he chewed it and spit out two pills. He's not too crazy about poultry, but usually likes it when it's been roasted in the oven.

Yesterday I went to a gourmet deli and picked up oysters, lobster and crabmeat in cans, some tiny cans of water-packed tuna, and tubes of Scandinavian fish paste (salmon, crab and caviar; they also had tuna paste). Fish isn't good for an old cat who's already had trouble with struvite crystals, but the vet said give him anything that he'll take the heart pills, diuretic and aspirin in. Right now he's eating the pills in the salmon paste, which he loves. It's really salty, but that seems to be part of the attraction. He's always been a fish fan. I wish I'd thought of the paste before.

The salesman asked me if I were having a dinner party. I periodically buy calamari from another deli, and the salespeople there know I buy it for my cat and think it's funny. The calamari don't work well for pills because he chews them, though.

Tricia, I just saw this thread because of the one Carolina started. My prayers are with both Jamie and you.

My Dad said cream cheese works for his cat.

Thank you! I haven't tried cream cheese - that's a good idea. He might actually take them in cottage cheese or vanilla-flavored quark (curd cheese), because he likes both of them.

I wish I knew all these pill secrets when i was trying to get my cat to take them for a week... A HUGE hassle. 

Jcat my thoughts are with you and Jamie  for you both. 

Hum..... I wonder..... I always heard bout cream cheese too.... thing is, they are hard to keep the shape of a little ball/treat.
Some here swear by Fish flakes - you know, aquarium fish food?
So, I was thinking.... what if you put the pill inside of some cream cheese, roll into a ball (the harder cream cheese), then roll over fish flakes? That way it keeps the shape and it is irresistible yummy? :lol3:

When I covered Sven's pill in cream cheese, it kept it's shape alright...as a matter of fact, it's still round, and it's still uneaten , along with a whole lot of other little round balls of pills surrounded by liverwurst, soft Whiska Lickins, American Cheese & even Velveeta Cheese.  Not to worry, though, I'm storing them all in the fridge in their own little ziploc bags, and every day I bring them out and try to entice him to eat just one.  He is one obstinate cat!  Unfortunately, he's only hurting himself, because when he doesn't get his pills, his tummy gets upset (he pills are Pepcid AC).  It's a catch 22 I think, because he doesn't feel well, so he doesn't want to eat, but if he just would eat enough to get the pills down, then he'd feel like eating more.  Well, I bought some FRESH soft Whiska Lickins today in a different flavor, so I'm hoping he'll try that one right after we give him his sub-qs.  Wish me luck

mrsgreenjeens said:

FRESH soft Whiska Lickins today in a different flavor, so I'm hoping he'll try that one right after we give him his sub-qs.  Wish me luck :cross:

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IMHO the best ones are the chicken or Salmon - for some reason the cheese ones never worked for me - the texture doesn't hold the same, and the cats don't like as much either :dk: The salmon and the chicken flavors are a hit every time. I use the round pieces or the heart shaped ones - the flat, tiny bell shaped - those I give to Lucky - she is always waiting by the gate for some yummy treats 2x a day whenever I pill Gracie :lol3:

Another thing you can try with bitter pills is to put them into a small gelatin type pill capsule. I have started doing this with Sneakers' pills because some of them taste bad and if I try to put them in a treat, as soon as she bites into the treat and tastes the pill she'll spit it out. If it's in a capsule that doesn't happen.

I still have to pill her often but she doesn't fight it as much if they're in a capsule (I sometimes also put a layer of greenies pill pocket around the capsule.
It is a struggle to pill Sneakers but it helps if I wrap her up in a towel so she can't claw me.

I'm trying to do this with as little stress as possible because I'm afraid Jamie will have a heart attack. I did try a gel capsule stuck in his mouth. He swallowed it but got too worked up.
Cream cheese and lox would be a good thing to try, and the fish food and cream cheese sounds like a winning combination.
Last night I used lamb cat sticks, and this morning tuna again. Got to keep him interested!

Hi,

Did you try a pill gun? The one the vets use? My cat would detect a molecul of a medicine in the smelliest food ever, even those medicaments that are suposed to be chewable....

The pill gun worked - once. Now a certain not-so-little cat takes off the minute he catches a glimpse of it. He gets himself so worked up over stuff like that that I'm afraid he'll have a heart attack.

Hiding the pills in food is working remarkably well, as long as I vary the "treats" he's getting them in. Salmon paste worked very well for three days, but now he won't touch it. Tuna, crab and liverwurst are the most popular, followed by spray cheese and cat stick treats. He has spit out two or three pills, but I just stick them in some other food and stand there till I'm sure he's eaten them.

Carolina said:

IMHO the best ones are the chicken or Salmon - for some reason the cheese ones never worked for me - the texture doesn't hold the same, and the cats don't like as much either

The salmon and the chicken flavors are a hit every time. I use the round pieces or the heart shaped ones - the flat, tiny bell shaped - those I give to Lucky - she is always waiting by the gate for some yummy treats 2x a day whenever I pill Gracie

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Well...I got some of the chicken and cheese ones just for something for Sven to eat because he's so skinny, and now he won't eat ANY of the other ones!  So...I'm having to make do and squish and squeeze them until I can get them to hide a pill (some of them work ok for this).  I've created a monster. I went to Petco and bought Greenies Pill Pockets in Salmon and Chicken, Soft Pounce (which aren't soft enough to even  begin to work), Whiska Lickins in Salmon, Chicken (again), and Chicken and Cheese, AND dried tuna flakes, thinking I could roll cream cheese balls in those.  NONE of the cats will have anything to do with the dried tuna flakes , but at least all the rest of them like the other treats!  Guess I'll be going back to stock up on the Chick and Cheese Whiska Lickins.  But Sven is very wise to me ...if I hover over him, he knows something is up and won't eat.  However, if I just set a couple of treats over by him and then leave the room and pretend like I don't care if he eats them or not, he'll usually eat them. 

jcat said:

The pill gun worked - once. Now a certain not-so-little cat takes off the minute he catches a glimpse of it. He gets himself so worked up over stuff like that that I'm afraid he'll have a heart attack.

Hiding the pills in food is working remarkably well, as long as I vary the "treats" he's getting them in. Salmon paste worked very well for three days, but now he won't touch it. Tuna, crab and liverwurst are the most popular, followed by spray cheese and cat stick treats. He has spit out two or three pills, but I just stick them in some other food and stand there till I'm sure he's eaten them.

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Yes, for being "dumb" (not ME saying that, just that's what some people call cats and dogs) animals, they are amazingly smart!  I have to show Sven both my hands before walking up to him or he walks away from me .  I'm glad you are still able to sneak Jamie his pills.  Hoping you can continue that.  (Since you can't order Greenies pill pockets or Whiska Lickins via the Internet, can someone here in the USA mail them to you?  I would do that for you!  Have no idea what the protocol is, though, for customs, if there are any for packages like that

Thanks for the offer (one of the other mods has also offered), but the cat sticks are basically the same thing as the pill pockets and Whisker Lickins, and I know he likes them (especially the lamb or rabbit ones). There's no guarantee he would even eat the Greenies.

He demands his "fish treats" in the morning. As soon as I come downstairs he runs into the kitchen and waits for his pills.:lol3:

:lol3: Tricia, that's great news! Keep up the good work! (Go Jamie, eat those treats!)

Just wanted to update this: The oysters were a complete bust. He nibbles on them, immediately finds the pills and spits them out. As much as he loves shrimp and oysters, they don't seem to mask the smell or taste of his meds. That doesn't augur well for lobster.

He really expects a couple of pieces of tuna or crab every morning now. He's not as picky in the evening.