Cat won't take pills

Hey, it's me again (and now that song is stuck in my head until the end of time). Got Starbuck fixed yesterday, everything went smoothly. My only problem is, I can't for the life of me get her pain meds down her throat. I watched the videos, I got her mouth open, I put the pill in, she spits it out. My roommate came down and held her down for me, same results. I've wasted three pills that just got so wet and gross from repeated attempts that they're just not usable. 

Now, the vets at the clinic who spayed her said that it's not the end of the world if she doesn't take them, but if she's in pain, I want to do what I can to lessen it. I also figure this is an important skill in case she has to take meds later on that are necessary and don't come in liquid form. But, I just can't think what to do to make this happen. 

Does anyone have any advice for an aggressively anti-pill cat? Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks much!

First congratulations on spaying your cat. 

I agree that it is necessary for cats to get use to taking pills (or, rather, for the human to get use to the cats not taking them...).

BUT, since this pain (if any) will pass on its own, I agree with the vet that it's not the worse thing if Starbuck doesn't get the pain pill.  (By the way, which drug did the vet prescribe.  If Metacam:  don't give--your cat is smarter than you are )  Instead, I'd give Starbuck lots of loving, cuddles, her favorite food--spoil her rotton!

For future reference:  any drug that is prescribed for a cat that is also prescribed for humans (like Reglan, Prozac, to name just a few), can be compounded into a flavored liquid in most states.  And if the drug is vet/animal only, some of them can be compounded into flavored liquids, with the consent of the vet.

Before I learned this, I would coat the pill in butter, then some salmon flavored cream cheese, and then stick in a small piece of a hot dog or pill pocket.  Ritz ate the butter, cream cheese and hot dog/pill pocket--but not the pill.

Make sure you massage the throat area after pilling the cat, makes it less likely she'll spit it up.

Thanks much! The med is tramadol, which sounds familiar enough, but I don't know anything about it. But I will make sure to watch out for Metacam. What is the problem with Metacam, out of curiosity? I am googling and not finding an answer, but will keep hunting.

It's a relief to know a lot of these meds can be compounded into liquids, and your tip about the coating is great. I was wondering about that. When I was a kid, we had a dog (very sweet yellow lab), and we would put his pills in peanut butter on a spoon, and he would lap the whole thing up, but he would eat pretty much anything. So far, Starbuck has been a surprisingly picky eater. 

My biggest problem was I couldn't even get it to stay in her mouth long enough to massage her throat, I don't think I even successfully got it into the back of her mouth, she was just writhing and wiggling her tongue around like crazy and the pill always somehow got out of her mouth. But anyway, those are all good suggestions, thanks very much!

Tramadol and buprenex are pretty safe and effective pain meds for cats. Metacam is an NSAID that is FDA labelled for one-time use only in cats, but we have heard of many vets prescribing it more often than that, so it's just a standard warning. Metacam can cause severe kidney damage with repeated use.

Okay, thanks! That's good to know.

I have found from giving various "types" of cats (pure male Leptailurus serval, female F1 Bengal, F3 Savannah and pure domestics) pills, I hid the pill in there favorite food item and or treat.  I also, found it helpful to give a piece of said treat/food item right before the pill then with the pill hidden in it and then another piece without the pill in it all. I did this because it helped the various cats not "catch on" to getting a pill(s) .
 

Simple and works every time.

Violet said:

Simple and works every time.

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Simple if your cat is not a huge 25 pound beastie who does not want you to give him a pill

The ingredients aren't great.....but my cats will eat Pill Pockets....particularly if they have a couple of regular treats first.

all i do is i open my cats mouth then stick the pill as far in the back of the mouth as i can get it and then i hold there moth shut tell i see them shallow and it works lol my vet has troubal getting the pills down my cats but when i showed him how i did it he was amazed lol

I second Pill Pockets. My kitty thinks she's getting a treat with Pill Pockets. The pet store owner said that Pill Pockets make it very hard for the cat to tell anything's inside. The last meds I needed to give I even asked for pills instead of liquid because with Pill Pockets it's easier than trying to squirt liquid down a moving target.

Sometimes pill pockets are great if they will eat them, also aren't big chewers and swallow it before they bite down to the bitterness of the pill. Some do, some don't.

The only pain med our cats/kittens get after surgery is a single dose of metacam given by the vet, after that, nada, and they're fine.

However, pilling is def. something you should learn at some point since in time they may very well be necessary.

I put the cat on the kitchen counter, or other high up spot, for right handed peeps, sit the cat down, put your laft arm around the cat, holding it close to your body, like a hug.

With your left arm around, run your left hand up it's neck, pushing his head/mouth up, (if cat won't allow then scruff neck, pulling downward so cat stays sitting, right hand has pill, open mouth by pushing on the side gums/cheek, once it opens stick alot of your fist in mouth with pill and depending on the resistance either shoot it down their throat or push it down, immediately close the mouth and hold closed, when a cat swallows their tongue will pop out a tiny bit, this is the sign it is swallowed and gone!

Sometimes they will hold off for a long time, and as soon as you let go, pops the pill out. Light blowing on their nose gets them to swallow it down faster.

It works, period.

If you have a cat that acts like a crazy cat, burrito wrap in a towel tightly and do the same.

Follow with hugs and a treat so they forgive you

Soft cheese is another way to hide pills.

One of the cats we got recently needs pills regularly and I'd never done it before.  I asked my vet to show me how and it was pretty much like the video Violet posted.  It works most of the time.  Usually if it doesn't, it's because I don't drop it straight and we have to try again.  But also Jake seemed pretty used to taking the pills.  He doesn't struggle much with it, so I've been lucky.

I use a pill popper for my cats, you put the pill in it, stick it as far back as you can and pop it. It's much easier then using your fingers.

catwoman707 said:

Sometimes pill pockets are great if they will eat them, also aren't big chewers and swallow it before they bite down to the bitterness of the pill. Some do, some don't.

The only pain med our cats/kittens get after surgery is a single dose of metacam given by the vet, after that, nada, and they're fine.

However, pilling is def. something you should learn at some point since in time they may very well be necessary.

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 I actually heard my cat crunching on the pill inside the Pill Pocket, but she didn't care! That particular pill was divided into two, and the one she crunched down was with the first dose. She didn't blink at all and then went on to eat her second Pill Pocket like nothing had happened.

I should add that Poppy isn't very particular. The only things she's rejected are pretty extreme--food that had spoiled and that I didn't notice was spoiled for instance. She's eaten MegaRed krill oil which has a funny metallic taste and some herbal laxative that a lot of reviewers said they couldn't get their cat to take.

I can not pill a cat, there is no way, I have tried, mine have always spit out, no matter what.  I now request to my vet all forms of meds I need,  to be compounded into a liquid, where I can syringe in his/her mouth, or most recently, transdermally, where I can administer in his pinnea (sp? pinnae?, which is his the hairless part of his little ear!!)  Both of these options have helped me greatly over the years.  

David's Steph said:

I can not pill a cat, there is no way, I have tried, mine have always spit out, no matter what.  I now request to my vet all forms of meds I need,  to be compounded into a liquid, where I can syringe in his/her mouth, or most recently, transdermally, where I can administer in his pinnea (sp? pinnae?, which is his the hairless part of his little ear!!)  Both of these options have helped me greatly over the years.  

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Yeah, that.    I can't pick up Ritz, much less hold her tightly so a lot of the normal ways of pilling a cat don't work.  (That said, Ritz does love her belly rubbed....)

The liquid can be flavored (tuna/chicken in Ritz' case).  I squirt the appropriate amount under her raw food and she eats it right up.

One caution:  liquid medicine may have a shorter expiration date than pills.  I've run into that problem with a medication I am weaning her off of (as I am, with Prozac).  I don't know 'true' the expiration dats are, whether for the past two weeks, Ritz has really been getting a placebo of sorts.

I've tried the pill pockets:  didn't work.

we used Pill Pockets to hide my cats Asthma meds and my other cats Cancer meds... they work well.true, they arent the best ingredients... we also at times have crushed pills in foods like tuna or baby food. best of luck to you.