Any secrets to getting meds into my cat?

I hope someone might have some tricks they can recommend that they use on their cats to get them to take their meds.

I have to give my cat prednisone once a day.  We tried pills, he won't touch pill pockets, I tried hiding them in treats, and in food, tried the pill popper, and even the vet said they couldn't get him to take the pill.  

So, we got the medication compounded.  I have mixed it into food and he fell for that for a few days but now will walk away from food that I have put it in.  So now I don't know what else to try.  Any creative ideas out there that I haven't tried?  Thanks for your help.  

I don't have a lot to offer... Could you try mixing the compounded medicine into a tune/fish broth? The strong smell might mask it?

Does he likes an particular treat? After he takes his prednisone, maybe give him a treat? Whenever I have had to give my cats medicine for several days in a row, they start to recognize the "routine" and hide. Giving treats after seems to help them forget what just happened and they don't learn the routine as easily.

Best luck, I hope others have some more useful ideas than me!

I agree with the above, the only thing you can do is to find something the cat REALLY likes and hide the medicine in there. Most cats are insane for meat baby food (without onions of course) you might try that. Or try to find a moist cat treat and hide it in there. I know pilling a cat can be EXTREMELY frustrating, I hate it myself. Thank goodness so far my cat will eat pill pockets. I hope you find something your cat will eat, good luck and keep us posted to see what you finally find!

Thanks guys. I'll keep trying.  Part of the problem is he is not eating much.  I've been opening can after can of cat food to find one he'll eat.  The one he hated yesterday, he'll eat today.  I'm pretty sure he's playing with me.   I tried chicken baby food which he turned his nose to.  Tried the pills in a moist cat treat, then he figured that one out and stopped eating them.  

I'll go get some more tuna or salmon.  I'm not a fish eater so forgive me when I ask  where can I get tuna broth?  Does it come in a can?  

I think today, I may just have to put it on my finger and wipe it on the side of his mouth, I know it probably tastes horrible which is why he doesn't want it.  I was hoping the compounding would help make it taste better.  

Did you get the medication compounded into a flavored liquid? Ritz--admittedly NOT a picky eater--liked both tuna/chicken and bubblegum flavor.

Yes, i believe it was compounded with a fishy flavour.  Well today, i tried some salmon on him, he loved the juice but just kept licking it up all around the meds, and then puked it all up...so not going to do that again.    I went back to an old treat he likes and managed to sneak some in there.  Well we're done for today so I have time to work myself up for tomorrows battle.  

p.s., thanks for your help

For tuna broth, you can just mix a can of tuna with 2-3 cups of water and let it sit for 15 minutes or so, to flavor the water. Then strain out the tuna meat. My cat will nearly always drink this even when she won't touch food. You might be able to mix the compounded medicine with it and get him to drink it.

Check the Asian/Oriental section of your market, or use momto3cats's suggestion. (It's probably cheaper, too.) You can warm up the water and let the tuna soak. The warmth might help it smell nicer to him.

They sell these little "gravy" packets in the treat section of the pet stores around here. It's meant to put on top of food for cats who are picky, but maybe you could stir some of the medicine into it as well. It has a more gel-like consistency than broth so maybe it will mask it better.

I'm sorry this is so frustrating.

awww that can be so stressful..for me it was anyway... I don't think the supplement we gave Min had much of a taste, but I tried EVERYTHING as well. I stood behind her and did the ol' tilt her head back, throw it in her mouth, and close her mouth trick, but I absolutely despised doing it... as it was 3x a day...and would be a lifetime thing if she would have survived her disease. ANYWAY, pill pockets didn't work, but I read where Whiska's soft treats might...so I cut up the pill in 3 to 4 little pieces, and was careful to only touch the pill as I pushed it down into th treat...then washed my hands to finish wrapping the pill . When I first tried it, i rubbed the pill in butter then wrapped it... so she couldn't smell the pill at all. Anyway, she gobbled the treats finally. And of COURSE her sister, Mikki, would gobble the pill in food, in treats, anyway we gave it to her...go figure, she wasn't the one that needed it!

We have a cat that hated pills and still does but we just hold him in our lap, hold his mouth open wide and drop it fair and square in the back of his mouth. It sounds horrible but it's quick and easy and once you learn how to do it, it'll only take 20 seconds to do it. You just have to watch they don't push it back up with their tongue.

Yeah kitties don't like it I have someone else help me with it. Like:

I hold my cat gently petting him and softly humming to him that it's going to be ok. Then my dad or someone will put the pill in his mouth.

Happy usually doesn't spit the pill out, though one time he spit it in my hair...

I hope I helped

I use BCP Vet Pharmacy for all my long term medications - methimazole and budesinide.  I've used the liver VetChews, which the cat requiring medication BEGS to eat, and the liquid suspension, also in liver formula.  The VetChews were the answer to my prayer for a cat who hated being pilled and wouldn't go near the pill pockets.  They are in TX, I'm in CA.  They ship overnight for $12 and the cost of the medication seems fair.  My vet calls in the perscription and I recieve it three days later.  I've seen prednisone listed on their website for both options.  Just a suggestion...

Sebastian absolutely hates the taste of any medicine, whether it be a pill or a liquid, flavored or unflavored. He has chronic pancreatitis and gets a pretty long list of things on a daily basis. In the beginning, I was having a heck of a time getting him to swallow anything. He would spit and foam at the mouth and shake his head. I was concerned that he wasn't getting all of the medicine. It was suggested to me by people here on TCS to put pills in empty gel caps. I bought both size # 3 and # 4 gel caps. I don't know what I'd do without them! They've made administering medicine so much less stressful for all of us. As long as Sebastian can't taste anything, he's good. After I put the medicine in the gel cap, I close it tightly and coat it with a little Nutiva organic coconut oil (you can also use a little unsalted butter). It goes right down.

I don't have much advice when it comes to liquid medicines. I ask for everything in pill form so that I can hide it in a gel cap.

I have had to give my cat liquid medication and pills. With the liquid, the only way I could get Binky to take it was to first fill the syringe with her med then fill a bit of broth from her Tuna into the syringe then prop one side of her mouth open slightly (near the back side) and press down the syringe to squirt it in her mouth (not tilting her head back as she could choke). This seemed to work very well. I did though find it much easier giving her pills. The only way and I've tried several ways (rubbing butter on pill, pill pockets, crushing it up and putting in her food) is to buy very thinly sliced deli meat (ham or whatever your cat likes) and tear off a little piece and put her pill(s) into it and roll it up and pop into your cat's mouth. I have been pilling my cat this way now and it works great. All you need is a little strip big enough to roll the med in to hide the taste of the pill and they just chew it and swallow not even knowing there is a pill in it. Hope this helps.