Cat refuses to eat pills in pill pockets

My cat has heart disease and needs 1/4 pill twice a day. Problem is he doesn't like any treats. He sniffs out his pill pockets and pushes them away. We've covered it in food, tried different treats to hide the pill too. Any other suggestions?

There is a long thread active right now on pilling cats.  Lots of members have weighed in with their favorite methods so I hope you will find some good ideas there!

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/313723/how-do-i-get-my-cat-to-take-a-pill

Good luck!  As I know from experience, pilling a cat can be a nightmare!  

We have the same issue with our cat who we have to pill 3 times a day. We bought a pill popper. That was our solution. Takes some getting used to but now it's not a problem. Good luck.

I used to crush the pills into powder form then blend it into wet food...... Good luck!

If your kitty needs to take pills long term, this is going to be a problem.  Isn't it?

The standard, "grab the cat and make him swallow the pill" methods just aren't feasible.  Even using a pill popper could get tedious.

http://www.thecatsite.com/products/pet-piller-pill-gun

Do the pills have a really strong flavor or smell?

(Okay, don't taste the pill just to find out but you can probably tell by carefully sniffing the open container.)

If the pills smell bad, that's probably what's throwing Kitty off his Pill Pockets.

Do make sure that the pill is "smooshed" into the pill pocket really well so that it's harder to chew up the treat part and spit out the pill.  Maybe even break it up into a few smaller pieces so that it smooshes in better.

Other than that, you're going to have to mask that smell, somehow.

Is there some food that Kitty likes a lot?  Gravy?  Cheese?  Something with a strong flavor that will hide the smell of the pill?

When I was a kid, we had a dog that would eat anything that he thought his humans were eating.  "Reggie" would even eat worms and dirt if he thought you were eating it.  (Ask me how I know this! )  When it was time to give Reggie his medicine, all you had to do was pretend to eat it like candy and he would want some, too.  Gulp!  Down goes the pill!  You didn't even have to try to hide it.  With most of our dogs, we just used a piece of hamburger or cheese, though.

Moral of the story:  Try to use the "psychological approach" first.  Try to find something that the cat thinks is yummy, to hide the pill inside then try to make it seem like you are sharing a snack with Kitty.  If Kitty thinks he's sharing goodies with his humans, he won't be on guard for medicine and it might go down easier.

Some cats like Marmite or Vegemite.  That stuff has a really strong flavor and smell.  A little dab of Marmite might do the trick.  Our cat, Casper, likes Marmite well enough that I could hide a pill with it.

If that doesn't work you'll have to try other methods.  (i.e. "Make" Kitty take a pill.)  It might not be fun but it has to be done.  Right?

If it comes to that, do try to make it as "nice" as possible.  Don't loom over the cat like Lord Voldemort.  Get the pill ready where the cat can't see then come over and be "nice" to the cat for a minute before doing the deed.  Pet him and play with him before and after the deed.

Pill poppers aren't very expensive.  If you're going to be giving pills to Kitty every day, it might be a worthwhile investment.

If you use the easiest, least invasive methods possible, try to make pill time be a "nice" time and you are firm, persistent but nice, Kitty will get used to it and won't put up a fight.  After a while, it will just be a "normal" thing.

I think that cats and dogs are smart enough that, even though swallowing pills might be "icky", they know that the medicine helps them feel better and, after a while, they accept it.

If you do this right, I have faith that your Kitty will get used to it, too. 

I've crushed pills and mixed them in with human baby food (any meat flavor with no onions or garlic) before. The cats I've worked with really like the smell and flavor of baby food, so they eagerly lap it up. If there's any other food that he loves that smells strongly (so the smell overwhelms the pill hopefully), like tuna fish, the same principle could apply.

I have the same issue, I have to rotate my strategies quite a bit. My most recent thing to do is to wait until she's sound asleep, then wake Sara up and offer the pill pocket. But if she doesn't like treats as a rule, yeah, that can be difficult. I dread the day I have to pill Penelopy if it comes to that, as she's not a treats girl either.

My cats will only eat a pills hidden in Purina whisker lickins chicken flavor soft treats. I tried everything that's the only thing that ever worked.

Donutte said:

...I have to rotate my strategies quite a bit. ...

Click to expand...

Keep 'em guessing, eh?

Or, do they keep YOU guessing?  

Caspers Human said:

Keep 'em guessing, eh? :bigwink:

Or, do they keep YOU guessing?   :doh3:

Click to expand...

More like, "I like this treat!" Then two days later, "I don't want that anymore, remove it from my bubble, human!" Rinse and repeat, over and over.

Cat to human: "This does not meet my specifications. Take it away, human."

Last night, I tired the pill paste that I bought on Amazon. It smells very much like fake bacon. Anyway, she was not interested. I smushed a Temptation treat on it, and she was very interested! Gobbled it up. This morning, shoved her one and a half pills into one pill pocket, managed to drop the one full pill. I quickly put it in another pill pocket (while I have her interest) and again, drops the pill. So I put it in some pill paste, and this time she loved it (even without the Temptation).

Every day (heck, every pilling) is a new experiment.

This is an old thread I started when our last cat was taking multiple pills a day for his heart condition. Several members had great suggestions.

[thread="237863"][/thread]

We have to give a lot of meds to cats at the shelter, and what works with most cats is liverwurst. They seem to have their brand preferences, though. :lol3: