How to pill a cat, need tips.

moggiegirl

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I have quite a story to tell you. Rosie has to take these little antibiotics pills every 8 hours for a kidney infection. Tried pill pockets. She won't eat them. Tried sticking them in butter. She licked the butter and left the pill. I had to use the pill popper to force it down. She was upset. The next 3 times I successfully pilled her by wrapping the pill in lunch meat. She snatched it from my hand and swallowed the pill. I thought I had a solution but this morning she ate the lunch meat and spit out the pill 5 times. She therefore ate too much lunch meat, enough for breakfast without swallowing the pill. I had to use the pill popper again and she was so upset she went inside a box to hide. I saw a YouTube video about mixing a pill with dry kibble in your hand until it smells the same and then letting the cat eat the kibble along with the pill. Seems too easy to be true but I'll try it tonight. If that fails I'll stick it in a piece of cheese. I'm also considering buying some cream cheese to spread on the lunch meat so the pill sticks. So much creativity and trial and error required to get my kitty to swallow pills preferably stress-free. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks.
 
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moggiegirl

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I give up. She now refuses to eat the pill no matter what I do and if I try and force it she'll hide. It's breaking the bond of trust between me and my cat, something that is important to me. I'm going to see if my vet can give her an antibiotic shot so I don't have to pill her 3 times a day. I know it can be done. I don't think liquid medicine is any easier. I've had to do that too before and she hated it and ran from me too.
 

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Can you give the medicine in a closed sparsely furnished room ike the bathroom? There will be less places to hide if your cat wiggles away. Kneeling on the floor with the cat tucked between the knees helps to keep the wiggling down.

Try these pilling doughs in fish flavor: You can roll the outside of the dough covered pill in crushed up freeze dried treats or FortiFlora for an extra dose of yummies and mask any scent of the pill. There's a similar product in bacon flavor.

Ask the vet if the antibiotic can be compounded into a flavored liquid form or a ointment or even treat or prescribe a different antibiotic.
 
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moggiegirl

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The vet is going to give her an antibiotic injection so I don't have to keep pilling her. That one morning when I tried the lunch meat trick 5 times and each time she spit out the pill I think she figured out that I would give her more lunch meat if she keeps spitting out the pill. Cats are smart!
 

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Don't know if this helps at all, but I don't do anything special when I pill my cats. I open their mouths, drop the pill in the back of the mouth, hold their mouth shut (careful not to cover the nose!) and rub their throat until they swallow. My cats don't like it anymore than some of the other things I have had to do to them (clip their claws, change bandages on an amputated leg, remove stitches, among other things), but none of these these have caused them to fear me or lose trust in me. Your kitty loves you, you can trust that she'll forgive you for doing something to her that she doesn't necessarily like. :) Treats or some kind of reward afterwards helps too.
 
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moggiegirl

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It really has been hard to pill Rosie because both times when I had to force the pill with a pill gun she was upset and ran away to hide from me. Next time she needs medicine I'm going to use the liquid. She doesn't like it either but easier than pills that you have to make sure get swallowed. I understand you're supposed to use a pill chaser too. I didn't do that. I think she'll be ok with the injection because it will treat her kidney infection which is better than I've been doing. I'm supposed to give her the pills every 8 hours 3 times a day and on the days I work I can only do it twice a day because I'm away from home for 12 hours and now because I've had difficulty getting her to take the pill I'm not doing it at all. It's better she gets the treatment she needs than me continuing to be a wuss and she doesn't get enough medicine.
 
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Cataria

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Awwww. Yeah, I prefer liquid medicine over pills too, so I'm with you there! I can also see the injection being a lot more convenient in general -- is it a one-time injection? Giving a cat a pill three times a day is a huge pain!

Anyway, since you have an option that works better for you and the cat, that's great! If ever you don't though, don't be afraid to do what you have to do. :)
 

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You can get the pill compounded and dissolve in liquid, which is what I might do with my Billi's pepcid. He fights and fights and gets all dramatic with hard breathing and choking sounds. I'm gonna try crushing the pills into powder then dissolving it in little chicken broth. It's still pretty difficult to syringe him, but I can manage to get 1/3 cc in him usually. I think it's good that you are getting injections. I hear you about being at work making it hard to medicate!
 
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moggiegirl

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Awwww. Yeah, I prefer liquid medicine over pills too, so I'm with you there! I can also see the injection being a lot more convenient in general -- is it a one-time injection? Giving a cat a pill three times a day is a huge pain!

Anyway, since you have an option that works better for you and the cat, that's great! If ever you don't though, don't be afraid to do what you have to do. :)
It is a one time injection.
 

micknsnicks2mom

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You can get the pill compounded and dissolve in liquid, which is what I might do with my Billi's pepcid. He fights and fights and gets all dramatic with hard breathing and choking sounds. I'm gonna try crushing the pills into powder then dissolving it in little chicken broth. It's still pretty difficult to syringe him, but I can manage to get 1/3 cc in him usually. I think it's good that you are getting injections. I hear you about being at work making it hard to medicate!
i give our jaspurr pepcid twice each day. i dissolve the 1/4 tab in water, then mix that into his wet food. no problem, he eats his meal with the pepcid in it. might that be something to try with your boy?
 

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Pill Popper that you can work easily with one hand (I like the straight ones. The ones without the finger hole "T's")
  I get on the floor on my knees and lean back and sit on my legs.  Put cat in between my legs facing forward.
With my right hand, I get the pill popper touching the right front of cats mouth.  (ready to insert and "pop")
My left hand cradles under the mouth/neck.  My left index finger is going to stick into the left side of the cats mouth, at the very back.
Light poking pressure with left index finger gets cat to open and as soon as that happens....pill popper gets inserted to the back of the tongue, to the throat....and "popped".

Ideally, pill lands at the back of the tongue and it's GONE.  (Good kitty!!!)
Less than ideally, pill gets popped a bit down the throat, but, it's gone and not much fuss (Sorry baby, it had to be done...)
Every so often, it's a little battle and pill gets popped in the middle of the tongue and out it comes.  (re-do and this is rare. Especially rare after you have success a few times)

TIP: A soft thin cloth glove for the pill popper hand (Jersey gloves) might help.   Usually it's the right paw/claw that comes up to fight the pill popper hand and the glove will keep you from getting poked or scratched.  (the left paw isn't so much of a problem because your left hand is cradling the neck/chest and pretty much blocking the left paw.
If no glove, laying a washcloth over your pill popper hand will work. Bit awkward, but, it does work.
If it's more than just one pill?   Such as one pill, THEN one syringe of liquid, THEN one syringe of water.   A damp washcloth stays in place on your hand better than a dry one, and can be used to wipe up kitty's mouth, and any spit up/dribble mess right then.

A cat won't understand and won't love you one bit while you are medicating them.  But, fortunately, they get over it quick and it's just one of those things that HAS TO BE DONE.
 
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1sammy

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My cat is a picky eater and refuses to take any medicine disguised or not. I have tried pill popper, wrapping her in a towel so she can't struggle, chopping up pill and putting it in a syringe with water and nothing has been successful. She has to take pain meds and pills several times a day and it is hit and miss. If she doesn't take the meds and get better, her left eye will need to b removed and I really don't want that.
 

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I crush pills between two spoons and administer one of two ways.  Either mix it with a tad of baby food which they lap off the spoon OR mix it with a tad (a few drops) of water and suck it up with a 1ml oral syringe (get one from a vet) and put it in her mouth that way.  Depending on the taste of the powdered pill, they may eat the baby food or not.  You can also mix it with some canned tuna juice.  Personally, for a picky eater, I'd just use the syringe.
 
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1sammy

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Thank you cat mom marcia. I have tried that also she spits, slime and sneezes it out. She is a bad patient. Just got back from vet, they had to give her the pill and she is not happy. Going to get an rx for compounded version so it is liquid not sure what cost will be though.
 

1sammy

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Probably could put a little more water in, but she locks her jaws and I have a milisecond of opportunity to get it in there. I think I am more stressed out than her. Although our different methods of trying have no doubt completely traumatized her.
 

meowmmy_aprile

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The best way so far I have found is having the medicine compounded into something kitty likes. My cats are too smart for their own good sometimes even when I have the medicine compounded so I have had to come up with things to fool them. Best one I have found so far is heating up some no salt broth and mixing the compounded liquid into that. Works really well for me and I have 8 cats. Another is crushing the pill. Make sure you are allowed to crush it because some pills can not be given crushed and must be whole.  Heat up a small amount of broth just until warm not hot. Mixed the crushed pill in some chicken baby food and then add to the broth. I like doing it that way because usually when my kitties need meds they aren't feeling well and the broth and baby food give them a little extra moisture and some food on their tummies.
 

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I have a cat who hates being pilled.  The one thing that has worked for her is raw hamburger around the pill.  First i offer some without a pill so she knows its ok, and this is good to do with any food, offer a blank first.  SOme medications can be given transdermally (a cream you rub on their ears, med is absorbed through skin), sometimes you can use a med that only needs once a day instead of 2 or 3 times.  And if there is any way a medicine can be given as a sub q injection that is always much easier, cat won't feel it.

You may have seen the anti-convenia post earlier.  I don't understand why there is such a large anti-convenia following on TCS, but i disagree with it.  Convenia has been safely given countless times to countless cats. ALL medications have side effects, and yes convenia stays in the body a long time so if there is a bad reaction that cat will need long term treatment to get through it.  http://web-dvm.net/the-troubling-aftermath-of-veterinary-misinformation-this-time-convenia/

Stephen
 

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Vitakraft make a liquid snack so I just grind up the pills, mix it all up and it gets lapped up. Although the last time I had to do so the pills were meat flavoured. All I had to do was to crush them a little and mix them in with her food, then stop the others from trying to eat it.
 
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