Giving a pill to a cat

I had to give Mittens a couple of pills for worms. I could not get them into her. I even put food around them and tired. Only succeeded in getting a half of one squished in the side of her mouth of which she bit down and it all frothed back out.

Ended up having to take her to the Vet and had them do it.

Any suggestions on how to get a pill into a cat?

 

Worming pills are one of the hardest pills to give to cats because they are extremely bitter. You can't give it with food and if it touches their tongue they'll really start to struggle and foam up.

Generally when we pill, my mom holds the cat while I tilt its head back, open its mouth and drop the pill as far down it's mouth as possible. Then I hold the mouth shut and blow gently in its face (forces them to swallow). When we had to worm them, we managed (barely) to get 3 of them pilled that way. Emiliy ended up throwing hers (she bit into it) up so we took her to the vet. They wrapped her in a towel (kitty burrito) and used forceps to get the pill as far back as they could.

-Chelle

 

http://www.animalhospitalofsunprairie.com/1223242.html

http://www.myvetonline.com/website/...layout.jsp?section=medicating_cat&userId=2424

http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/ClientED/cat_meds.asp

Our kitties have always been good about taking pills except for Pooky who used to foam at the mouth no matter what type of meds administered. It takes a lot of patience. :mrgreen:

 

Petsmart sells treats that have a hollow middle that you can slip a pill in, they're in the medicine section. You may want to try those. Also, Luna loves "Pounce" - the cat treat that she's not allowed to have anymore because they're loaded with garbage. But she gets them whenever she needs to take a pill, because you can smoosh them up by adding a drop or two of water, and they turn into a clay-like paste. I then mold it around the pill, and take a couple of other Pounce bits and make them look like the one that has the pill. I give her the look-alikes first, and then slip her the one with the pill. At that point, she doesn't even really chew them, she swallows them whole. Good luck!