How do you get a cat to take a pill?

Question

My cat is not your average everyday ordinary cat. He is very smart but I need to get him to take his medication. I have tried cutting it up and sticking it betwen pieces of his favorite cat food. He ate everything except for the parts with the pill pieces inside. I have also tried pounding it into a powder and lacing his food with it. He took a sniff and walked away. I do not want to force it down his throat. He HATES it when he feels trapped at all and will fight. Does anyone have any suggestions? The pill is about the size of an asprin.

Answer 1

The 3 second way is to keep the pill in your pocket. When he is sitting down and relaxed, open his mouth, place the pill at the back of his tongue, close his mouth and hold it closed with one hand while stroking his throat with a downward motion with your other hand.

It takes only a few seconds although if the pill is fairly large, you may have to cut it in half and do this twice. I think this is the least traumatic way since it is over very quickly. There is no anticipation and nervousness and the cat swallows normally.

Answer 2

I can only think of two options.

1 - Crush it up and then stir it in with wet cat food he likes. He won't be able to get around the pill that way.

2 - Wrap him securly in a towel or blanket, with only his head sticking out. Hold the sides of his mouth so it opens, and pop the pill in the back of his mouth. I know you said you don't want to do that, but if the first option doesn't work, and you can get the meds in a different form, you may have to force it.

Answer 3

I've never had any luck with the techniques mentioned above. What works for me is I take my cat into the bathroom and close the door. This keeps her from being able to get away. I sit on my knees on the floor, put the cat between my legs, head facing out. Cats have a tendancy to back up when they are uncomfortable so this way they back up into me and can't go anywhere.

If I have to put ointment in the eyes I put a healthy amount of ointment on my index finger of my right hand (left hand if you are left handed). I hold the top and left side of the head with my left hand and put my right hand under the chin. I gently pull the eye open with my left thumb and right middle finger then carefully smear the ointment into the eyeball with my right index finger. I hold the eye shut for about 5 seconds then release the cat. I try to keep them distracted for about 5 minutes so they don't paw at it and the medicine can start working.

If I have to give them a pill, I put the pill in my left index finger and thumb. I gently cover the eyes and lift the lips with my right thumb and middle finger. With my left hand I gently push open the mouth with my left middle finger then quickly pop the pill in the back of her throat. I quickly close the mouth and hold it shut with my right hand. I blow gently on her face and rub her throat for a few seconds. This works well about 99% of the time.

Answer 4

My cat was the same way, in order to giver her medication i had to restrain her in a towel, tilt her head up, open her mouth and put it right at the back of her throat, and then hold her mouth closed. and in a few seconds it was gone- and she was rewarded with treats.
I know that sounds kind of bad, but it was the exact same way the vet did it.
And nothing is more important than the cats health, even if it has to be uncomfortable for a few minutes, i mean- no one likes to take medicine right?

Answer 5

Wrap the pill in a piece of lunch meat or put it in some tuna, the kind that is in oil. It has always worked for my cat. You could also ask you vet if the meds could be prescribed in liquid form, that makes it easy too.

Answer 6

if the cat wont take its meds hidden in food then u have to get it in him someway. open his mouth and put the pill at the back of it really fast. then close his mouth and blow on his face just for a second, it forces them to swallow. this is a little trick i have seen a couple of vets do on my own animals and at the vets i worked at. the whole thing is over in literally 5 seconds or less. they dont even know what hit them and it will prevent them from just spitting out the pill and then u dont have to hold their heads for a couple minutes waiting for them to swallow.

Answer 7

My cat is also really smart, but I needed to get the meds in her....so I crushed them, put them in a little water drained from a can of tuna, and basically poured it down her throat.
She has claws, so I wrapped her in a thick towel first.

She hated it, but it worked. If you can, go to the baby department & get a medicine dropper. It will be easier that way.

BTW, I gave her some of the tuna as a reward afterward, which sort of softened the blow to her ego!

Answer 8

You have to open their mouth and put it in their throat, enough so that when the cat closes its mouth it will just slide down it's throat. I know it sounds bad but It won't hurt them, it's better then not taking the pill right?

Answer 9

you need to hold your cat tightly, open his mouth and put the pill to the back of his throat. hold his mouth shut though and make sure he swallows. my cat is a smart little thing and makes u think he has swallowed it and when i let him go he spits it out or he shakes his head so we won't notice that he has spit it out.

Answer 10

you have to hold your cat down, open its mouth, put the pill in and rub their throat until it goes down. this is a fool proof method i've been doing for years. but make sure to reward him with a treat afterwards. =)