View Full Version : Getting A Cat To Take Pills From The Vet
The Angel Of Death
06-Feb-06, 20:45
Anyone got any ideas not looking forward to convincing the cat to take his pills
claws + annoyed cat = loads of soreness
Cheers
Are they the type of pills that you can crush up?
My youngest cat hates taking pills, so I crush them up in his favourite meal - a saucer of tuna! It's the only way he will take them.
hide the pills in the cats food, it should go down that way if not, then get a slice of ham, chicken and roll the pill in it the cat will probably wolf it down without realising. Hope this helps :)
if all else fails 2 people 1 holding puss tight and the other popping it down neck.
We used to hide the pill in a piece of cheese, which both of our cats loved. Failing that, depending of the type of pill, crush it up and put in ordinary food.
Failing that - a pair of stout gardening gloves and a face visor ...........!!??
Slip the pill in at the side of the mouth behind the tongue then hold its mouth shut, this works sometimes.
wickerinca
06-Feb-06, 20:57
My cat out here is a monster..and does not like taking pills. She has to have one monthly to keep all of the beasties away. Only way I can get it in her......and let me assure you I have tried all of the hiding it in her tuna/food/favourite treat larks..........is to pounce on her when she is just nodding off to sleep. Wrap her in the thickest towel that you have and make sure that you have the hypodermic to hand. No!!!! I don't tranquilise her first.......I have the tablet crushed up in about 45 mls....or 3 tablespoons...of water or milk..and I get that in her mouth and squoosh it down her throat!!
Sorry Liz and all other members of the Cat Protection League, SSPCA, RSPCA, World wildlife Fund, Greenpeace etc etc!......But I have had coming up on 7 years wrestling with this cat and sometimes you just have to resort to violence!!!:grin: :grin:
She does run and hide for a wee while but she is soon back casting her white, ginger and tabby hair over me!!!
If your cat if anything like my dog i have tried hiding the pills in her food and everytime without fail she manages to sniff it out. even when you hide the pills really well she eats the food and spits the pills on the floor. good luck
Anyone got any ideas not looking forward to convincing the cat to take his pills
claws + annoyed cat = loads of soreness
Cheers
http://www.xs4all.nl/~josvg/pets/cat-pill.html (http://www.xs4all.nl/%7Ejosvg/pets/cat-pill.html)
valentine
06-Feb-06, 21:23
Hi the best we we found when dealing with cats that dont like to be held is to put them head first down a jacket sleeve, so that the head comes out of the cuff end, hold the cat in this position and gently open its mouth then quickly place the pill at the back of the throat and rub the cats throat(on the outside),this generally makes the cat swallow, alternatively once you have the pill in the cats mouth hold its mouth closed and gently blow up its nose this will make the cat swallow instantly. Sounds awful but totally painless and quick.:o)
connieb19
06-Feb-06, 21:31
I have the same problem..no matter how much i crush it up or try to hide it in the food the cat just knows..I've even tried those worming tablets from the vet which are supposed to taste good,and tried crushing them up in the food..
I find that if I grab him quickly and wrap him up in a towel and stuff the tablet in then hold his mouth shut..if it dosn't work first time then I can forget it..
It nearly drives me and the cat crazy...[mad] [mad]
i read in a magazine the other day to try and empty the pill onto the cats paw (or other medicines) and the cat will lick it off every time! whether this works or not i do not know, but it is worth a shot?
1. Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth rub throat of cat to encourage swallowing.
2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.
3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.
4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of 10.
5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call wife from garden.
6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, holding front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get wife to hold cat's head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.
7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.
8. Wrap cat in large towel and get wife to lie on cat with its head just visible from below wife's armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force cat's mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.
9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply band-aid to wife's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.
10. Retrieve cat from neighbour's garden shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.
11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Throw shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.
12. Ring fire brigade to retrieve cat from tree across the road. Apologise to neighbour who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil wrap.
13. Tie cat's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table. Find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed. Force cat's mouth open with small spanner. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of fillet steak. Hold head vertically and pour a glass of water down throat to wash pill down.
14. Get wife to drive you to emergency room; sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Stop by furniture shop on way home to order new table.
15. Arrange for session with Psychiatrist for even daring to think about giving your cat a pill!
crush the tablet mix with butter and smear on top of cats paw(fur) this has never failed to work for us.:D
Crush tablet and mix with olive oil. (Our cat loves olive oil)
Mix this with tuna or chicken bits....should do the trick
wickerinca
06-Feb-06, 22:00
Was just speaking to my evil eldest son and he suggested that if you are still having problems then you should:
1). Buy a canary or budgie....depending on size of cat.
2). Give tablet to bird.........or stuff bird if necessary!
3). Release bird in same room as cat.........!!:evil :lol: :lol:
I dont know much about this subject but wickinca's sons idea sounds the most fun!
The Angel Of Death
06-Feb-06, 23:07
i read in a magazine the other day to try and empty the pill onto the cats paw (or other medicines) and the cat will lick it off every time! whether this works or not i do not know, but it is worth a shot?
Tried that tonight the wife didnt wet his paw enough and we had till try again
2nd attempt we just pinned him down and then forced open his gob and popped the pill in held his mouth and eventually it was gone thing is he has a 10 day course with 1 1/2 pills twice a day roll on till its done
This is what our vet told us to do:
Take a small syringe with no needle. Crush up your pill and mix with a small amount of milk, suck it up into the syringe and shake. (btw this is a two man job!) One person holds the cat firmly (wrapped up in a towel if necessary!) and the other person slips the syringe into the side of pusses gob and squeezes slowly. They have to swallow it, like it or not!
(ooops - just noticed some else does this too!!)
Works a treat! purrrrrrfect......oh no...sorry.
Angel of Death, I had the same problem with my cat when it had to have 3 pills a day. Ask your vet about purchasing a special pill dispensing syringe. They are worth their weight in gold, believe me! They are like a regular syringe but they have a small clasp to hold the pills, just fill with water, place the pills, shove down the cats gob and squeeze the syringe and it is all washed down. It has turned a hard job into an easy one.:o) They only cost a couple of quid.
They may be wary at first but once you show who is boss then it is a one man job with no hassle.
thickrodney
07-Feb-06, 03:11
Anyone got any ideas not looking forward to convincing the cat to take his pills
claws + annoyed cat = loads of soreness
Cheers
Inform the cat of the need to take the pill. Explain the consequences if he/she doesn't.
That is what my wife does with our cat. She is on 1 pill a day. :)
I wait until she is asleep on the bed and then i pop the pill in her mouth and hold her nostrils closed. That way she will swallow the pill.
She is 15 and doesn't put up much of a fight tho.
The Angel Of Death
10-Feb-06, 13:59
Ok bit of an update
Last few days all was going "smoothly" cat wasnt chuffed but was taking the pills untill last night when he developed the tumble dryer with knifes effect and went MAD
Covered him up in a towel which made the situation worse (tail like basil brush cat owners will know) pinned him down and he locked his jaw eventually got that open and popped the pills in and held it shut after a few mins cat spat it out retryed again and got the same result eventually he got out of the towel and went mad trying to swipe it big style and hid under the table
At that point we left it and decided to go down the mix it in with tuna option and that so far seems to have worked
Ohh well half way through the course
Ok bit of an update
Last few days all was going "smoothly" cat wasnt chuffed but was taking the pills untill last night when he developed the tumble dryer with knifes effect and went MAD
Covered him up in a towel which made the situation worse (tail like basil brush cat owners will know) pinned him down and he locked his jaw eventually got that open and popped the pills in and held it shut after a few mins cat spat it out retryed again and got the same result eventually he got out of the towel and went mad trying to swipe it big style and hid under the table
At that point we left it and decided to go down the mix it in with tuna option and that so far seems to have worked
Ohh well half way through the course
Lol i bet he was not impressed with you.
The Angel Of Death
10-Feb-06, 15:14
The funny thing is that once he got a little bit of tuna all was forgiven
Cats i'll never work them out
wickerinca
10-Feb-06, 18:27
The funny thing is that once he got a little bit of tuna all was forgiven
Cats i'll never work them out
I know!!......think that they were just put on this earth to confuse us all!:lol:
Hope your cat is fine after all of his treatment:D
Have been having a good laugh at all the advice re giving pill giving!!!
One of my cats had to have antibiotics recently and thankfully they were chicken flavoured so he took it mixed in his food.
If he wouldn't take it this way there isn't a hope of getting him to take it any other way.
Who says animals lower your stress levels!!!:confused
Been there done all that and none of it works, I've got the scars to prove it as has my vet but at least she gets paid for her efforts!
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