May 18th, 2011
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Giving pills can be stressful for you and your cat. Here’s a way to make this task easier for both of you:
Give the pill at a time when your cat is relaxed. Approach her quietly and wrap your non-dominant hand around her body so that her tail is facing you. Use your non-dominant hand to gently move her head upwards. Then use the middle finger of your dominant hand to hold her lower jaw open and the thumb and index finger of that hand to pop the pill into the back of her mouth. Hold her head up and stroke her chin and throat. When you feel her throat muscles move and she licks her nose, she’s swallowed the pill. Cat expert and animal communicator JaneA Kelley is the webmaster and chief cat slave for Paws and Effect, a weekly cat advice column by cats, for cats and their people. |
and doesn’t stop. She starts meowing and then cuts it off xD
I found swaddling her in a towel and propping her on a pillow helped. Giving her a treat after made stick around each pill time rather than hide.
My cats are fairly easy to pill — lots of experience, unfortunately. Debby’s suggestion to give a treat afterwards is great because it helps to ensure that the pill goes all the way down. I also give a 3 ml syringe of water in the side of the mouth/cheek right after so the pill is less likely to get caught in the throat. I have read that some pills, if they get caught in the throat for a while, can cause damage to the lining of the throat.
You have got to be kidding.
Holding the cat with ONE HAND – the one that is the least strong – AND holding the head, forcing the jaw open,and placing the pill just right with the other ONE HAND – well, you have not met Catzilla.
16 lbs. Muscle. Claws and teeth. Sleeps with one eye open. Elderly feral rescue. Lived with me since he was 10 weeks old, but still nervous, dominant, predatory.
I usually do approach him during down time, and totally immobilize him with a blanket. It is the only way to safely do this so that neither of us get hurt. I lean my body over him using my non dominant arm to hold the blanket in place with the hand used to pry open his mouth. Then the dominant hand administers the dose and holds the head up until I am sure he has swallowed it. That may have to be repeated if he gets his back legs free.
If he doesnt retreat to another room, I have to.
Liquid medication is preferable, with a syringe. He cant hide that and spit it out.
Pill Pockets work for me! If it’s a liquid, I’m lucky, she takes that well directly from the syringe. Actually licks licks it off. She’s nineteen years old, bless her heart.
HAH! Better said than done. I have to practically sit on my 22 & 25lb (no, not fat, all lean muscle) boys and use a pill popper from my vet. Also I have found that some long term meds can be compounded to rub in their ears and that is very stress free for both of us.
i have learned my cats when they were just kittens to willing me to open their mouth, and do other things to adjust to let them healthy.
by my first two cats i didn’t know that, so i had like crizella a hard time to give my tomcats their meds-S
one of my cats have a sight problem so i gave her the meds just in her sight so she don’t have to be scared, and because i have given her for years some treads she comes everymorning to get her meds.LOL
it’s not stressful anymore, i have done it that way by all my other cats.
it’s just the trick to adjust them when they are kittens.
hope it’s working for new owners as well;-D
When I feel her throat muscles move is about the same time I feel her super-erupted canine teeth sinking into the thumb and forefinger of my dominant hand (if they haven’t already gotten ahold of the exposed fingers on my non-dominant hand). Sadly, my cat is next to impossible to pill. When she needs meds, the vet and I decide what can be compounded into a chicken-flavoured liquid that I can give her with a syringe. Much less traumatic for both of us.
That’s easier said (or written) than done – not all cats allow this!
Having been in cat rescue for 19 years, and having cats of my own all my life, pilling cats this way is just wishful thinking in ideal situations!
The nicest, sweetest and docile pussycats can turn into incredible hulks as soon as they notice meds coming their way or going to the vet.
I rely on pillpoppers and nice heavy towes anytimel!
I have found that compounding meds don’t help except hit you in the pocketbook. If meds are very bitter, I mix them with sardines and the juices – works every time for cats that won’t even tolerate pillpoppers!
Because I am so stressed by pilling, whenever possible, Mom has my medicine compounded into a liquid at the local compounding pharmacy. This is a great option!
get pill pockets, much easier!!
PILL POCKETS!!! They are available at most vets and at PetSmart and Petco, or at online retailers such as entirely pets.com. They work like a charn. Just make sure to hold the Pill Pocket in one hand and put the medicine in with the other so that you don’t get the horrible taste of the pill onto the outside of the pocket. Cats LOVE them and you can pill a cat daily for years with this product, and with not hassle. Give them as treats without pills to your other cats and everyone will be happy. Also, dogs love them too!! I pilled my cat with cardio-myapathy for 7 years, daily with Pill Pockets and he couldn’t wait. He would sit on the counter by the cabinet where the PP were until he got his “treat”.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Have you seriously ever TRIED this?
Yes, Trish, I have — lots of times. It’s worked very well for me, even on cats that are difficult to pill, when done quickly and with confidence.
My big snowshoe kitty, Smudge Kitty, got out one day and since he hates all cats, got into a fight. A feww days later up came the abcess on his back and off to the vet we went. Smudge came home the next day with antibiotic pills he had to be given twice a day. Now I had never had to give a cat of mine a pill before and thought nothing of it and figuared it would be just like popping a pill down my dogs throat- WRONG! I went to give Smudge his first pill and I did manage to get it down his throat but also got bit very badly in the process- He bit down so hard he bit my thumb to the bone. Smudge went back to the vet and got a one time long lasting antibiotic shot the next day! The shot costs a bit more than the daily pills but it’s worth every penny!