The Secret to Effortless Pill Popping
Pill time is never fun. Hiding it in food is more effective for dogs than most cats. Skeezix can smell subterfuge a mile away and will eat everything but the pill, which often means the pill disintegrates and goes to waste.
Most cat owners use the finger method, in which you use your finger to place the pill in the back of your cat’s throat, then close the mouth and force her to swallow. However, you risk being bitten with this method, depending on your cat’s temperament.
Many people have had success administering pills with Greenies Pill Pockets. They’re a cat treat with a hollow core. You drop the pill into the cavity and feed it like a treat to your cat. We’ve had mixed luck with these. Our Siamese will eat everything but the pill, then spit it out, and sometimes refuses it altogether. You can get a free sample of Pill Pockets to see if they work for your cat.
When my geezer cat, Rocky, was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, I dreaded the prospect of giving him his pills twice daily. The usually mellow tuxie turns into exorcist kitty anytime we even start thinking about giving him medication, and I wasn’t looking forward to fighting with him morning and night for the rest of his life. My fingers would start to look like pincushions.
We tried a topical gel that is applied to his coat, the theory being that when he licked it he’d ingest the medication. But the efficacy of that method is questionable, and after a retest of his thyroid levels, it was apparent we’d have to buck up and go the pill route.
I discussed the challenge of pilling him with our vet, who sent us home with a pill gun (shown below). It transformed an epic battle into a walk in the park. Rocky never puts up a fight with the pill gun, and our fingers are never in danger of being bitten. We reward him afterward with his favorite treat, and I swear, I think he might even look forward to pill time now.
I’m surprised by the number of people who have never heard of the pill gun, or assume erroneously that it’s a veterinary tool to which they don’t have access. You can buy them online, and they’re cheap (in fact, they’re currently on sale for $2.49 at EntirelyPets.com), definitely worth a try if you’ve exhausted all other methods of pill giving.
Of course, use whatever method works best for your cat. If you’ve never given pills before, ask your vet for a demo so that you thoroughly understand the process before you have to give your first pill.
To help you perfect your pill-popping technique, Cornell University offers an informative video on how to give a cat a pill. Click here to watch the video.
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So wish I’d heard of this when Beardsley was diagnosed with hypothyroidism! Would have a few less scars now if I had!
I wish I knew about those last year when I had to give Squeakers pills for kidney levels/failure! She was too smart to fall for the Pill Pockets, the first time, she ate the pocket and left the pill, the second time she didn’t even bother with the pocket. I tried putting it in her food, but she was too smart for that too, so I just had to give them manually, which, I think, made her hate me for a while
Ah yes, the piller. I remember it well. Not fondly, but well.
Momma used one of those to give me my chemotherapy pill 3 times a week. It worked out well for her since humans are supposed to be careful and wear gloves when handling the chemo pills. (She had to wear gloves and yet she made me swallow it!)
Momma would also squirt a small syringe of water in my mouth afterwards to make sure I swallowed the pill completely and didn’t just hack it back up when her back was turned.
Ah yes,we are quite familiar with the pill gun. I have been taking pills for 12 of my 14 years and it has made life so much easier. Since all my meds are human, I take tiny little doses which are hard to get down my tiny little throat. The pill gun has made a difficult almost impossible task a walk in the park.
Thank you pill gun inventor!!
Sally Maria
Yeah, shipping is costly, and we’re not thrilled with entirelypets.
Mom tried the pill pockets and they didn’t fool me! She needs to try a pill gun next time I need pills.
Mummy tried the pill popper gun on my furkid Arrow, who is well known for her jaws of steel. It worked the first time, but never again. She just went back to the old cat-wrangling, finger down the throat routine. Me? I take my medicine like a champ! It just depends on the individual cat.
Yep, had one of those. Mama found it easier to just hold my head and use the finger method. I gagged worse with the piller and just in general hated it. I dealt well with her using her hands and didn’t bite or scratch much at all. She wishes she knew where that piller was now though… last time the “new” tortie in the family had to take pills, she was a nightmare!! And so was my girl Zilla when she was sick… but she’s always a little demon… mol!
The band-aid on the finger in the picture is funny! A little run-in with Rocky’s fangs?!? MOL!
We had zero luck with the pill gun or the pill pockets. One of our cats just has a way of spitting ‘em out, no matter what.
we have one of those… mom calls it a piller
She just sneaks up on us when we are thinking about other stuff and attacks with that thing. She always wins
This looks simple but…my Paris is a pill herself and I don’t think this would work even on her MOL!