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Have you ever tried to give a pill to a cat? If you’ve owned cats for any length of time there’s always the inevitable illness of sorts that results in the vet sending you home with a bottle of…pills! How many cats do you know that take pills without resisting? The vet makes it look so easy: just tip her head back with one hand, use a finger to open her mouth, pop the pill into the back of the throat and quickly shut her mouth; then blow on her face, rub her throat, wait for her to swallow.
Yeah, right. As one of my friends put it, “You don’t know my cat!” Cats are WAY too smart to let us pull that trick at home. You may as well put on a Kevlar vest, heavy work gloves, and all the protective clothing you can find because there’s just no way you’re coming out of it unscathed. As one vet I used to go to humorously put it, “It has to be their idea.”
In writing this post I was reminded of this famou, humorous anecdote below on how to give a pill to a cat. Do you remember it?
– This piece was originally written by Bob Story for the Laguna Beach, Calif., Coastline NEWS.
There are several things you can try when trying to administer pills or other meds. The first one is my favorite go-to: baby food. My cats LOVE the Gerber baby food meats. In fact, no matter how quiet I try to be when opening the jar for the first time (it makes a pop as the pressure is released), Rocket and Gunner come running from the second floor bedroom, no matter if they are sound sleep, and the next thing I know I have an audience at my feet.
Crush the pill then mix it into about 1/2-1 tablespoon of baby food. Liquids or powders can easily be mixed in. If it has a really strong smell I may either use more baby food or break up the doses into smaller portions. Either way it’s usually pretty successful!
The second thing that can be helpful when pilling a cat or giving meds via syringe is wrapping the cat in a Purrito. While it doesn’t work for all cats, for others it works like a charm. Poor Snowbear used to foam at the mouth as he would fight me tooth and nail when trying to give him a pill. We even tried wrapping him up like a Purrito, but he always managed to wriggle out and make a mad dash for freedom. I would give up–it’s just not worth ruining our relationship over a pill.
Finally, using raw goats milk or bone broths to mix in pills or meds can be another effective way of masking the taste. These products are high in nutrients and many cats love the taste. You can try syringing the liquid mixture a little bit at a time until the dosing is complete. The best way to achieve this is to hold the cat’s head from behind with one hand and squirt the liquid in from the side of the cat’s mouth. You can even try pureeing the food, meds, and supplements with a little broth or milk in a blender to make sure it’s mixed evenly. Syringe the mixture if the need arises.
Having a sick cat is stressful enough; getting cats to cooperate taking their pills, meds and supplements can often increase these stress levels even further. Fortunately, compounding pharmacies can formulate certain medications with special flavors that cats actually like; for example, tuna, chicken, salmon, etc. Giving lots of praise and offering your cat’s favorite treats afterwards can also help create a more positive association from the experience.
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I have several cats that we can’t even handle let alone try and “pill” them. After much trial and error, I’ve found that the Churu Inuba treats work great! All cats seem to love these. I agree…you have to take into consideration the cost on the relationship (the animal/human bond)…sometimes it’s just not worth it.