I have a cat, actually 4 lol but only one is sick, so the vet gave me pills to give him but he wont take them.

Question

so i gave him his pill and he wont take it, he lets it stay in his mouth and then his syliva makes it foam until i clean it up then he runs for the hills, he has more energy but i dont know if i should try giving him his pills still, the vet also gave me a liquid med to give him by a siringe, and he takes those without a problem, so my question is, how do i keep giving him his pill without him spitting it out? any help?

Answer 1

have you tried putting it in his food? don't crush it because animals are'nt stupid and he'll smell the pills in his food!

Answer 2

you could crush it up and put it in her wet cat food, works for mine

Answer 3

how to give a cat a pill????.

1 Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm, as if holding it like 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 and allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

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 away soggy pill.

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 ten.

5 Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.

6 Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold 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 curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

8 Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

9 Check label to make sure pill is not harmful to humans, drink one beer to take away taste. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

10 Retrieve cat from neighbour's shed, get another pill, open another beer. Place cat in cupboard and close door on 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 cupboard back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of scotch. Pour short drink. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus jab. Apply whisky compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw away tee-shirt 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. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of fillet steak. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash it down.

14 Consume remainder of scotch. Get spouse to drive you to Accident and Emergence Department. Sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.

15 Arrange for RSPCA to collect mutant cat from h**l and ring local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

HOW TO GIVE A DOG A PILL - Wrap it in bacon

HONESTLY I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH ONE OF MY YOUNGER CATS.. BACK TO THE VETS AND TOLD HIM THAT I COULDN'T GET THE CAT TO TAKE THE TABLET.. THE VET ALL SMUG TOOK OLD OF THE CAT OPENED HIS MOUTH AND THREW DOWN THE TABLET.. THERE SEE HE SAID EASY.. ONLY THEN DID GANDY LOOK UP AT HIM COUGH AND SPIT THE TABLET BACK AT THE VET..

I LEFT THE VETS WITH MEDICATION, NEEDLES AND SYRINGES AND A QUICK LESSON IN HOW TO INJECT.

GOOD LUCK HOPE KITTY GETS BETTER SOON.

Answer 4

You should try putting the pill in something your cat likes to eat. Some cats like cheese, but if your cat won't do that then put a tiny bit of milk at the bottom of the dish and stick the pill in there and it won't even notice.

Answer 5

You could try washing the pill down with the one in the syringe if the Vet says your two meds are OK to mix close together.

You can buy these things called "pill pockets" at the pet shop. You hide your pill inside of them like a treat.

You can have someone wrap kitty up in a large towel like a burrito (all 4 legs inside) and place on top of a table.  You gently hold her head in one hand and while carefully squeezing her cheeks together - her mouth will open.  Tilt her head back nicely and pop the pill towards the back of her mouth right

down the middle.    Close her mouth, hold it shut, stroke her throat gently and tell her what a good kitty she is.....    

Or ask if your pills also come in a liquid form.

Hope one of these helped.  Only try what you are comfortable with.  There are lots of ways but even with all of my years of doing this, I actually OWN a cat that I can not medicate without being seriously damaged myself in the process.  

ps: whatever you choose - be careful not to stress her out - never worth it.   If she should start panting or staggering etc...  let her rest and call your vet right away.

Good luck  :)

Answer 6

mix it into food that you only give him, away from the other cats

Answer 7

Hold the cat so he cannot claw you or wrap a towel around him. With your thumb and fore finger open his mouth. With your other hand place pill in his mouth using your forefinger of that hand to push the pill to back of his throat. Hold his mouth closed and massage his throat until he starts l*****g his lips (means he swallowed). Then give kitty a tasty treat!

Crushing and placing in his food could turn him off to the food so it is not recommended.

Answer 8

crush it mix it into cat food

Answer 9

Here are a few suggestions:

Wrap the cat in a towel, blanket or a pillowcase with only its head sticking out should immobilise the cat enough to protect against claws. Make sure the towel is wrapped securely. If possible, kneel and hold the wrapped cat between your knees to free up both hands. This method is not foolproof, but is certainly worth trying, especially if the tablet has to be given whole.

Check your pet store for a cat restraint bag - these are made of mesh and have a zip and a hole for the cat's head. They are designed for restraining a cat for bathing, but some are sturdy enough to be used when giving medication.

If the problem is getting the cat to swallow: After putting the tablet at the back of the cat's mouth, spoon or drip a couple of drops of water into the mouth to make the cat swallow. A couple of drops from an eye dropper is usually enough.

To make the "tablet-in-a-treat" method work, your cat should be used to getting occasional treats of the food in question and view the treat as something desirable e.g. a reward or accompanied by praise or following play. Many cats are suspicious of new foods and if you try to hide a tablet in something unfamiliar, you probably won't succeed. For many, the fact they are getting human food (normally forbidden) may be enough to make them gulp it down before you change your mind. Tablets do not mix well with dry food (kibble), but can be mixed with canned foods. Experiment to find out what treat foods your cat likes before you ever need to give tablets. For a long course of medication, you will need to vary the treats as many cats grow bored and/or suspicious.

Crush the tablet and mix with strong smelling canned food or with sardines in tomato juice or a similar very strong smelling treat. Foods worth trying include fish paste/pate or one of the stronger-smelling meats. Cats have much better senses of taste and smell than we have, hence the need for strong smelling, strong tasting foods.

Hide the whole tablet in a small piece of greasy cooked sausage, greasy cooked burger or greasy cooked chicken. Larger tablets will need to be broken into pieces and fed in several treats. Many cats are attracted to greasy meats (cats are designed to quickly metabolise fats into energy) and greed may overcome caution. Some cats will take tablets crushed in butter or even in cooked pork fat. These methods won't be suitable if your cat is sensitive to fat - vomiting or diarrhoea will prevent the tablet being digested.

Hide the whole tablet in a piece of cheese which you have warmed in your hands so it can be moulded into a ball. Larger tablets will need to be broken into pieces and fed in several treats. This method is only suited to cats which can tolerate dairy products.

Hide the whole tablet inside a hollowed out soft cat treat.

Liquid medicine can be mixed into strong smelling foods such as sardines or pilchards. The varieties in tomato sauce or often most successful.

Crush the tablet and mix it with goats milk, cat milk or evaporated milk (unless your cat is not able to drink these milks) which can be served on a saucer or dish.

Crush the tablet and mix with a tablespoon of raw chicken mince, raw beef mince, Marmite, butter or Primula cheese spread (depending on which of those your cat likes).  Sometimes dabbing the butter-tablet mix on a paw or one the nose will get the cat to clean it off.

If your cat allows you to open its mouth or restrain it, but still won't swallow a tablet, crush the tablet in a pestle and mortar (or use the back of a teaspoon on a plate) and mix it with a little liquid such as lactose-reduced milk, tuna juice etc. Slowly spoon or syringe the liquid into the cat's mouth. It is likely to swallow this by reflex. It is best not to use an eye dropper as many tablets don't dissolve in milk or water and the crushed pieces (even if very fine) can clog the eye dropper.

If your cat accepts being spoon or syringe fed, but won't swallow tablets, ask the vet if the medication is available in a liquid form.

If your cat is a sucker for titbits from your meals, try some psychology. Cats will often eat titbits from your plate when you are having a meal, but won't eat the same things when served in their usual bowl.  Put the pill in a piece of sausage or greasy chicken and have this handy when you eat a meal containing the same types of meat. Give the cat a tiny piece of meat from your own meal as a "loss leader". Having successfully begged for that titbit, most cats will want more. Give it the piece containing the pill. Alternatively, if you don't want to encourage begging (which is probably the lesser of 2 evils if your cat is on lifetime medication), leave the piece of meat containing the pill on your plate and put it on the floor for the cat to eat when your meal is finished.

There are even more tips at http://www.messybeast.com/medicate.htm

including how to medicate one cat and not letting the others eat the medication.

Answer 10

My cat also had to take pills at 1 point, this is the easiest way to give them the pills, might be a bit hard though, grab your cat to where he wont be able to get away, open his mouth and you have to shove the pill WAY in the back of their throats, this worked with mine, sometimes it would come back out, but if its back all the way it shoudl work. or you could try putting it in a LITTLE bit of wet cat food so he doesnt knwo its in there. good luck and yes keep giving him the meds till hes done with them