Help! Cat needs to swallow pill!

[Sparco]

Hi,

This is my first post, I just wanted to know if anyone had any advice or tips for my problem.

I have to get my cat, Stewie, to swallow a pill twice a day for the next few weeks. Watching the Vet do made it look easy, but not so much at home when I try to!

He's not eating so much, so I can't really hide it in his food. Plus he CAN taste it! He does spit it out if I DO get it in his mouth.

Can anyone share a few hints with me?
He's gotta take this pill! And I'd like his appetite to come back too!

-Sparco

[dinahsmum]

Hi Sparco - welcome to Catsey.

Lots of this is to do with confidence - your confidence. So, first time I would try to do it in as matter of fact way as I could, like the vet did it, have Stewie sitting beside you on the couch or on your lap, put your hand over his muzzle, squeeze with your thumb and forefinger to open his mouth, get it wide, put the pil way to the back, close his mouth and talk soothingly till you feel him swallow.

That's the theory. Some cats and owners are calm and confident and do it easily every time. Some do it sometimes, some never do it!

You can get an 'introducer' which is a device looking a bit like a syringe. You fasten the pill in the end, get it to the back of the mouth and ... fire! Pill is so far back the cat can't help but swallow.

You could wrap Stewie tightly in a towel or cloth, with just his head free. Then you can do the mouth opening without fear of being shredded by what feels like a furry, scratchy octopus!

Whichever method, try to be very matter of fact about it. The more stressed you are the more he will pick up the vibes and be stressed himself.

Good luck!

[kado]

Every so often we have too give 2 of our cats pills. They are little darlings and sometimes spit them out. With Simon i sometime wait until he is asleep and pop it in his mouth and then i rub his throat and he doesnt realy notice it as much. Guinness is a very big cat and is farely placid we usually pin him down gently then OH pops it in. I hope you find a way to do it and please let us know how you get on.

kado

[PoshPuss]

hiya! I can sympathise with you. I was terrified to give pills to my cat the first time I had to do it. She wriggled and spat and scratched... oh my! I found the towel with head free option very good and as DM said, get confidence and a good grip.:shock: Then press down on his/her lower lip and jaw and pop the pill right back into the throat. Puss will gag a bit but don't panic, close the jaw up and the pill will be swallowed down. Soothing words and strokes will put kitty back in a good mood, all will be forgiven until next time,:roll:
Good luck!;)

[angieh]

Above comments are excellent! It really it more traumatic for you than for the cat and it does help if you have a friend to help hold the cat while you pop in the pill. Good luck, keep trying and remember it's all for your cat's good!!!!

[Mags]

Hi Sparco, welcome to Catsey! :D

The only thing I can add to the above advice is to try to put the tablet/pill to the back of Stewie's throat, hold his chin up and gentle rub his throat up and down ........ this will ensure he swallows the tablet ........

My previous cat had to take a tablet twice a day for about 8 years and I always used this method. He was so used to it that after a while he used to sit at my feet when I said 'tablet' and almost opened his mouth himself ready for it....... he made it very easy for me! :D

Good luck, please come back and let us know how you get on. :)

[dandysmom]

Good luck! I cannot pill a cat! Leia is large and strong and her "won't" power is greater than my will power! And of course I am completely stressed out, which she knows...
Let us know how it goes......

[Fran]

Warm welcome to Catsey! Great advice already given above. I always wrap my cats tightly in a big towel, open their mouth, push the pill right to the back of the tongue and then massage their throat until it is gone. I've never had a problem with this method even with the most difficult of cats in over 20 years of owning them :) Good luck, do let us know how you get on!

[Elaine]

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/pilling_a_cat.html

This link might help.
It is as people say alot to do with having a confident aproach.
Can I ask what's wrong with her?

[Elaine]

That r3eminds me, I must book a flight to B'ham to worm Erins cats:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Erin]

That r3eminds me, I must book a flight to B'ham to worm Erins cats:lol: :lol: :lol:

lol yep they are due again in 10 days!

[Sparco]

Thanks everybody, so far all great advice!

It seems to work best when I approach him in a calm and confident manner! The link helped alot too, thank you!

He's taking this pill as well as a liquid to help his blood cell count increase.

Unfortuneately, he has lost his appetite and isn't eating very much at all. I don't suppose giving him food the same way I give him a pill is a good idea!?!? I just want him to feel better, and I know eating would help alot!

-Sparco

[angieh]

It's such a worry when they won't eat I do sympathise Sparco. What are you feeding him (or trying to feed him) at the moment?

[dinahsmum]

It's god that the pills are (mostly) going down easy! If there is a steroid element to them you may find that they perk up his appetite anyway.
In the meantime, try tempting him with little treats. Ham, fed from your fingers, bits of fish, chicken - anything to get him back into the way of eating and enjoying food.

[Elaine]

http://www.felinecrf.org/persuading_cat_to_eat.htm

There are some good tips here, I hope they help. Can I ask what exactly is wrong with your kitty?

[eden]

Has anyone else tried the wooden spoon method? Works for me almost every time.

I used to have a nightmare with pilling cats. Now I have wooden spoon - I put a small (about 1cm-ish) blob of lux cat pate on, insert pill vertically and squidge with fingers until its a ball of pate with pill inside - offer spoon to cat but the trick is - hold spoon up so they have to lift their heads to reach it - they then cant 'sort it out' and discard the pill - goes in one go.

Obviously the cat has to want the food first, but it pretty much always works for my two.

[dandysmom]

Has anyone else tried the wooden spoon method? Works for me almost every time.

I used to have a nightmare with pilling cats. Now I have wooden spoon - I put a small (about 1cm-ish) blob of lux cat pate on, insert pill vertically and squidge with fingers until its a ball of pate with pill inside - offer spoon to cat but the trick is - hold spoon up so they have to lift their heads to reach it - they then cant 'sort it out' and discard the pill - goes in one go.

Obviously the cat has to want the food first, but it pretty much always works for my two.

What a very clever imaginative way to pill the cat!! Thanks! I'll keep that in mind for the next time "Ms. Unpillable" needs one......:D

[CathyW]

i normally use the towel method. but also means they do a runner when they are soaking wet from the rain, they think im going to give them a pill.
good luck anyway.
oh and welcome to the site. :)

[northern lass]

Giving cata a pill is never easy, MAx is ok but Oli is as previously quoted a furry scratchy octopuss.

I put a bit of butter on the pilles to encourage then to open their mouths. But the trick is to be as calm as possible and have a nice treat to reward them for swallowing (even if it has taken several minutes !)

I hope Sparco gets better soon

[Sparco]

Hey everybody,

Thanks again for all your great advice!

The butter on the pill worked the best actually.

Oh, and I'm Sparco, the cat is Stewie!

[Kay]

Glad something worked for you and Stewie. Some cats are so easy and others are little horrors.

[northern lass]

whoops sorry for the name mix up

Glad the butter works and hope Stewie gets his appetite back too.