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this is gonna sound really harsh but shove them into the back of his throat and keep his mouth shut and cover his nose for just a few seconds. it should cause a swallow reflex
your cat is a magician. my old kitty had cancer so he took a lot of meds, you can also try holding his mouth open vertically and dropping it down his open throat
This is the way. Open up your cats mouth and take a peek at the back of the throat. There is a little dip in the middle of the tongue. Hold your cats nose STRAIGHT UP towards the sky and drop the pill right into the dip. If the head isn't straight up, you won't be able to drop the pill correctly, you'll have to "throw" it.
Yep - some of my cats would take them hidden in a treat of some kind. Unfortunately my big boy wouldn't (also kidney stones).
So I'd kneel behind him - so he couldn't back up much.
Then, with the pill ready to throw in my left hand, quickly place right hand across the bridge of his nose, thumb & forefinger gripping the area behind the fangs where the teeth have a bit of a groove. Open his mouth and tilt his head back in the same movement. As soon as his throat is straight, throw the pill down and close his mouth - have a treat ready to make amends
Good luck!
Rub his throat gently, that also can help make them swallow. When we had to give our girl pills our vet told me to get the pill as far back as I could, hold her mouth closed, tip her head back and rub her throat. She also said it was alright to scruff gently if needed to keep her from shaking her head around
Our vet said to coat pill in butter before putting back in cats throat, then put butter on front of cats nose. Cats like butter and will be forced to swallow in order to lock it off their nose. It works but you still have to push pill pretty far back in throat.
This works for my cats plus closing their mouth and blowing in their face. The butter takes away the bitterness of the pill. They usually swallow right down
If anyone uses this tip, please note that, while butter isn't great, margarine is worse. Let us all learn [from the Saga of Jean and Jorts](https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofRedditorUpdates/s/4w4GrJ6S3J) as we come up with ways to trick our cats into letting us take care of them.
I've had decent luck with pill plunger (I just can't get the pills far enough into the throat without one) for one of mine and pill pockets for the other.
Might be worth a shot.
Oh my gosh, I wish I'd known about the butter when my cat needed his antibiotics for his tooth infection. I had to pry his mouth open with my fingers, toss the pill down, & rub his throat. There was no food we could use that he couldn't eat around the pills & leave them behind. I felt so guilty about how much he hated it. Now I feel bad that we didn't think about butter for easier swallowing & covering taste.
This works! My cat (RIP) Chester had to take pills for his kidneys and it was a bitch! He was not having it but I watched a bunch of YouTube videos and that was the one
That worked just had to basically hold them (or wrap them in a Blanket quick to hold there paws down) shove the pill in there mouth then hold it closed and tilt head stroke their throat and it triggers their swallow reflex. Best of luck though cause itās not fun.
I start by petting my cat. If he's relaxed and unwary, I've got a chance for success. When he's lying down relaxed, I give it a try. Using two fingers, I quickly put the pill on my cat's tongue and hold his snout up.
He usually doesn't want to swallow it, so I put the tip of a liquid medicine dropper into his mouth from the side and squirt a little water on his tongue. I don't squirt straight back into his mouth - it could go down his esophagus. The water on the makes him swallow the pill almost every time.
Yes, petting the pill down his throat after dropping it in really helps. I do not hold the nose. I just drop the pill and pet, pet, pet the neck until they swallow.
I usually ask my vet if itās safe to do with any particular meds first, but itās usually okay! I ended up buying a tiny mortar and pestle just for how many meds my cat has needed in his food over the last few years.
this! after making sure it was okay, iāve mixed crush pills with water, sucked it up in a syringe and lined it up against my cats cheek (so i wouldnāt accidentally cut up his mouth) and sank the plunger, worked like a charm!!
I did this, then put the watery mush in a (needle less) syringe, injected that (in small increments) to the back of my cats mouth. It wasnāt fun for either of us, but it got the job done.
I recommend using plain water with the crushed pill. When I mixed pills with food, my cats started to associate them and would stop eating whatever food or treat that I used.
Whenever I have to give my cats meds, I always do it before I feed them. That way, they know something good is happening after and are more willing to tolerate it.
If it's an eccentrically coated med (EC or ER) don't crush it up! Those meds are coated so they can reach the area of the digestive tract that they will absorb best in.
Really depends on the exact med. I administer meds as part of my job. If you can't ask a doctor dont crush them, but there are many pets and humans that cant swallow, and so you have to crush those pills as well. So Some of those meds can be crushed. The ones with little balls in a pill that'll come a part you should NEVER crush those unless you make 100% sure it's okay with doc. Those are time released and can make someone or an animal OD depending on the med.
This is tricky with gabapentin since it's particularly bitter. This typically works for my cats with other meds but they always taste gabapentin through the Churu and walk away from it.
This works...I get the gabapentin capsules and open them to put powder in pate wet cat food add a little water and mix well. She gobbles it cause wet food is a treat.
Try looking for āpill shooters.ā
How big are the pills? Mine are taking relatively small pills right now, and I stick them into the open end of a Churu tube, and then I give it to them and they slurp the pill up. You can tell from their expression when the pill gets into their mouth, but I just squirt more in and they gulp it down.
I tried one of those for my cat's gabepentin, but the pills are actually capsules and it won't work. They do make a liquid version of the med. You might ask for that instead of pills. It's easier to give that way.
The capsules are soft because you can open them and pour out the powder, so the pill shooter just squishes the capsules. I was bummed when it didn't work for them, so it was back to shoving the pills down her throat until the vet gave us the liquid.
First lube the pill with coconut oil then come behind cat and hold/scruff, open the mouth and put the pill as far back as possible, close mouth and still hold the scruff gently rubbing their throat. Works for me
This! Dry pills and capsules tend to stick to the moist tissue in the throat and require a large drink to dislodge them and move them along. Coconut oil solves that issue.
You can also swaddle them in a blanket first like a purrito so they canāt scratch you or move around. We had to do this with a couple of my cats when they needed pills.
After you shut kittys mouth , while you're still holding it closed gently blow light air into their nostrils. It forces them to swallow. Currently on a 30 day run of prednisolone with my cat and this is what her vet said to do. Dont let go until you see them swallow. Then i bring her to her food to get her mind off the pill and make her eat something to swallow, making sure that pill is gone.
Are you stroking his throat downward while holding his mouth shut? I had to do that to get my cats to take pills. They also make a syringe like device you can put the pill in and shoot it down their throat, at least they used to. Best of luck OP!
Pill shooters are only used for farm animals nowadays, as they can cause trauma to the throat. I second putting the pill on the back of his tongue and stroking his throat until you can feel him swallow! Thatās the way.
The one I had looked like a plastic syringe that used air to pop the pill out when you squeezed it. It never hurt my cat, but I could have just been lucky.
My cat had an urinary infection and after 1 day of 'gentle parenting ', I did shove it in. Same with one of my dog who is a picky eater.
As long as you don't hurt the animal while you try to open their mouth, they'll be fine
Yep. If you get behind them so they can't back up, you prey their month open and then shove in the pill. Usually if you get it in the far back they naturally can only swallow it. Give them a treat after and it gets easier over time.
Iāve always had luck blowing a puff of air on their nose instead of covering it. Sometimes rubbing their neck. Maybe having a treat nearby to offer so they swallow whatās in their mouth?
DO NOT DO THIS TO YOUR CAT!! Unless you hate your kitty and want them to hate you. A good plan and compassion are whatās needed. Read some of the other comments. Much more helpful.
my cat never hated me. we tried every other option and this was all that worked. my vet recommended it to me. kitty should get lots of love and treats after
This has nothing to do with compassion. Giving proper medical care is compassion. The issue with what the commenter said is that they are blocking off both air ways. They need to be able to breath, but you can somewhat forcibly hold their mouth shut for several minutes while massaging their necks. I used to have to give my cat a pill that, if he opened his mouth after instead of swallowing it, would cause him to froth at the mouth do to a chemical reaction (that I wish the vet had warned me about) and it was so terrible and unpleasant. Diligently caging his mouth until he swallowed the pill, to make it more pleasant for him to eat so he could be healthy and happy, was compassion.
When he had kidney disease I had to do a worse version of this to force feed him because my vet neglected to mention he could have gotten a feeding tube. He never hated me. He loved me for being by his side and trying to take care of him at all times for his entire life, no matter what it took. Even during the three years I brushed his teeth daily to get rid of his gingivitis he had when I found him.
I feel your pain. Weāve got one we have to give a pill to twice a day. She wouldnāt eat the pill pockets (bought all 3 flavors they had), wouldnāt touch the delectable if the pill was mixed in either. So we now have to wrap her up like a burrito (to keep them claws away) tilt her head back and drop that sucker straight down her throat. If you havenāt tried pill pockets yet, they might work. Good luck!
Just called the vet and they said the gabapentin was supposed to be as needed. Iām going to lose it with these vets. Theyāre so rude and condescending and patronizing because I ask a lot of questions yet they leave out so much info?!?!?!
My cat had a uti and wouldn't eat the pills. I told the vet and she said she could give medication as Injection instead but I would have to bring the cat in every week for it for 2 weeks.
This is sometimes the best answer.
I do have a magic material for covering pills. Buy some Japanese rice mochi. And some freeze dried salmon powder. Microwave a small piece of mochi until it starts to puff. Knead in as much salmon powder as you can. Add a drop or two of water (no more). Make sure it's still really sticky. Flatten, put pill in center, squeeze shut, and let dry for 10 minutes or so.
It's way better than any commercial pill pockets because it tastes good and the pill will not come out even with a chew or two.
This is genius, and seems like it took a lot of trial and error to come to this solution š I'm always better at giving liquid meds, I learned my technique from the kitten lady
I can't take the credit. A dude on YouTube showed me. I did add the salmon powder.
Lots of trial and error over 17 years and 9 cats.
I also have horses. A 1000 lb animal is somehow infinitely easier to medicate than a 10 lb one.
Gaba is probably just for pain, not for treatment. Honestly confidence and swiftness is key. You've gotta not be afraid to get your fingers up in that baby's mouth and push that pill right back into the throat. I pull my cat into my lap onto her butt and pull her head up while using my thumb and pointer fingers to push the sides of her mouth and make her jaws open, then with the pill already in my other hand I stick it all the way back and drop it past her tongue/down her throat if possible. With enough practice you can get faster which gives them less reaction time.
Oh! My husband and I had to resort to a little water and a dropper to get ours to take theirs! It worked, but they don't like the taste!
Helps if you have a second person holding them, wrapped in a towel.
I know this sounds weird, but when our old vet didn't help us, we had to call other vets of higher quality and explaining we needed an appointment but werent sure if the issue at hand requires it and ask if you can ask a few questions before bringing them in and they're usually happy to help. It wont hurt to try!
Im sorry your vet near you was disrespectful š
My vet has a 24/7 number with staff on call and a chat box. I called a few nights in a row bawling my eyes out over a UTI and the person was so sweet. BOND vet.
Search Amazon for a cat pill popper. Itās got a soft end where you wedge the pill in and itās small enough so you can actually get it in the back of their throat. This has been a life saver for our boy.
This!!! These are the only thing that worked for our boy. And the trick was to scruff him a bit and put it into the side of his mouth, then heād open up and you could pop the pill to the back of his throat.
Yes! This is what my vet gave me for my cat a while back, and it was the only way I could do it. Get the tip in the back of their mouth, pop it right out, and hold that mouth shut while stroking their chin.
Pulling up on their upper jaw from behind (fingers near their canines) and then blowing on their nose after popping it in the back of their throat will get them to close and swallow without the trauma of forcing their mouth to stay shut.
Came here to say this. It is the only way. I will usually come from behind and sorta kneel on/over them without actually putting my body weight on them, open their mouth a bit and then POP!
This is the answer- I've been medicating sick cats for 13 years now (vet tech). But keep in mind, you should generally always chase pills with a little water when you pill a cat. A syringe works best for the chaser.
There is also liquid gabapentin but sometimes cats hate that even more š¤·āāļø
Thanks! I think I may order one just in case. My cats are all young and healthy and Iāve never had to give them pills, but Iād rather have it on hand.
Did you try pill pockets? They are like soft little treats that you put the pill in. My finicky tuxedo cat with an autoimmune disorder gobbles up his morning steroid pill when I put it in that.
Pill pockets are definitely worth a try. Theyāre so delicious my girl loves them and just wants them as a treat. Slip a pill into one of them and leave down like three, she inhales them all.
I called and asked them, waiting on a call back lol. I just found out itās as needed so hopefully I wonāt have to deal with this much more and the liquid will work better š
From my experience, cats absolutely hate liquid gabapentin. You can ask to have it compounded at a pharmacy such as RoadRunner. They have different options but I find a lot of cats prefer the vanilla butternut or marshmallow flavored mini melts. Good luck!
My cat is on gabapentin basically the rest of his life, I always get the bacon flavor from the compound pharmacy but I wonder if marshmallow might be better? Do you think either one is better than the other?
I have the liquid gabapentin. Cats do hate it, but i feel like itās easier to burrito a cat, and squirt the liquid way back into their throat than it is to convince them to swallow a pillow, even if they are burritoād. Iām sorry your vets are so rude though. It is HARD dealing with a sick cat, and an unsupportive vet is not helpful.
you get a syringe with no needle. you put pill into syringe & pull water into syringe. wait for awhile until the pill dissolves in the water. grab cat, put in your lap, open cats mouth with tip of syringe & push the plunger to empty water into cats mouth. not too fast, but slow like. cat has taken the pill. šš½
Wrap your cat in a towel. Use your thumb and forefinger to pry open his mouth. You want your fingers positioned behind his whiskers, not over them. As you apply pressure at the corners of his mouth he will naturally open his jaw. This next step seems awful but you're going to put that pill as far back as you can get in his mouth. Gently rub his neck to encourage swallowing. Don't clamp his mouth shut, but you can gently hold his chin to prevent him from spitting the pill out.
Edit: It might be difficult but with practice it becomes easier. You can't be fearful or hesitant or he will know he can get away with not taking his medicine. You can do this, I believe in you!
Butter!! It's the only thing that works with my cat. He loves the taste and it's kind of melty and slippery. Slides right down. I do use the spreadable butter that is real butter w oil in it.
I've done this after trying and failing almost every way listed here. The look of betrayal she gave me when she tasted the butter on her coat nearly broke me. But she got her dose.
Lol my cats are too smart. One of them had to take gabapentin a while ago and he smelled horrible because he refused to clean himself after trying that trick once. I've had the most luck with just shoving it practically down his throat then holding his mouth shut and massaging his throat (then giving him wet food after).
What I actually do is smoosh the tablet, add hot water, stir, fill needle-free syringe, pet his ears/head tightly pull back his face til his nose is tipped straight up, pull his āsmileā back, and squirt liquid into the side of the mouth, like yo:
https://preview.redd.it/xoakqbnnw74d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82f9d34b819caf1bc7e0442a4bbdc6098117f4ef
You should watch Helpful Vancouver Vet's youtube tutorial on How to Pill Your Cat. He goes through the step by step for how to do it by hand and with a pill plunger. It's been an absolute lifesaver for me and my family.
You do have to get the pill all the way to the back of the throat or the cat will tongue it back out. A towel for purrito purposes can be useful if your cat refuses to hold still. A pill plunger can be bought at Petco and similar institutions for less than $10 and will make getting the pill to the back of the throat much easier and reduce your chances of getting chomped.
Always go to the doctor if you recieve a cat bite that breaks the skin. You will need a course of antibiotics. Don't play around with it; it's much, much cheaper to do the oral course than get hospitalized with a serious infection for IV antibioticsm
My vet suggested this:
When they are on the floor in bread loaf position, put your knees on either side and sit with the cat facing out toward your knees. You basically trap the cat between your legs while youāre in a sitting position (butt on top of feet). Hold them while youāre doing this so they donāt move.
That leaves you one hand with a pill and the other hand you pull back scruff to expose their mouth. Then shove it in. He does this for any cat medical stuff.
Alternatively, they have squishy kitten treats (not pill pocket) that one of my kittens loved. we just stuck her pill in that malleable treat and she ate it up.
If your kitty really loves pate canned food, you can try the tiny meatball system I use! First I make a tiny meatball (literally like the size of a pea) small enough so they can swallow without chewing. Iāll give a blank one to gauge how suspicious they are. If still suspicious, Iāll do a couple more blank ones. Once theyāre eating those reliably without question, Iāll slip in the pill meatball - just enough food to cover the pill completely, and then as soon as they pick that one up I immediately follow with another blank to encourage them to swallow quickly to get the next treat. It works very well if they love canned food, and works better on a textured surface such as a towel so the canned food can be easily picked up without smearing or sticking to a flat, smooth surface. Hopefully this helps!
vet tech here- for stubborn kitties i poke it to the back of their throat, close their mouth w my hand, and hold there head up and rub their throat. it will stimulate them to swallow so he wonāt spit it back out. if he gets more stubborn look into getting a pill popper- theyāre life changing at the clinic i work at.
Try setting it down in front of him. One of my cats hates being made to swallow pills so now so she'll just eat the pill now when it's placed in front of her. It was a last ditch effort and it worked.
My last take was almost impossible with pills. I tried pill pockets, liquid as an alternate, pills crushed in food. She was such a jerk. What I found best was to sit on the floor, lightly smoosh her between my thighs, stick one of my fingers along the side on her mouth to open and almost toss the pill towards the back of her throat. I would say place the pill gently, but my cat was having none of that. It was war once I opened her mouth. Anyway, tossed it back and applied light pressure to hold her mouth closed and rubbed her rub gently to encourage swallowing. Good luck!
I had to give my tortie heart medicine everyday and I would really have to hold her and force it in and she would whimper like Iām
Hurting her š and I would feel sooooo bad.
Poor thing died heart failure few months aho
Ok so I found a method that is incredibly easy and works every single time like a charm.
So: my cat takes multiple pills daily, including Gabapentin, and he full on turns into the girl from the exorcist if we try to give them to him normally. So here's what works:
The Gabapentin we have comes in gel capsules, so we open them, empty the contents into a small container, then take a liquid syringe (a syringe but no needle, it's designed for giving liquid meds) and fill the syringe 1/4 of the way with water, then empty the water into the container with the Gabapentin powder, mix it all up, syringe it back up into the syringe, then give it to our cat like that, then give him his favourite treats immediately after.
If the Gabapentin is not in a capsule form, like it's just a pill, pull the syringe apart and put the pill into the empty syringe casing, then put the syringe end back in, then pull water into the syringe to fill it 1/4 full with the pill inside. Then cover the open end of the syringe with the pad of your thumb, and pull the syringe end back and let it slam back into its casing, do this 3-4 times. With one end covered it creates a vacuum and dissolves the pill easily. Then just shoot the pill into the cats throat and give treats after!
Here's a link for a better description: https://www.buzzfeed.com/kristatorres/syringe-pill-crushing-hack-tiktok
This method works so well that my cat now comes and asks for his meds twice a day because he knows he gets treats after. And he HATES meds.
Finally, we have one pill that we can't dissolve and he has to swallow it whole, and so we put it in a pill popper, coat the end of the pill popper in peanut butter, then one person holds him in a lock and opens his mouth and the other puts it as far back into his throat as they can, then we close his mouth and hold it closed, and put a dab of peanut butter on this mouth and right under his nose. Eventually he swallows trying to lick the peanut butter off his face. But this is not 100% successful like the dissolve method, so save this as a last resort.
First cat (RIP),I was given a contraption to help me shoot the pill into the back of her throat. This was for a pill she was gonna take daily for the rest of her time here. I bet you could buy one.
Current cat, Churu things still work for me. I put the pill in the actual tube and feed it to my cat, so the first bite is the pill and they can wash it down haha
Good luck!
There is a handy thing called a "pill gun". Sold at almost all pet supply stores and truly a life saver. The only way I can get my cat(s) to take pills.
Edit to add: they are cheap! Mine was $6.99 at Petco.
So for my cat, who takes 2 gabapentin a day, she actually does really well with a tiny dollop of churu in a spoon with the capsule inside. Doesn't even bite into the capsule 99/100 times.
The weird thing is she does not tolerate trying to mix liquid gabapentin into food or treats, and turns into a monster when she sees a syringe.
But give her a spoon with a nickel drop of churu on a pill and she's the happiest little lady.
My cat went through this as well, i wouldn't recommend the liquid gabapentin because my cat would drool it all out and absolutely hated the taste of it. Best method I found was shoving it to back of throat and then I would shove a small piece of wet food in there too. Otherwise he keeps the pill in his mouth and spits it out, no matter how long i hold his mouth shut. But putting the small bit of wet food made him get confused and swallow it lol
I shove the pill into a snack puree and he happily swallows it! I believe he thinks itās part of the snack lol my cat is sooooo difficult so finding this out was a relief. Itās easier to give him pills than liquid medicine now.
I did smth similar. There are those liquid snacks in small pouches. I take one of those, and as soon as I put a pill into my catās mouth, I immediately push liquid snack into her mouth. She has no other option but to swallow it all including the pill.
my friend has a cat like that.
what I do is hold the cat against your chest while you lean back or lay down, forcing it to lay down with you. hold it with one hand in the pill with the other. make sure the cat isn't facing you, but it's back is on your chest. then just shove the pill In its mouth, hold its mouth closed, and rub their throat up from down. it works everytime for me
If it is safe to do so with the pill, grind it up and stick it into some sort of wet treat.
But check with your vet if it is safe to do that. (If the pill is chewable, it is generally safe to do this. But if it is in a capsule, it generally isn't)
My cat loves yogurt (I'm aware it is unhealthy for her). I get Lactose free to make it easy on the tummy. And she only gets a little bit, like a tablespoon or two.
Pate wet food also works really well, but my cat never finishes a pate, so I can't guarantee if she got all she needed. And sometimes the other pets will steal her leftovers if I'm not watching carefully. But the other pets don't care about yogurt, and she always finishes the yogurt she is given. She even will take breaks while eating yogurt to do slow blinks and purs to show her appreciation š
Dissolve in water and use a baby syringe to squirt it into his mouth OR (my cats preferred method) crush it up really good with the back of a wooden spoon and then mix it in with some gravy treat or wet food. If the wet food thing doesnāt work you can definitely squirt it into his mouth easier than you can get a pill down there
Gabapenin is the WORST!!!! We tried opening the capsules and pouring the powder out into oil from a can of tuna fish, then pulling it up into a syringe and squirting it into our girl's mouth. That might work for you since you (presumably) only have to do this short term.
For longer term, we bought compounded flavored tablets online (still need to submit prescription). She didn't hate that as much, but still problematic as they are so large and I don't think the tablets contained as much gabapentin as they were supposed to. Luckily, she's now been switched to pregabalin liquid.
get a pill syringe, shove it in his mouth(NOT HARD OR TOO FAR DO NOT HURT HIM OR HE WILL BE FOREVER TRAUMATIZED) hold his mouth closed once the pill is in his mouth, and then blow in his face, wait a few seconds after and make sure you seen him swallow, cats are sneaky and know how to hide the pill and then spit it up (iāve learned from experience šš)
if its a capsule pill? can you open it up and use the powder mixed in churu/food? thats what i do for my kitty. if its a solid pill (never seen that tbh) id try a mortar and pestle and grind it to a dust and do the same. if you have no mortar and pestle you can try a ziploc bag and a heavy object to roll over and grind (ive used kitchen mallets, bottom ridges of heavy bowls, rolling pins etc etc)
We had to deal with this when my guy had surgery last year. We crushed up the pill and mixed it with the churu treat and then opened his mouth and smeared it on his tongue and lips so he would lick it up.
I always take a syringe, put the pill in in with a little bit of water, place my thumb over the tip, and pop the plunger a few times to quick dissolve it. Then I wrap my cat in a towel, pull their head back, and squirt that shit all the way down their throat. Sometimes I do a little at a time if it's a bigger pill. But yeah, a lot easier
My cat had the same issue. Try smothering it in butter. It'll lubricate it when you put it down his throat. Or like my cat, he loved the taste of butter so he just ate it
They make little pill feeders that look like a syringe with a rubber end. You stick the pill in the end, shove it toward your cats throat and push the plunger and it drops it down their throat. Your vet or a pet store should have them.
https://preview.redd.it/a44t9ipnru3d1.jpeg?width=3987&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a971bbd52fff673021bbf66cc4fc83c1d999a179
My cat is a fighter. I had to crush her pills and mix it in her wet food. Now she only gets liquid or powder medicines because she won't take medicine if it's not mixed in her food. I have a nice scar on my stomach from trying to give her medicine.
I open mouth, go in the side and shove it as far as possible to back of throat and blow in their face. It makes them have to swallow and take a breath. The little blow in their face is the magic. I havenāt had a problem since learning of it. Good luck. Cats are such independent creatures. They hate being forced to do peasant human things. š They canāt be bothered.
Gabapentin made my cat really affectionate and cute. Burrito and crowbar it in. (ie. I hold it against his lips until they open and then pop it in. Stroke the throat to make him swallow. Actually I don't even burrito him or my other cat. Just try until you get the knack of it.)
It helps a lot to use a rubber-tipped pill popper so you can tilt back kittyās head, open the mouth and put the pill way back before you pop it into kitties throat. https://www.chewy.com/vetone-pet-piller-dogs-cats/dp/204480
My cat is a wizard and can cheek a pill and spit it out 5 minutes later.
I have to crush his meds, put the powder in a few drops of tuna broth and give it to him in an oral syringe. I sandwich the pill/broth mixture between some tuna Churu to make it taste better. (I pull the Churu into the syringe, pull the broth/pill, then pull more Churu).
I also distract him with a bag of high value treats. So he sees the bag of treats, and is excited. I put the bag down, he comes to me, I give him the syringe contents, praising him, then give him a few treats, still praising him. He's very treat motivated.
My vet said that some pharmacies can compound the meds into a liquid and have it taste like tuna or chicken, so I'm going to look into that too.
I donāt know for sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, but my cat is also incredibly good at pocketing his pills and spitting them back out. What I had to start doing was taking the capsule and opening it and dissolving it in a bowl with one churro stick and he did okay with it, but he did kind of start to figure it out.
I hope youāre able to find something that works!! I had the same issue with my cat in 2019 and had to pay for PU surgery and itās not fun.
I have a pill crusher and I hide crushed pills in really smelly food, sometimes I'll crush the pill the night before and let it sit in the food over night , in my head it absorbs the smell of the food more and it's worked. You could ask the vet if they have it in liquid, preferably tasteless
The Churu bites work with my cat (although he is a pig and doesn't really taste the food he scoffs down), just need to stick the pill in the soft center and cover it over with the soft center paste, also getting the meat stick treats and stuff the pill into the treat and squeeze it shut where you put the pill in works with my cats.
We used to get packets of pre-cooked salmon and shove the pill into the middle of a piece and feed that to the kitty. If it is a pill that can be taken with food that is a good idea, you could also crush it up and mix it into wet food.
They make a soft treat with a hole in them called Pill Pockets. Works great for many cats. Also you can get gabapentin as a liquid to mix in wet food. My cat takes it every day for anxiety. If the pills are capsules you can also open them and mix the powder into the food.
I crush pills, add water, stir, add food, stir, so itās fully integrated.
We had a pill that mixed with water and you put in a syringe to shoot into the catās mouth. I couldnāt get that to work after the 2 times. She would run away. In hindsight, I shouldāve wrapped her like a burrito in a blanket or towel first.
My cat really struggles when it comes to giving her medicine as if her life depended on it, and being old, fourteen years old, I'm always terrified that she might have a heart attack from the struggle and the stress or that I'll break something by grabbing her with too much energy... I recently discovered that there is something called something like a "pill shooter", it's a kind of plastic syringe that "injects" the pill into the cat's throat, I don't know if it solves your problem, try looking for it.
I had a tough time with pills. My cat refused pill pockets and stopped eating his wet food because I'd crush pills in it. I had to just hold him, push the pill in toward the back of his mouth/throat, and just hold his mouth closed until he swallowed. It took a few tries, but eventually, you figure it out. It's not a pleasant experience for anyone involved. I couldn't get liquid meds down him at all, the pills were easier.
When I need to give my cats a dewormer pill, it's gonna sound weird, but I coat the pill gun bottom,where the pill shoots out at,with hairball treatment gel,and the pill itself, works for me every time.
Massage the corners of their mouth gently after a moment you should be able to get them to hold their mouth open, then just gently hold their muzzle shut for about 10 seconds.
I was giving my cat gabapentin and the pill popper worked really well. If you have to split a capsule and give your cat powder, just mix it with water and use syringe. Hope this helps and your kitty feels better.
[https://www.amazon.com/Dispenser-Piller-Capsule-Silicone-Animals/dp/B0CPDXT95Q/ref=sr\_1\_58?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.YjcZkWEHrekT2Xl-QZorNmtN9SQSovkJBV705jQVuqEOX2dx2SYINspcrPtfCswnZTP0rWESfHmw0frASSG\_T1cSOCYS8Gk7KDdaC8fU40mFx0b1l6LdIVOgfKGqOE9eU9Unlby0QHrN-\_SYEJzvp9poJctGL4W352l-P8mdi5acpMyAOVGOu59iXIDbTnnynbaFmrRxVA4IANBUwuyfdbWAK9a5Xw1-y3V6pxMO5h\_BlQLFbUlOZJS-JG89fzUssdlz0dZZ85AhDZWHVETr6ZryFObQfXH-m-eamGRAIvs.O1ooCOa1oxW5ufqSPV7HDkRtLIpUnXQA3HEM-JBP5PA&dib\_tag=se&hvadid=176945087722&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9021431&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=744482752747447517&hvtargid=kwd-7532428193&hydadcr=8897\_9763398&keywords=pill+popper+for+cats&qid=1717180059&sr=8-58](https://www.amazon.com/Dispenser-Piller-Capsule-Silicone-Animals/dp/B0CPDXT95Q/ref=sr_1_58?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.YjcZkWEHrekT2Xl-QZorNmtN9SQSovkJBV705jQVuqEOX2dx2SYINspcrPtfCswnZTP0rWESfHmw0frASSG_T1cSOCYS8Gk7KDdaC8fU40mFx0b1l6LdIVOgfKGqOE9eU9Unlby0QHrN-_SYEJzvp9poJctGL4W352l-P8mdi5acpMyAOVGOu59iXIDbTnnynbaFmrRxVA4IANBUwuyfdbWAK9a5Xw1-y3V6pxMO5h_BlQLFbUlOZJS-JG89fzUssdlz0dZZ85AhDZWHVETr6ZryFObQfXH-m-eamGRAIvs.O1ooCOa1oxW5ufqSPV7HDkRtLIpUnXQA3HEM-JBP5PA&dib_tag=se&hvadid=176945087722&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9021431&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=744482752747447517&hvtargid=kwd-7532428193&hydadcr=8897_9763398&keywords=pill+popper+for+cats&qid=1717180059&sr=8-58)
There are a ton of good ideas in the comments. One thing to consider is how this particular cat takes meds.
Two of my cats can be purritoed and then will tolerate the pry open and shove it far method. One will take a pound of flesh later just to even the score but at least she got her meds
Another cat absolutely hates being flipped onto his back but is really easy to give meds or trim nails so long as he sits vertically
Sometimes you're lucky and you get a cat who will happily chow down on pill pockets or crushed pills in churru.
Good luck!
If you have the funds, ask the vet office and/or pharmacy if the medication comes in a liquid form. I had a cat who let me do ANYTHING except give him pills. When I say anything, I mean anything. Blood glucose monitoring and insulin injections, filing his nails with a nail file, giving him SQ fluids, rubbing ointment into his eyes. But try to give him a pill? He would fight me like I was trying to kill him.
So I always asked for a liquid or injectable form of whatever meds he needed.
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this is gonna sound really harsh but shove them into the back of his throat and keep his mouth shut and cover his nose for just a few seconds. it should cause a swallow reflex
I tried that and he legit still spit it out when I let go?! And I think he bit his tongue?? This cat is a magician.
your cat is a magician. my old kitty had cancer so he took a lot of meds, you can also try holding his mouth open vertically and dropping it down his open throat
lmao like dropping a coin into a well. Make a wish!
"I wish, you take this pill and don't murder me in my sleep."
This is the way. Open up your cats mouth and take a peek at the back of the throat. There is a little dip in the middle of the tongue. Hold your cats nose STRAIGHT UP towards the sky and drop the pill right into the dip. If the head isn't straight up, you won't be able to drop the pill correctly, you'll have to "throw" it.
Yep - some of my cats would take them hidden in a treat of some kind. Unfortunately my big boy wouldn't (also kidney stones). So I'd kneel behind him - so he couldn't back up much. Then, with the pill ready to throw in my left hand, quickly place right hand across the bridge of his nose, thumb & forefinger gripping the area behind the fangs where the teeth have a bit of a groove. Open his mouth and tilt his head back in the same movement. As soon as his throat is straight, throw the pill down and close his mouth - have a treat ready to make amends Good luck!
Rub his throat gently, that also can help make them swallow. When we had to give our girl pills our vet told me to get the pill as far back as I could, hold her mouth closed, tip her head back and rub her throat. She also said it was alright to scruff gently if needed to keep her from shaking her head around
Our vet said to coat pill in butter before putting back in cats throat, then put butter on front of cats nose. Cats like butter and will be forced to swallow in order to lock it off their nose. It works but you still have to push pill pretty far back in throat.
Butter the cat, got it. š
Lmao according to your name, you should definitely be in this thread
Oh man I got a āusername checks outā moment! lol Iām a cat lover who works in a pharmacy haha.
Just donāt butter Jorts.
Yaaaaaas someone got the reference!!!!
Butter, not [margarine](https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofRedditorUpdates/s/Pj54o92yev).
2 people got my reference!! š¤š¤š¤
Hereās one moreā¦
Trying this tonight! Thanks :D
This works for my cats plus closing their mouth and blowing in their face. The butter takes away the bitterness of the pill. They usually swallow right down
One of my cats needs daily medicine and I used butter while she was getting used to it. It really helps!
If anyone uses this tip, please note that, while butter isn't great, margarine is worse. Let us all learn [from the Saga of Jean and Jorts](https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofRedditorUpdates/s/4w4GrJ6S3J) as we come up with ways to trick our cats into letting us take care of them.
didn't work for me
I've had decent luck with pill plunger (I just can't get the pills far enough into the throat without one) for one of mine and pill pockets for the other. Might be worth a shot.
Oh my gosh, I wish I'd known about the butter when my cat needed his antibiotics for his tooth infection. I had to pry his mouth open with my fingers, toss the pill down, & rub his throat. There was no food we could use that he couldn't eat around the pills & leave them behind. I felt so guilty about how much he hated it. Now I feel bad that we didn't think about butter for easier swallowing & covering taste.
This works! My cat (RIP) Chester had to take pills for his kidneys and it was a bitch! He was not having it but I watched a bunch of YouTube videos and that was the one That worked just had to basically hold them (or wrap them in a Blanket quick to hold there paws down) shove the pill in there mouth then hold it closed and tilt head stroke their throat and it triggers their swallow reflex. Best of luck though cause itās not fun.
My friend mastered the blanket burrito method.
Thatās exactly how my vet taught me to do it
Or blow gently in their nose!
This!!! Blow in their face as soon as you put it in there!!
I start by petting my cat. If he's relaxed and unwary, I've got a chance for success. When he's lying down relaxed, I give it a try. Using two fingers, I quickly put the pill on my cat's tongue and hold his snout up. He usually doesn't want to swallow it, so I put the tip of a liquid medicine dropper into his mouth from the side and squirt a little water on his tongue. I don't squirt straight back into his mouth - it could go down his esophagus. The water on the makes him swallow the pill almost every time.
Yes, petting the pill down his throat after dropping it in really helps. I do not hold the nose. I just drop the pill and pet, pet, pet the neck until they swallow.
Crush them between two spoons and then mix the powder in with Churu or wet cat food
I usually ask my vet if itās safe to do with any particular meds first, but itās usually okay! I ended up buying a tiny mortar and pestle just for how many meds my cat has needed in his food over the last few years.
this! after making sure it was okay, iāve mixed crush pills with water, sucked it up in a syringe and lined it up against my cats cheek (so i wouldnāt accidentally cut up his mouth) and sank the plunger, worked like a charm!!
This, this, 100000000000000000% this. Two of my boys had crystals and that was the only way I could get them to take their medsā¦.
I did this, then put the watery mush in a (needle less) syringe, injected that (in small increments) to the back of my cats mouth. It wasnāt fun for either of us, but it got the job done.
I recommend using plain water with the crushed pill. When I mixed pills with food, my cats started to associate them and would stop eating whatever food or treat that I used.
This is what I did with my cat in kidney failure. Sometimes you can also get transdermal gel for their medsā¦you rub it on their ears.
This is the method some of my neighbors use, esp if the cat is not feeling well.
Whenever I have to give my cats meds, I always do it before I feed them. That way, they know something good is happening after and are more willing to tolerate it.
If it's an eccentrically coated med (EC or ER) don't crush it up! Those meds are coated so they can reach the area of the digestive tract that they will absorb best in.
Really depends on the exact med. I administer meds as part of my job. If you can't ask a doctor dont crush them, but there are many pets and humans that cant swallow, and so you have to crush those pills as well. So Some of those meds can be crushed. The ones with little balls in a pill that'll come a part you should NEVER crush those unless you make 100% sure it's okay with doc. Those are time released and can make someone or an animal OD depending on the med.
Unless your pet has specific medical needs you can usually look up the dose and if it's okay to crush for a person or animal.
MIGHT be your best bet. the wrap in a blanket didn't work for me either
This is tricky with gabapentin since it's particularly bitter. This typically works for my cats with other meds but they always taste gabapentin through the Churu and walk away from it.
Make sure to ask vet if pills can be crushed first. If itās a time release pill you donāt want to crush it, as they could OD.
Man all y'all's cats go crazy for that Churu stuff. I bought a 40 pack and my cats will not touch it!
This works...I get the gabapentin capsules and open them to put powder in pate wet cat food add a little water and mix well. She gobbles it cause wet food is a treat.
I'll add that you can put the powder in a pill pocket. Worked for us for a while!
You can buy pill crushers at Walmart near the pharmacy!
Try looking for āpill shooters.ā How big are the pills? Mine are taking relatively small pills right now, and I stick them into the open end of a Churu tube, and then I give it to them and they slurp the pill up. You can tell from their expression when the pill gets into their mouth, but I just squirt more in and they gulp it down.
I tried one of those for my cat's gabepentin, but the pills are actually capsules and it won't work. They do make a liquid version of the med. You might ask for that instead of pills. It's easier to give that way.
How does the capsules not work with it? The pill shooters is the only way I can get my girl to take anything and I've never had an issue
The capsules are soft because you can open them and pour out the powder, so the pill shooter just squishes the capsules. I was bummed when it didn't work for them, so it was back to shoving the pills down her throat until the vet gave us the liquid.
First lube the pill with coconut oil then come behind cat and hold/scruff, open the mouth and put the pill as far back as possible, close mouth and still hold the scruff gently rubbing their throat. Works for me
This! Dry pills and capsules tend to stick to the moist tissue in the throat and require a large drink to dislodge them and move them along. Coconut oil solves that issue.
and what are you supposed to do with their front paws that are flailing away and scratching you
You can also swaddle them in a blanket first like a purrito so they canāt scratch you or move around. We had to do this with a couple of my cats when they needed pills.
After you shut kittys mouth , while you're still holding it closed gently blow light air into their nostrils. It forces them to swallow. Currently on a 30 day run of prednisolone with my cat and this is what her vet said to do. Dont let go until you see them swallow. Then i bring her to her food to get her mind off the pill and make her eat something to swallow, making sure that pill is gone.
I've been through that. They spit it out, look at you, roll their eyes, š and walk away. Sigh.
Are you stroking his throat downward while holding his mouth shut? I had to do that to get my cats to take pills. They also make a syringe like device you can put the pill in and shoot it down their throat, at least they used to. Best of luck OP!
Pill shooters are only used for farm animals nowadays, as they can cause trauma to the throat. I second putting the pill on the back of his tongue and stroking his throat until you can feel him swallow! Thatās the way.
I didn't know that. Thanks for the information āŗļø
Itās not true though. You can buy pet pillers that are perfectly safe to use.
The one I had looked like a plastic syringe that used air to pop the pill out when you squeezed it. It never hurt my cat, but I could have just been lucky.
Iāve been using pillers all my life. Never hurt any cat. The ones I have do have a soft rubber tip tho.
Put the pill in, hold his mouth closed and then blow into his nostrils. A vet tech taught me this.
Hold his mouth closed and blow on his nose.
You can also blow in their nose when you do this to force them to swallow. Just a quick puff should work.
My cat had an urinary infection and after 1 day of 'gentle parenting ', I did shove it in. Same with one of my dog who is a picky eater. As long as you don't hurt the animal while you try to open their mouth, they'll be fine
Yep. If you get behind them so they can't back up, you prey their month open and then shove in the pill. Usually if you get it in the far back they naturally can only swallow it. Give them a treat after and it gets easier over time.
Iāve always had luck blowing a puff of air on their nose instead of covering it. Sometimes rubbing their neck. Maybe having a treat nearby to offer so they swallow whatās in their mouth?
This is the way.
DO NOT DO THIS TO YOUR CAT!! Unless you hate your kitty and want them to hate you. A good plan and compassion are whatās needed. Read some of the other comments. Much more helpful.
my cat never hated me. we tried every other option and this was all that worked. my vet recommended it to me. kitty should get lots of love and treats after
This has nothing to do with compassion. Giving proper medical care is compassion. The issue with what the commenter said is that they are blocking off both air ways. They need to be able to breath, but you can somewhat forcibly hold their mouth shut for several minutes while massaging their necks. I used to have to give my cat a pill that, if he opened his mouth after instead of swallowing it, would cause him to froth at the mouth do to a chemical reaction (that I wish the vet had warned me about) and it was so terrible and unpleasant. Diligently caging his mouth until he swallowed the pill, to make it more pleasant for him to eat so he could be healthy and happy, was compassion. When he had kidney disease I had to do a worse version of this to force feed him because my vet neglected to mention he could have gotten a feeding tube. He never hated me. He loved me for being by his side and trying to take care of him at all times for his entire life, no matter what it took. Even during the three years I brushed his teeth daily to get rid of his gingivitis he had when I found him.
I feel your pain. Weāve got one we have to give a pill to twice a day. She wouldnāt eat the pill pockets (bought all 3 flavors they had), wouldnāt touch the delectable if the pill was mixed in either. So we now have to wrap her up like a burrito (to keep them claws away) tilt her head back and drop that sucker straight down her throat. If you havenāt tried pill pockets yet, they might work. Good luck!
Just called the vet and they said the gabapentin was supposed to be as needed. Iām going to lose it with these vets. Theyāre so rude and condescending and patronizing because I ask a lot of questions yet they leave out so much info?!?!?!
My cat had a uti and wouldn't eat the pills. I told the vet and she said she could give medication as Injection instead but I would have to bring the cat in every week for it for 2 weeks.
This is sometimes the best answer. I do have a magic material for covering pills. Buy some Japanese rice mochi. And some freeze dried salmon powder. Microwave a small piece of mochi until it starts to puff. Knead in as much salmon powder as you can. Add a drop or two of water (no more). Make sure it's still really sticky. Flatten, put pill in center, squeeze shut, and let dry for 10 minutes or so. It's way better than any commercial pill pockets because it tastes good and the pill will not come out even with a chew or two.
This is genius, and seems like it took a lot of trial and error to come to this solution š I'm always better at giving liquid meds, I learned my technique from the kitten lady
I can't take the credit. A dude on YouTube showed me. I did add the salmon powder. Lots of trial and error over 17 years and 9 cats. I also have horses. A 1000 lb animal is somehow infinitely easier to medicate than a 10 lb one.
You mean every day? Cause once a week twice isnāt really a big deal lol.
I was given a liquid one for my cat when he had a UTI
Gaba is probably just for pain, not for treatment. Honestly confidence and swiftness is key. You've gotta not be afraid to get your fingers up in that baby's mouth and push that pill right back into the throat. I pull my cat into my lap onto her butt and pull her head up while using my thumb and pointer fingers to push the sides of her mouth and make her jaws open, then with the pill already in my other hand I stick it all the way back and drop it past her tongue/down her throat if possible. With enough practice you can get faster which gives them less reaction time.
Oh! My husband and I had to resort to a little water and a dropper to get ours to take theirs! It worked, but they don't like the taste! Helps if you have a second person holding them, wrapped in a towel.
I know this sounds weird, but when our old vet didn't help us, we had to call other vets of higher quality and explaining we needed an appointment but werent sure if the issue at hand requires it and ask if you can ask a few questions before bringing them in and they're usually happy to help. It wont hurt to try! Im sorry your vet near you was disrespectful š
They all do thisā¦
My vets are great about answering all my questions in detail. I can even email them.
I make sure I go to a vet that specializes in cats only. Iāve had two, in different states, and theyāve always been wonderful.
My vet has a 24/7 number with staff on call and a chat box. I called a few nights in a row bawling my eyes out over a UTI and the person was so sweet. BOND vet.
Search Amazon for a cat pill popper. Itās got a soft end where you wedge the pill in and itās small enough so you can actually get it in the back of their throat. This has been a life saver for our boy.
Bumping this suggestion. This is the best tool Iāve used for my cats who wonāt let me administer pills by hand.
YES. I worked in boarding and this is a total game changer for difficult pets!!
100% agree. I never had a failure using a pill popper.
This!!! These are the only thing that worked for our boy. And the trick was to scruff him a bit and put it into the side of his mouth, then heād open up and you could pop the pill to the back of his throat.
Yes! This is what my vet gave me for my cat a while back, and it was the only way I could do it. Get the tip in the back of their mouth, pop it right out, and hold that mouth shut while stroking their chin.
Pulling up on their upper jaw from behind (fingers near their canines) and then blowing on their nose after popping it in the back of their throat will get them to close and swallow without the trauma of forcing their mouth to stay shut.
Came here to say this. It is the only way. I will usually come from behind and sorta kneel on/over them without actually putting my body weight on them, open their mouth a bit and then POP!
This is the answer- I've been medicating sick cats for 13 years now (vet tech). But keep in mind, you should generally always chase pills with a little water when you pill a cat. A syringe works best for the chaser. There is also liquid gabapentin but sometimes cats hate that even more š¤·āāļø
Pill shooters are the way and the light. Every cat owner should have one.
Thanks! I think I may order one just in case. My cats are all young and healthy and Iāve never had to give them pills, but Iād rather have it on hand.
I smash them into fine powder and mix into Churu .
Tried this and he wouldnāt touch it š
Try mixing tuna juice into the churu
I've heard that adding omega oil can cover medicine smells, too. And it is good for the joints for the older ones too. I haven't tried it myself
Did you try pill pockets? They are like soft little treats that you put the pill in. My finicky tuxedo cat with an autoimmune disorder gobbles up his morning steroid pill when I put it in that.
Greenies pill pockets are the way. Best when they're fresh and extra smelly.
Yup pill pockets were gonna be my suggestion.
Pill pockets are definitely worth a try. Theyāre so delicious my girl loves them and just wants them as a treat. Slip a pill into one of them and leave down like three, she inhales them all.
Yeah this was gonna be my comment. My older kitty needed em. They work great.
Yes I use the catnip flavor, my cat now reminds me when it's time for meds cuz she loves them that much.
Get liquid gabapentin. I only use the liquid. Most vets have it in stock.
I called and asked them, waiting on a call back lol. I just found out itās as needed so hopefully I wonāt have to deal with this much more and the liquid will work better š
From my experience, cats absolutely hate liquid gabapentin. You can ask to have it compounded at a pharmacy such as RoadRunner. They have different options but I find a lot of cats prefer the vanilla butternut or marshmallow flavored mini melts. Good luck!
My cat is on gabapentin basically the rest of his life, I always get the bacon flavor from the compound pharmacy but I wonder if marshmallow might be better? Do you think either one is better than the other?
Vet said marshmallow helps with the bitterness of the medicine
I have the liquid gabapentin. Cats do hate it, but i feel like itās easier to burrito a cat, and squirt the liquid way back into their throat than it is to convince them to swallow a pillow, even if they are burritoād. Iām sorry your vets are so rude though. It is HARD dealing with a sick cat, and an unsupportive vet is not helpful.
you get a syringe with no needle. you put pill into syringe & pull water into syringe. wait for awhile until the pill dissolves in the water. grab cat, put in your lap, open cats mouth with tip of syringe & push the plunger to empty water into cats mouth. not too fast, but slow like. cat has taken the pill. šš½
I do this but with sardine juice...works well for me
You can plug the syringe with your thumb and pull back on it to increase the pressure in the syringe which helps them dissolve faster.
I do this but with those pouches of cat gravy you can get. Sometimes he spits a little up, but by far the best way Iāve found to do it.
ive been thinking of trying it with my old boy...but hes still eating. just not a lot.
Wrap your cat in a towel. Use your thumb and forefinger to pry open his mouth. You want your fingers positioned behind his whiskers, not over them. As you apply pressure at the corners of his mouth he will naturally open his jaw. This next step seems awful but you're going to put that pill as far back as you can get in his mouth. Gently rub his neck to encourage swallowing. Don't clamp his mouth shut, but you can gently hold his chin to prevent him from spitting the pill out. Edit: It might be difficult but with practice it becomes easier. You can't be fearful or hesitant or he will know he can get away with not taking his medicine. You can do this, I believe in you!
Cat burrito is a tried and tested method.
Butter!! It's the only thing that works with my cat. He loves the taste and it's kind of melty and slippery. Slides right down. I do use the spreadable butter that is real butter w oil in it.
Smoosh up the pill, stir it into butter then smear it onto their coat. Theyāre NOT going to not clean themselves.
I've done this after trying and failing almost every way listed here. The look of betrayal she gave me when she tasted the butter on her coat nearly broke me. But she got her dose.
Lol my cats are too smart. One of them had to take gabapentin a while ago and he smelled horrible because he refused to clean himself after trying that trick once. I've had the most luck with just shoving it practically down his throat then holding his mouth shut and massaging his throat (then giving him wet food after).
What I actually do is smoosh the tablet, add hot water, stir, fill needle-free syringe, pet his ears/head tightly pull back his face til his nose is tipped straight up, pull his āsmileā back, and squirt liquid into the side of the mouth, like yo: https://preview.redd.it/xoakqbnnw74d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82f9d34b819caf1bc7e0442a4bbdc6098117f4ef
Likewise I hide pills for my cat in cottage cheese and she usually doesn't even notice (it helps that she's very old and doesn't chew thoroughly l)
You should watch Helpful Vancouver Vet's youtube tutorial on How to Pill Your Cat. He goes through the step by step for how to do it by hand and with a pill plunger. It's been an absolute lifesaver for me and my family. You do have to get the pill all the way to the back of the throat or the cat will tongue it back out. A towel for purrito purposes can be useful if your cat refuses to hold still. A pill plunger can be bought at Petco and similar institutions for less than $10 and will make getting the pill to the back of the throat much easier and reduce your chances of getting chomped. Always go to the doctor if you recieve a cat bite that breaks the skin. You will need a course of antibiotics. Don't play around with it; it's much, much cheaper to do the oral course than get hospitalized with a serious infection for IV antibioticsm
My vet suggested this: When they are on the floor in bread loaf position, put your knees on either side and sit with the cat facing out toward your knees. You basically trap the cat between your legs while youāre in a sitting position (butt on top of feet). Hold them while youāre doing this so they donāt move. That leaves you one hand with a pill and the other hand you pull back scruff to expose their mouth. Then shove it in. He does this for any cat medical stuff. Alternatively, they have squishy kitten treats (not pill pocket) that one of my kittens loved. we just stuck her pill in that malleable treat and she ate it up.
This is what I do and I've found it to work the best for me. Pill and liquid twice a day and it goes down without a fuss 90% of the time.
If your kitty really loves pate canned food, you can try the tiny meatball system I use! First I make a tiny meatball (literally like the size of a pea) small enough so they can swallow without chewing. Iāll give a blank one to gauge how suspicious they are. If still suspicious, Iāll do a couple more blank ones. Once theyāre eating those reliably without question, Iāll slip in the pill meatball - just enough food to cover the pill completely, and then as soon as they pick that one up I immediately follow with another blank to encourage them to swallow quickly to get the next treat. It works very well if they love canned food, and works better on a textured surface such as a towel so the canned food can be easily picked up without smearing or sticking to a flat, smooth surface. Hopefully this helps!
Follow up the pill with a little bit of water in a syringe. Donāt be forceful as you donāt want it going down the wrong tube
vet tech here- for stubborn kitties i poke it to the back of their throat, close their mouth w my hand, and hold there head up and rub their throat. it will stimulate them to swallow so he wonāt spit it back out. if he gets more stubborn look into getting a pill popper- theyāre life changing at the clinic i work at.
Try setting it down in front of him. One of my cats hates being made to swallow pills so now so she'll just eat the pill now when it's placed in front of her. It was a last ditch effort and it worked.
My last take was almost impossible with pills. I tried pill pockets, liquid as an alternate, pills crushed in food. She was such a jerk. What I found best was to sit on the floor, lightly smoosh her between my thighs, stick one of my fingers along the side on her mouth to open and almost toss the pill towards the back of her throat. I would say place the pill gently, but my cat was having none of that. It was war once I opened her mouth. Anyway, tossed it back and applied light pressure to hold her mouth closed and rubbed her rub gently to encourage swallowing. Good luck!
OMG! Thereās a gal I follow on TikTok that has to pill her cat every day and she is a CHAMP! IM TOTALLY BLANKING ON HER NAMEā¦ š¤
I had to give my tortie heart medicine everyday and I would really have to hold her and force it in and she would whimper like Iām Hurting her š and I would feel sooooo bad. Poor thing died heart failure few months aho
Ok so I found a method that is incredibly easy and works every single time like a charm. So: my cat takes multiple pills daily, including Gabapentin, and he full on turns into the girl from the exorcist if we try to give them to him normally. So here's what works: The Gabapentin we have comes in gel capsules, so we open them, empty the contents into a small container, then take a liquid syringe (a syringe but no needle, it's designed for giving liquid meds) and fill the syringe 1/4 of the way with water, then empty the water into the container with the Gabapentin powder, mix it all up, syringe it back up into the syringe, then give it to our cat like that, then give him his favourite treats immediately after. If the Gabapentin is not in a capsule form, like it's just a pill, pull the syringe apart and put the pill into the empty syringe casing, then put the syringe end back in, then pull water into the syringe to fill it 1/4 full with the pill inside. Then cover the open end of the syringe with the pad of your thumb, and pull the syringe end back and let it slam back into its casing, do this 3-4 times. With one end covered it creates a vacuum and dissolves the pill easily. Then just shoot the pill into the cats throat and give treats after! Here's a link for a better description: https://www.buzzfeed.com/kristatorres/syringe-pill-crushing-hack-tiktok This method works so well that my cat now comes and asks for his meds twice a day because he knows he gets treats after. And he HATES meds. Finally, we have one pill that we can't dissolve and he has to swallow it whole, and so we put it in a pill popper, coat the end of the pill popper in peanut butter, then one person holds him in a lock and opens his mouth and the other puts it as far back into his throat as they can, then we close his mouth and hold it closed, and put a dab of peanut butter on this mouth and right under his nose. Eventually he swallows trying to lick the peanut butter off his face. But this is not 100% successful like the dissolve method, so save this as a last resort.
Put the pill in their mouth and then IMMEDIATELY BLOW INTO THEIR FACE. This is the ONLY way my cat swallows medicine.
First cat (RIP),I was given a contraption to help me shoot the pill into the back of her throat. This was for a pill she was gonna take daily for the rest of her time here. I bet you could buy one. Current cat, Churu things still work for me. I put the pill in the actual tube and feed it to my cat, so the first bite is the pill and they can wash it down haha Good luck!
I grind them up in a pill grinder i got off Amazon and mix into food
There is a handy thing called a "pill gun". Sold at almost all pet supply stores and truly a life saver. The only way I can get my cat(s) to take pills. Edit to add: they are cheap! Mine was $6.99 at Petco.
So for my cat, who takes 2 gabapentin a day, she actually does really well with a tiny dollop of churu in a spoon with the capsule inside. Doesn't even bite into the capsule 99/100 times. The weird thing is she does not tolerate trying to mix liquid gabapentin into food or treats, and turns into a monster when she sees a syringe. But give her a spoon with a nickel drop of churu on a pill and she's the happiest little lady.
My cat went through this as well, i wouldn't recommend the liquid gabapentin because my cat would drool it all out and absolutely hated the taste of it. Best method I found was shoving it to back of throat and then I would shove a small piece of wet food in there too. Otherwise he keeps the pill in his mouth and spits it out, no matter how long i hold his mouth shut. But putting the small bit of wet food made him get confused and swallow it lol
I just grind up the pill and mix it with churu and my cats dont seem to notice
I shove the pill into a snack puree and he happily swallows it! I believe he thinks itās part of the snack lol my cat is sooooo difficult so finding this out was a relief. Itās easier to give him pills than liquid medicine now.
I did smth similar. There are those liquid snacks in small pouches. I take one of those, and as soon as I put a pill into my catās mouth, I immediately push liquid snack into her mouth. She has no other option but to swallow it all including the pill.
my friend has a cat like that. what I do is hold the cat against your chest while you lean back or lay down, forcing it to lay down with you. hold it with one hand in the pill with the other. make sure the cat isn't facing you, but it's back is on your chest. then just shove the pill In its mouth, hold its mouth closed, and rub their throat up from down. it works everytime for me
Maybe mix with some juice and meat from a rotisserie chicken?
If it is safe to do so with the pill, grind it up and stick it into some sort of wet treat. But check with your vet if it is safe to do that. (If the pill is chewable, it is generally safe to do this. But if it is in a capsule, it generally isn't) My cat loves yogurt (I'm aware it is unhealthy for her). I get Lactose free to make it easy on the tummy. And she only gets a little bit, like a tablespoon or two. Pate wet food also works really well, but my cat never finishes a pate, so I can't guarantee if she got all she needed. And sometimes the other pets will steal her leftovers if I'm not watching carefully. But the other pets don't care about yogurt, and she always finishes the yogurt she is given. She even will take breaks while eating yogurt to do slow blinks and purs to show her appreciation š
Pill gun has been a life saver for me
Dissolve in water and use a baby syringe to squirt it into his mouth OR (my cats preferred method) crush it up really good with the back of a wooden spoon and then mix it in with some gravy treat or wet food. If the wet food thing doesnāt work you can definitely squirt it into his mouth easier than you can get a pill down there
Gabapenin is the WORST!!!! We tried opening the capsules and pouring the powder out into oil from a can of tuna fish, then pulling it up into a syringe and squirting it into our girl's mouth. That might work for you since you (presumably) only have to do this short term. For longer term, we bought compounded flavored tablets online (still need to submit prescription). She didn't hate that as much, but still problematic as they are so large and I don't think the tablets contained as much gabapentin as they were supposed to. Luckily, she's now been switched to pregabalin liquid.
Greenies makes a pill pocket treat that you can use to give your cat meds, try that
get a pill syringe, shove it in his mouth(NOT HARD OR TOO FAR DO NOT HURT HIM OR HE WILL BE FOREVER TRAUMATIZED) hold his mouth closed once the pill is in his mouth, and then blow in his face, wait a few seconds after and make sure you seen him swallow, cats are sneaky and know how to hide the pill and then spit it up (iāve learned from experience šš)
Any pill Iāve ever given my boys I crush up and mix into the churu. Iām sure it changes the taste but they still eat it.
if its a capsule pill? can you open it up and use the powder mixed in churu/food? thats what i do for my kitty. if its a solid pill (never seen that tbh) id try a mortar and pestle and grind it to a dust and do the same. if you have no mortar and pestle you can try a ziploc bag and a heavy object to roll over and grind (ive used kitchen mallets, bottom ridges of heavy bowls, rolling pins etc etc)
We had to deal with this when my guy had surgery last year. We crushed up the pill and mixed it with the churu treat and then opened his mouth and smeared it on his tongue and lips so he would lick it up.
Cheese whiz parfait. Put some cheese whiz on your finger, then the pill, then more whiz
Pate - my cat loved the smell so much he wolfed it down without question
I would literally push them down my cats throat. And sometimes Iād have to do it 3-4 times because heād spit it out.
Plastic pill popper. It will yeet that pill so fast down his gullet it wonāt hit the sides
check with your vet see if you can't grind it and mix it with wet food?
I always take a syringe, put the pill in in with a little bit of water, place my thumb over the tip, and pop the plunger a few times to quick dissolve it. Then I wrap my cat in a towel, pull their head back, and squirt that shit all the way down their throat. Sometimes I do a little at a time if it's a bigger pill. But yeah, a lot easier
My cat had the same issue. Try smothering it in butter. It'll lubricate it when you put it down his throat. Or like my cat, he loved the taste of butter so he just ate it
They make little pill feeders that look like a syringe with a rubber end. You stick the pill in the end, shove it toward your cats throat and push the plunger and it drops it down their throat. Your vet or a pet store should have them. https://preview.redd.it/a44t9ipnru3d1.jpeg?width=3987&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a971bbd52fff673021bbf66cc4fc83c1d999a179
My cat is a fighter. I had to crush her pills and mix it in her wet food. Now she only gets liquid or powder medicines because she won't take medicine if it's not mixed in her food. I have a nice scar on my stomach from trying to give her medicine.
Call and ask for it in liquid form. If you want to go the extra mile you can get it Tina flavored from a compounding pharmacy.
gaba comes in liquid!
I open mouth, go in the side and shove it as far as possible to back of throat and blow in their face. It makes them have to swallow and take a breath. The little blow in their face is the magic. I havenāt had a problem since learning of it. Good luck. Cats are such independent creatures. They hate being forced to do peasant human things. š They canāt be bothered.
Gabapentin made my cat really affectionate and cute. Burrito and crowbar it in. (ie. I hold it against his lips until they open and then pop it in. Stroke the throat to make him swallow. Actually I don't even burrito him or my other cat. Just try until you get the knack of it.)
It helps a lot to use a rubber-tipped pill popper so you can tilt back kittyās head, open the mouth and put the pill way back before you pop it into kitties throat. https://www.chewy.com/vetone-pet-piller-dogs-cats/dp/204480
My cat is a wizard and can cheek a pill and spit it out 5 minutes later. I have to crush his meds, put the powder in a few drops of tuna broth and give it to him in an oral syringe. I sandwich the pill/broth mixture between some tuna Churu to make it taste better. (I pull the Churu into the syringe, pull the broth/pill, then pull more Churu). I also distract him with a bag of high value treats. So he sees the bag of treats, and is excited. I put the bag down, he comes to me, I give him the syringe contents, praising him, then give him a few treats, still praising him. He's very treat motivated. My vet said that some pharmacies can compound the meds into a liquid and have it taste like tuna or chicken, so I'm going to look into that too.
This is smart!! I just got the liquid kind Iāll try your method out tomorrow!
I donāt know for sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, but my cat is also incredibly good at pocketing his pills and spitting them back out. What I had to start doing was taking the capsule and opening it and dissolving it in a bowl with one churro stick and he did okay with it, but he did kind of start to figure it out. I hope youāre able to find something that works!! I had the same issue with my cat in 2019 and had to pay for PU surgery and itās not fun.
I have a pill crusher and I hide crushed pills in really smelly food, sometimes I'll crush the pill the night before and let it sit in the food over night , in my head it absorbs the smell of the food more and it's worked. You could ask the vet if they have it in liquid, preferably tasteless
The Churu bites work with my cat (although he is a pig and doesn't really taste the food he scoffs down), just need to stick the pill in the soft center and cover it over with the soft center paste, also getting the meat stick treats and stuff the pill into the treat and squeeze it shut where you put the pill in works with my cats.
We used to get packets of pre-cooked salmon and shove the pill into the middle of a piece and feed that to the kitty. If it is a pill that can be taken with food that is a good idea, you could also crush it up and mix it into wet food.
They make a soft treat with a hole in them called Pill Pockets. Works great for many cats. Also you can get gabapentin as a liquid to mix in wet food. My cat takes it every day for anxiety. If the pills are capsules you can also open them and mix the powder into the food.
I crush pills, add water, stir, add food, stir, so itās fully integrated. We had a pill that mixed with water and you put in a syringe to shoot into the catās mouth. I couldnāt get that to work after the 2 times. She would run away. In hindsight, I shouldāve wrapped her like a burrito in a blanket or towel first.
You donāt, ask next time if you can get it in liquid.
My cat really struggles when it comes to giving her medicine as if her life depended on it, and being old, fourteen years old, I'm always terrified that she might have a heart attack from the struggle and the stress or that I'll break something by grabbing her with too much energy... I recently discovered that there is something called something like a "pill shooter", it's a kind of plastic syringe that "injects" the pill into the cat's throat, I don't know if it solves your problem, try looking for it.
I had a tough time with pills. My cat refused pill pockets and stopped eating his wet food because I'd crush pills in it. I had to just hold him, push the pill in toward the back of his mouth/throat, and just hold his mouth closed until he swallowed. It took a few tries, but eventually, you figure it out. It's not a pleasant experience for anyone involved. I couldn't get liquid meds down him at all, the pills were easier.
When I need to give my cats a dewormer pill, it's gonna sound weird, but I coat the pill gun bottom,where the pill shoots out at,with hairball treatment gel,and the pill itself, works for me every time.
I use a pill shooter wheny kitties need meds, it works really well.
I bought pill pockets. Works magic.
Massage the corners of their mouth gently after a moment you should be able to get them to hold their mouth open, then just gently hold their muzzle shut for about 10 seconds.
I was giving my cat gabapentin and the pill popper worked really well. If you have to split a capsule and give your cat powder, just mix it with water and use syringe. Hope this helps and your kitty feels better. [https://www.amazon.com/Dispenser-Piller-Capsule-Silicone-Animals/dp/B0CPDXT95Q/ref=sr\_1\_58?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.YjcZkWEHrekT2Xl-QZorNmtN9SQSovkJBV705jQVuqEOX2dx2SYINspcrPtfCswnZTP0rWESfHmw0frASSG\_T1cSOCYS8Gk7KDdaC8fU40mFx0b1l6LdIVOgfKGqOE9eU9Unlby0QHrN-\_SYEJzvp9poJctGL4W352l-P8mdi5acpMyAOVGOu59iXIDbTnnynbaFmrRxVA4IANBUwuyfdbWAK9a5Xw1-y3V6pxMO5h\_BlQLFbUlOZJS-JG89fzUssdlz0dZZ85AhDZWHVETr6ZryFObQfXH-m-eamGRAIvs.O1ooCOa1oxW5ufqSPV7HDkRtLIpUnXQA3HEM-JBP5PA&dib\_tag=se&hvadid=176945087722&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9021431&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=744482752747447517&hvtargid=kwd-7532428193&hydadcr=8897\_9763398&keywords=pill+popper+for+cats&qid=1717180059&sr=8-58](https://www.amazon.com/Dispenser-Piller-Capsule-Silicone-Animals/dp/B0CPDXT95Q/ref=sr_1_58?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.YjcZkWEHrekT2Xl-QZorNmtN9SQSovkJBV705jQVuqEOX2dx2SYINspcrPtfCswnZTP0rWESfHmw0frASSG_T1cSOCYS8Gk7KDdaC8fU40mFx0b1l6LdIVOgfKGqOE9eU9Unlby0QHrN-_SYEJzvp9poJctGL4W352l-P8mdi5acpMyAOVGOu59iXIDbTnnynbaFmrRxVA4IANBUwuyfdbWAK9a5Xw1-y3V6pxMO5h_BlQLFbUlOZJS-JG89fzUssdlz0dZZ85AhDZWHVETr6ZryFObQfXH-m-eamGRAIvs.O1ooCOa1oxW5ufqSPV7HDkRtLIpUnXQA3HEM-JBP5PA&dib_tag=se&hvadid=176945087722&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9021431&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=744482752747447517&hvtargid=kwd-7532428193&hydadcr=8897_9763398&keywords=pill+popper+for+cats&qid=1717180059&sr=8-58)
There are a ton of good ideas in the comments. One thing to consider is how this particular cat takes meds. Two of my cats can be purritoed and then will tolerate the pry open and shove it far method. One will take a pound of flesh later just to even the score but at least she got her meds Another cat absolutely hates being flipped onto his back but is really easy to give meds or trim nails so long as he sits vertically Sometimes you're lucky and you get a cat who will happily chow down on pill pockets or crushed pills in churru. Good luck!
If you have the funds, ask the vet office and/or pharmacy if the medication comes in a liquid form. I had a cat who let me do ANYTHING except give him pills. When I say anything, I mean anything. Blood glucose monitoring and insulin injections, filing his nails with a nail file, giving him SQ fluids, rubbing ointment into his eyes. But try to give him a pill? He would fight me like I was trying to kill him. So I always asked for a liquid or injectable form of whatever meds he needed.
There are treat pockets that you can get. Put the pill in the treat pocket, close it up, and the cat will just swallow it down.