Giving a Cat a Pill - Any Tips

Our cat has been diagnosed as being stressed & anxious (& I agree!) & we have been given a 2 week trial of cat prozac .

Trouble is, it has been VERY difficult to get these pills into her. It's only 1 a day. She is, by nature, an extremely feisty cat & DH is covered in scratches from attempting to get them down her throat.

We have tried disguising them in her food but she won't have a bar of it. We've also tried dissolving the pill in a little water in a syringe but that is also proving difficult/impossible.

I don't think I'll have much luck when he goes away next week & it'll be a shame because they have really helped her "condition" thus far.

Any tips, anyone?

Crouch down on the ground, put the cat between your legs, tip its head as far back as possible, pry its mouth open with both your hands and get your DH to throw the pill down its throat as far as possble, or place it on the back of its tongue. Then let it close its mouth and hold it closed until it swallows a few times.

The vet taught me this trick and it works very time for our very feisty cat!

Hi, the best thing you can do is towel wrap the cat so that only her head is out that way she can't scratch you and it actually calms them down. You do it basically like swaddling. Then pull the upper jaw right back as that way they can't physically close their mouth, drop the tablet as far back as you can then hold the jaw closed with the head still up and then rub the throat gently to get her to swallow, you can also try syringing some water in with the tablet to help them swallow or put tablet in a small amount of butter or cat food so that it is easier to swallow.

Did the vet talk to you about feliway? that's a spray that helps calms stressed out cats, that might help her as well as the tablets.

Oh and if that doesn't work pop back to the vets and ask for a pill popper, that way they bite that instead of your fingers.

When they have licked their nose it means that they have swallowed. We have to hold our cats mouth closed until she licks her nose otherwise she spits them out.

 

I have a plug in of Feliway - works like an air freshener. Humans can't smell it though

It's a few years old now but you are welcome to try it if you want. It was for our lost cat who liked to urinate inside.

But yeah I would go with a towel swaddle and rubbing the throat to make her swallow. Good tip about licking the nose - I'll remember that one.

Edited by Bobbie

My sister was a worked at a vet clinic for a couple of years and her main job was medicating the cats.

Im a vet nurse and i suggest doing what i do for a fiesty cat:

 Towel wrap the cat so that only the head is out, then it can't scratch you. at the same time as your pushing down on the body, use your middle finger and thumb to pinch in the spot where the jaws meet/hinge. this will make their mouth pop open. Then tip the head back into a 90degree angle so the cat is looking at the roof and then pop the pill at the very back of the throat (using a pill popper if your scared to use your fingers). Then hold the jaw closed with the head still up and then rub the throat gently up and down till it swallows - you will see or feel the swallowing action.

Hope this allows you to do it safely from now on, practice makes perfect!

And sally belly, if your going to use a peg make sure there is some sprt of cloth or the towel underneath as pegs tend to pinch too hard and you are better off scruffing them with your hands.

Edited by matandnic

Oh dear. Sorry I can't help but have a little giggle. Our cat was on thyroid meds for four or five months at the end of last year and after two days all DH had to do was shake the pill bottle and she'd come running and sit at his feet. Anything for a bit attention!!
Good luck I hope it helps and she gets better.