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Giving a cat medicine

chubbyfatazn

chubbyfatazn

Golden Member
Does anyone have any experience in doing this? She has an upper respiratory infection that requires me to give her 1/4 pill of doxycycline daily.

I've tried burying it under treats, shaping a ball of tuna or meat around it, holding her, opening her mouth, and attempting to get it down her throat, but she always manages to isolate the thing and spit it out. I've crushed it and mixed it around in some wet food, but she knows something's in it and doesn't eat all of it.

Short of buying a syringe or taking her back to the vet, anyone have any tips to try?
 
They have these pill holders, it basically looks like a plunger with some rubber on the end to hold the pill. Hold the cat's mouth open, and with one quick motion you can drop it right down their throat.
 
Crush pill and mix it with a bit of water. Use a syringe (minus needle) to suck up mixture and squirt down cat's throat.

Or pop pill into cat's mouth and was down with syringeful of water.
 
SpatiallyAware said:
They have these pill holders, it basically looks like a plunger with some rubber on the end to hold the pill. Hold the cat's mouth open, and with one quick motion you can drop it right down their throat.
Click to expand...

This. Go to your vet, or maybe a pet store will have them, and ask for a "piller". $4...if that.
 
The best I have found is the following:

1. Wrap one arm around the cat from the back towards the front to cover the front legs and hold firmly to avoid getting loose.
2. With your other hand (sometimes you can do it with the same hand you are holding the cat with), "pinch" on both sides where the lower and upper jaw meets to "force" the cat to open its mouth.
3. Drop the pill into the mouth as far back into the throat as you can.
4. Release the jaw, but hold the mouth closed by applying pressure to the lower jaw until the cat swallows. Generally, you will know when this has happened when the cat wants to stick out its tongue, but can take some time to do this.

Now, having responded to this thread in a serious fashion, as I re-read it, it gives me the willies...I might consider banning myself for a week.
 
If you can get their mouth open, flick the pill in and try to get it as far back as you can in one flick then blow quickly on their nose and it forces them to swallow. Our vet showed us, and it worked a few times. Then other times, they refuse to open their mouth.
You could try those pill pocket treats, they SEEM like they'd work well if the cat liked the flavor of the treats.
 
Has anyone tried to get their cat's mouth open? Just that alone is quite an accomplishment. LOL

Especially my cat. Even the vet had trouble lol.

Is it a powder pill? Maybe grind it up and put it in the water? Though cats don't tend to drink that much, and if it did not work for the wet food then may not work for the water. Maybe while playing if you can get her to open her mouth you can try to pitch it in lol
 
JPS35 said:
The best I have found is the following:

1. Wrap one arm around the cat from the back towards the front to cover the front legs and hold firmly to avoid getting loose.
2. With your other hand (sometimes you can do it with the same hand you are holding the cat with), "pinch" on both sides where the lower and upper jaw meets to "force" the cat to open its mouth.
3. Drop the pill into the mouth as far back into the throat as you can.
4. Release the jaw, but hold the mouth closed by applying pressure to the lower jaw until the cat swallows. Generally, you will know when this has happened when the cat wants to stick out its tongue, but can take some time to do this.

Now, having responded to this thread in a serious fashion, as I re-read it, it gives me the willies...I might consider banning myself for a week.
Click to expand...
Yes, something along these lines should do the trick.

My method was more to crouch over the cat, nearly squishing it to the ground, then take is head, prod its mouth open, flick the pill in, and close its mouth until the pill's swallowed.
Then give the cat a few tasty treats, and it walks away with confused memories of what just transpired. Yes there was some awkward unpleasantness, and being drugged against your will, but there were delicious things afterward.
 
We have always gone with liquid meds or had a pharmacy create a compound for us with the medicine in a treat.

One time we had a cat that needed meds for a few weeks (prozac) and we had the pharmacy turn it into a gel we could just rub on her ear.
 
JPS35 said:
The best I have found is the following:

1. Wrap one arm around the cat from the back towards the front to cover the front legs and hold firmly to avoid getting loose.
2. With your other hand (sometimes you can do it with the same hand you are holding the cat with), "pinch" on both sides where the lower and upper jaw meets to "force" the cat to open its mouth.
3. Drop the pill into the mouth as far back into the throat as you can.
4. Release the jaw, but hold the mouth closed by applying pressure to the lower jaw until the cat swallows. Generally, you will know when this has happened when the cat wants to stick out its tongue, but can take some time to do this.

Now, having responded to this thread in a serious fashion, as I re-read it, it gives me the willies...I might consider banning myself for a week.
Click to expand...

Lol I tried this... in it went, out it came. I held her mouth shut for about ten seconds after, released, and she spit it out.

Red Squirrel said:
Is it a powder pill? Maybe grind it up and put it in the water? Though cats don't tend to drink that much, and if it did not work for the wet food then may not work for the water. Maybe while playing if you can get her to open her mouth you can try to pitch it in lol
Click to expand...

Yeah, I guess. It's not a capsule or anything, you can crush it into a powder with a knife or something. She rarely drinks anything except milk, so I usually give her some wet food along with her usual dry food.

We have always gone with liquid meds or had a pharmacy create a compound for us with the medicine in a treat.
Click to expand...

I was given the option of either a pill or liquid, but was told they usually recommended the pill since the liquid is extremely bitter.

RedRooster said:
If you can get their mouth open, flick the pill in and try to get it as far back as you can in one flick then blow quickly on their nose and it forces them to swallow. Our vet showed us, and it worked a few times. Then other times, they refuse to open their mouth.
You could try those pill pocket treats, they SEEM like they'd work well if the cat liked the flavor of the treats.
Click to expand...

Haven't tried the nose thing yet, will have to try that with her next dose. Either that, or do what Ironwing said and mix it with some water and squirt it in. Have to buy a syringe. I do have pill pockets, but she won't eat them.

Good thing babies don't have claws or fangs 🙄
 
The reason the liquid is easier is because you don't have to open her mouth. You can just jam it under her gums with her head tilted and slowly squeeze it in drop by drop. She might hate it, but she can't spit it out 🙂
 
I have to give one of my cats a pill every evening. We've gotten pretty good at it.

Grab the head from above, with your thumb pointing towards the nose. Firm, but not too tight. Use the same arm to hold her body down. Use your other hand to hold the pill and to pry the lower jaw down.

Put the pill as far back into the mouth as you can get. The gag reflex will do the rest. It takes some practice to get it far enough back that she'll automatically swallow.

Then pets and a treat for your good girl. 🙂
 
Crush it up, and mix it with food is what I've had the best luck with.

If the medicine tastes to bad for that to work, literally flick it down the cats throat.
 
There is a reason why there are epic "medicate the cat" story/jokes on the net ... actually predating the net.
 
I went through this when my cat had tapeworm issues. This was way back in 1986.

She had to take 3 pills over a three week period. I knew this wasn't going to be fun for me or her, but it had to be done.

So I walked up to her and told her she had to take a pill to get better and it won't be fun. I had to hold her firmly and then open her mouth. This was easier than I thought it would be. I shoved the pill in her mouth and then held her mouth closed so she had no choice but to swallow the pill. A little rubbing on her throat got her to swallow it and keep it down.

She was annoyed with me for a few hours afterwards but too bad. This is what happens when eating mice.
 
Easiest way is to swab the pill in butter. Drop it towards the back of the throat and it will slide down real easy. Plus the cat will like the taste of butter instead of the bitter pill. I am the unfortunate slave of four cats.


Peace


Lounatik
 
Our cat has had to take a heart pill twice a day for the past 5 years, and I've always used Pill Pockets. Since the pills are small, I usually just divide the pill pockets into thirds, and roll it up around the pill.
 
The syringe-like pill holder thing works well with my pill-hating cat. The two hints from my vet (putting it in a pill pocket or mixing it with wet food) were completely futile.
 
what ever you end up doing the cat will hate you for it and pee in places you can smell but can't find. Cats are masters of deceit and revenge.
 
Lounatik said:
Easiest way is to swab the pill in butter. Drop it towards the back of the throat and it will slide down real easy. Plus the cat will like the taste of butter instead of the bitter pill. I am the unfortunate slave of four cats.


Peace


Lounatik
Click to expand...

You know, I did exactly that. With both unsalted and salted butter. I first tried scrambled eggs, a piece of my New York strip, some chicken, some tuna, some wet canned food, nothing worked. She just isolated the pill and spit it out and looked at me with that look that says "what the fuck are you doing?"

Lucky for me, she knows that she's not getting any more food until she finishes the stuff with the medicine in it. I think I'm still going to buy a syringe.

Thanks guys! Always knew that behind all the assholery in this forum there were guys who're softies for kitties 😀
 
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