Are you giving her the Baytril coated tablets? Have you tried the Baytril in the chewable taste tab version? Your cat might like those better, unless that's what you've currently got.

Pill Pockets are very stinky, in a good tasty way.... they'll be able to cover up the Baytril smell much better than tuna would. When my dog was sicker than sick from an enlarged prostate, we had the hardest time giving him pills, or even gettting him to eat anything, until we gave them in Pill Pockets in the dog beef version. He snarfed them, even the big ones, right up. They're certainly worth a try with your cat.

Those worked for us, so we didn't have to resort to a pill shooter, so I don't have any experience with them.

It took me more than 50 yrs to buy a pill popper, and I will NEVER be without one again! It has made pilling a cat a bazillion times easier for me. It's a very slender, plastic tube with a soft rubber end into which you slip the pill, then push the plunger at the other end of the tube to deposit the pill on the very back of the cat's tongue. The cat doesn't fight the slender tube nearly as much as my huge fingers, and I can position the pill much farther back on the tongue so that swallowing is virtually assured. You should be able to buy a piller from a pet store, your vet, or any pet supply catalog. They only cost a few bucks.

There are a few tricks that make pilling, even with a piller, much easier on the cat. Just as with us, it's difficult for a cat to swallow a pill dry. Give your cat a few licks of canned food first to wet his throat (it's even better if you mix the food into a sloppy gruel with warm water). Then lightly coat the pill with butter to make it easier to swallow, insert it into the piller, and pop it onto the back of your cat's tongue. Then immediately give him the gruel again to wash down the pill and reward him for his cooperation.

Laurie

It took me more than 50 yrs to buy a pill popper, and I will NEVER be without one again! It has made pilling a cat a bazillion times easier for me. It's a very slender, plastic tube with a soft rubber end into which you slip the pill, then push the plunger at the other end of the tube to deposit the pill on the very back of the cat's tongue. The cat doesn't fight the slender tube nearly as much as my huge fingers, and I can position the pill much farther back on the tongue so that swallowing is virtually assured. You should be able to buy a piller from a pet store, your vet, or any pet supply catalog. They only cost a few bucks.

There are a few tricks that make pilling, even with a piller, much easier on the cat. Just as with us, it's difficult for a cat to swallow a pill dry. Give your cat a few licks of canned food first to wet his throat (it's even better if you mix the food into a sloppy gruel with warm water). Then lightly coat the pill with butter to make it easier to swallow, insert it into the piller, and pop it onto the back of your cat's tongue. Then immediately give him the gruel again to wash down the pill and reward him for his cooperation.

Laurie

Thanks for the suggestions. I've been calling around to pet supply places; so far no one has anything called a pill popper or pill shooter: Does it have a different name?

The pill pockets, fortunately, seem to be readily available. I want to have both in my arsenal!

Laurie, do you give the cat the wetter food in a dish on the floor, then pick her up, pill her, then put her down again? Or do this all while holding the cat in your lap (or something)? Thanks!

They're also called an animal pill or medication dispenser. drsfostersmith.com has them, so does arcatapet.com. I know Petco carries them, but they're twice the price of online stores, but if you need it now instead of waiting for the mail carrier, five bucks and change is probably worth it!

I know this is coming from a dog owner, but another tip just in case you didn't already know: Once you dispense the pill to your cat, either by pill pocket or by pill dispenser/popper, and she swallows it, give lots of praise and extra yummies! It'll help her associate the pill with good experiences.

I usually just kneel on the floor with the cat I am medicating. When it's time to pop the pill in, I position the cat between my thighs to help hold him/her steady.

The link below will take you to KV Vet Supply where I purchase most of my pet and equine supplies. The link is their product page for the pet piller I use. They also carry Pet Pockets (which I've never tried) and a tablet cutter which I find very useful with pills that need to be cut in half or smaller. KV sells all sorts of pet-related items, and if you can come up with an order totaling at least $50, they ship free except for very heavy items.

Laurie

Here is a link that might be useful: pet piller

I got my pill poppers from the vet.

My dd has a cat with CRF and hyperthyroidism. We have the vet write out a prescription and then take it to a pharmacy in the area that does compounding for vets. Liquid is so much easier to give. Another advantage is they can control the dosage better. His original script called for the equivalent of a 1/4 pill twice a day. After follow up tests they lowered his dosage to just slightly less than 1/4 pill which would have been impossible to cut. Sometimes the vets will balk because after all they do make money on the scripts and I found that it was cheaper at the pharmacy. Probably because they sell more in bulk?

I sent you an email regarding flavoring the meds at the pharmacy. I hope you get it.

Otherwise, try something stinky like liverwurst.

It looks like the stores in my area don't have the pill Popper. For dogs, yes, not for cats. And the vet doesn't have it either.

BTW, Petsmart is charging $10 for a bag of 40 Pill pockets. That seems like a lot. Is this typical?

Just finished calling the last 12 pet supply stores! I must be the only cat owner around!? No one has the pill popper, just a kind for dogs in hard plastic with 4 slits in the end that somehow are supposed to hold the pill.

Laurie; how fast does that KV place deliver?

bbaird, I have not received the e-mail "an email regarding flavoring the meds at the pharmacy"

KV ships orders out the same day if the order is placed before noon, but I recommend you call in the order rather than place it online. I've never placed an order with them online, so I don't know if that entails more processing time for them.

KV sells Pill Pockets for $5.29 for a package of 45 (item #42108). They come in chicken or salmon flavors for cats.

The pill popper you describe sounds similar to the one I use. KV calls it the Pet Piller, and it's used for dogs, cats, and even smaller animals. They sell it for $1.69. They also sell one called Dr. Hanson's Bullseye Pillgun, but it looks bigger to me, so I'd stick with the thinner Pet Piller (item #81249). KV's phone number is 1-800-423-8211.

Laurie

THanks, I'm going to go with KV. Thanks for telling me about them. I can't buy $50 to get free shipping but even with the shipping I'm better off. I called my vet to ask for advice today (and to see if they had any pet pillers; the staff said no such thing existed (?!), though I told them I was looking at one online as we spoke). My doctor is on vacation; they left a message for the vet techs but no one called me back. I called my old vet and they suggested I dissolve the Baytril and give it to her in liquid form. They did say that Baytril is universally hated by cats and no cat who'd had it once would take it again except by liquid and force.

Can't your vet's office compound the pills for you? My rabbit was on daily meds for the last year of his life, and if you think trying to get a cat to take a pill is fun, you should try getting a rabbit to take something they don't want. My vet would crush the pills and mix them with flavoring, I think there are about 30 options. Of course, they don't make any flavors just for rabbits, but he absolutely loved the banana nut bread flavor. After the first time I forced him to take it (what a mess!) he came running to lap it down when he saw me get out the dropper. I know they have several flavors especially for cats, I would think there must be a vet or pharmacy in your area who can do this. There are a few pharmacies in our area that do this too, I just never saw a point to taking the prescription elsewhere when our vet could do it herself.

My husband and I just gave her the Bayril dissolved in water and put in a syringe. I was holding her wrapped in a towel while he opened her mouth and put it in. What a mess! It was foaming and leaking all over her face and it looked like we were choking her. What a nightmare! I truly thought we were going to really hurt her just holding on. Especially considering what she's been through. I gave her some catnip and some soft food afterward, and she was afraid to get it from me. I'll call the vet tomorrow and ask about compounding: but something tells me they don't do it or know anyone who can.

My two kittens are on antibiotics for eye infection, and they're eating the tabs on their own. Jas-purr actually goes to eat Coco's dose too LOL. These are what I think are called 'palatable' tablets.

I had to give Flagyl (very bitter, big tablets) to seven kittens and their mum when they got infected with Giardia, and it was quite a task, especially with Jas-purr. My thumb got many pinpoint marks during this exercise LOL We did manage to complete the course, though! I did try coating the pills with butter, cheese (dipped in a bit of veg oil so it doesn't stick inside the cat's mouth/throat) - and found that nothing works once a cat's got it into its tiny lil head that it doesn't want the pill.

I've pilled many cats using the normal technique, and I also put some water in its mouth to ensure the pill goes down, doesn't get stuck in the throat somewhere. But after the Flagyl round, I've got a pill popper and it does simplify things considerably.

Good luck with your kitty!

This is kind of what I emailed you:
If your cat is prescribed a pill, but you know it's easier to administer liquid medication, ask your veterinarian if it comes in liquid form.

Many veterinarians can add flavors to liquid medication, such as chicken, tuna, or malt. If your veterinarian doesn't have those resources, your local pharmacy probably does. Ask your veterinarian whether the prescription can have added flavoring.

Some medications can be reformulated into transdermal form by a compounding pharmacy. Transdermal medication slowly absorbs through the skin. If you're unable to give your cat a pill or liquid, the transdermal method can be much easier. The medication is usually rubbed on the inside ear tip.

I tried the pill shooter thing with no luck. My cat gets a pill daily, and I've got it down now. I hold her in front of me (usually on the counter) so she is seated and her bind is against my chest. I wrap my left arm around her and gently squeeze the sides of her mouth to get it open. I then pop the pill into the very back of her mouth. A clean shot and she swallows it right down. If now, I rub her throat a little. This fails maybe 1 out of 10 times and I have to re-do it after she spits the pill out.

She knows I'll do it again. She doesn't even try to get away. Silly kitty.

I couldn't resist linking you to this funny scenario. I'm sure that many of you have seen it or something like it.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Pill A Cat

My problem is that when i open his mouth and put the pill in he uses his claws to push my hand away. Ouch!! I'm going to get a pill shooter at Petco tomorrow. i've got to give this cat pills for weeks.

vicky

I have been pilling cats successfully for many years using a combination of a piller AND empty gelcaps. Gelcaps (I use #3...the #4 is smaller)fit in the piller perfectly, totally eliminate the taste of yech-y antibiotics like flagyl and Baytril, and if necessary, you can combine several different meds in one gelcap. My late Max had kidney failure and was on 6 different meds twice a day..some doses were too tiny to fit in the piller. I don't know what I would have done without the gelcaps.

I know that Baytril is a big tablet, but you can chop it up in to quarters and probably fit a dose into one cap.

My vet sold me #4 gelcaps (charged $5 for 50), but I like the #3s better. They are bigger (so they hold more meds) and go down just as easily.I found a web source that sold a bag of 1000 for $12.00 including shipping.

Good luck
L

I'll have to look for those gelcaps too. Those are just an unfilled two-part gelatin capsule, I assume. My vet seems to have no "accessories" at all, I'll have to look online (another shipping charge...) Two of her meds ARE very small, just 1/4 tablets. She seems to be able to detect even those now in a teaspoon of soft food. Yesterday I tried beef baby food, that used to work for my old cat. No luck at all. She's willing to go hungry now rather than eat it.

luvdogs, the pill shooter I found at both Petco and Petsmart is a large kind made for dogs. Plus pill-holder part was for big pills. Way too big for my cat. Maybe it your area it's different.

lfnyc, do you recall where you ordered those capsules? I'm not having luck finding them online.
Thanks!

Sure. They are made by NOW Vitamins and I got them from Vigatlo.com. They shipped them very fast and the total was 12.06. A bag of 1000 pills seems like a lot, but if you plan on having your cats thru old age, they will be a good investment. I hope they work for you and your kitty.

L

Oops...I meant Vitaglo.com...and the size is #3.

I've had cats from kittenhood to senior years. Some took to pilling much better than others. After being catless for 6 months, I recently fostered a poor cat from the ASPCA and had to give her thyroid meds twice a day. She would not let me pill her (she barely let me come near her). She fell for the pill pockets a couple times. I could actually hear her growl when she bit thru to the pill. Then she got wise and refused to eat the pockets. I had to give her back to the ASPCA where the pros could handle her. Then I read about meds that could be topically rubbed onto a cats ear. But I don't know if they can do that with Baytril.

Also, A friend's cat just had surgery and she told me that her Vet gave the cat a long acting antibiotic injection. You might ask about that since an anti-biotic is something that you can't put off while trying to find the magic pilling solution.

L

Are #0 gel capsules too large for a cat? (I just ordered a bunch of those for a UTI treatment herb powder mixture that my cat refuses to eat with her food) I opted for the #0 size because the dose is 1 mg and #0 will hold about .8 mg plus I was able to find a filling device for the #0 size. Just hope this is not too big to drop down her throat?

Thanks!