When I give my cat a pill I immediately squirt water in his mouth to insure he swallows it. What was once a fairly easy task, now relies on quick dexterity. It's a game I don't always win.

How do you get the pill in his mouth to begin with? I may lose a finger.

Grab the top of his mouth over the whiskers with one hand. He'll open wide. Pop in the pill with the other hand.

I only ever give cats pills by putting it down their mouth. Squirting things down their throat is not advisable as they can aspirate the liquid into their lungs.

Maybe Toronto Vet will weigh in with some suggestions.

Make an appointment with the vet tech to teach you, by demonstrating and practicing with you. Once you learn the technique, it is pretty easy. (I volunteer at cat rescue/shelter and do most of the medication administration.)

Crushing medications and adding to food rarely works, as the taste is generally bad.

So...a few years ago I had to give my 26 pound Maine Coon cat three pills on the hours before his 3 o'clock appointment to be shaved for matting. Mixed the first with wet food and he ate around it, put the second in a pill pocket which he ate, and spit the pill out. Finally, we got one in his mouth thrust way in the back. Three hours later when we were putting him in a dog crate because he doesn't fit in a cat one, he spit the final pill out which he had hidden in his mouth. ..So no advice here.

If you put it in the way back of his mouth at his throat he can only swallow it. That trick was shown to us by a vet. It always took two of us. One to hold the cat and one to administer the medication.

We had a male cat with a UTI from deposits. Common in male cats. We were even giving him injections of antibiotics. We ended up losing him. When our next male cat got a UTI we got the antibiotics and switched his food to Purina One Urinary Tract health formula. That and occasional hard/semi soft treats was all we feed him. Never had any problems since or with any of our other male cats.

Good luck with that. Google ”How to Pill a Cat.”

Pet stores and supply places sell 'pill poppers' for cats. Like a long plastic syringe but with a little gripper mechanism or the business end. Squeeze your end of the syringe and the gripper releases the pill in the cat's throat. A relatively simple procedure, especially if you wrap your cat into a towel burrito :-)

Also stroking the cat's throat or gently blowing on its nose will induce swallowing.

That video is a hoot. That cat sat there being manhandled for six minutes. Where did he find that cat? Have that pill ready to hand and firmly pin the cat between your non dominant arm and your body (you are sitting down in a comfy place) holding the cat firmly in the space next to your body. then execute the hand over the head pinching the jaws part and pop that pill in with your other hand pushing it to the back if you do not have long nails. Then stroke the throat and give a nice tasty treat or three.

I once had a cat who had to have pills every day for asthma. She wasnt improving and one day while vacuuming I pulled back a curtain and there all in one spot was a pile of little white pills she had been hacking back up. That is when I instituted the tasty treat. I mean, she was swallowing the darn things and ralphing them up.

I went online and watched the videos on how to put the pill down the throat. I've tried that in the past and like someone mentioned it always got spit back out, but I will have to try again.

Yes that's the dry cat food I brought home with me. Well, the tech gave me a half of a small bag of it free to see if all the cats would eat it first. I poured out the Dr. Gary's Best Breed food and put in the Purina. Thomas began eating it right away and so did the other boy Peach. So I guess I'll go back and spend the $70 for the 16lb. bag.

Dr. Gary's is $69 for a 24lb. bag, and they've eaten it for 4 years. But I guess it must contain too much of the minerals that aren't good for the urinary tract. I thought it was a really good food. The vet tech said it could very well be a good food, it's just that some cats get urinary problems and some don't.

Thomas is 10yrs. old, so I'm sure problems will begin.

We always bought the Purina at the grocery store.

I have told my vet that I will not be able to give George pills. Even though he is a very laid back cat. I mean VERY laid back. He will let you pretty much do anything. He had an abscess lanced without any sedation, and just laid there as long as he was getting attention. He lets me look in his mouth. I can pick him up and hold him like a baby, even though I pay dearly for it when my allergies attack. He let me give him a bath. But I am not ever going to try to give him a pill. With dogs its easy, just hide it in a piece of a honey bun, they swallow it whole. They told me that if he is in need of meds, they will give him an injection where possible, and if he indeed needs pills that I can pay them a small fee and bring him up there for them to administer them when needed. And I will.

Like gardengal I have a pill plunger/pill popper that I use. However I always ask the vet for liquid medications if possible and use a little syringe.

If you get the pill at the back of his throat, close his mouth and rub his throat. He'll instinctively swallow. I've used syringes and pills. Putting pills into the food never works.

Cats are tougher to give a pill to but having had so many cats and dogs, over 70 yrs I have it down pat! Usually...

I grab the mouth open from the top, shove the pill way back in the throat and rub their neck. If you shove a pill far enough back (cat or dog), it forces them to swallow. The hardest part is dealing with them squirming and fighting to get away. Between sharp teeth and those claws, you take your life in your hands. After a few times, if still alive, you get the hang of it!!

Jane

I've had success with Greenies pill pockets. Peeka swallowed them whole. I just handed him one, like it was a treat. He was a huge cat and loved Greenies.

Aspen is a tiny thang. He doesn't like treats. Shoved the pill down his throat with my finger, then held his head up and stroked his throat while he's wrapped in a towel.....to keep from getting clawed. Not pleasant, but instantly forgiven. And....back then....he was weak, sick, starving to death...now he's strong and healed....I don't know if I could do it he's soooooooo strong.

It’s a learned skill. And when we are 99% sure she swallowed it, we occasionally find a pill on the floor kn another room lol. Ask your vet to help you practice.

You might ask the vet if it is available in a transdermal, for the days when the cat just won’t take the pill or you have a cat sitter. The tube dispenses the dose right onto the inside of the ear flap and you kind of rub it in. It’s more expensive so you probably don’t want to rely on it 100% of the time.

I was thinking about those pill pockets too. They can be a lifesaver - literally!

And I was taught not to put my hands on the cat's whiskers, but to grip the hinge of a cat's jaws from under the chin, or around the head, and gently squeeze to get their mouth open.

Maybe first just practice opening kitties mouth. Get kitty used to you doing it.

Good luck!

For a large dog (not a cat)

For a large, very gentle but stubborn German Shepherd, the hands are reversed - I have to grab the jaw firmly from underneath with the thumb holding on one side and fingers on the other to pull it down, while using a finger of the pill holding other hand to push up in the mouth under the nostrils. While still holding the jaw open, I then place the pill holding hand on top of the bottom teeth and fling the pill back toward the throat.

It works 80% of the time. If the pill ends up on the floor, we do it again. For pills that can be chewed (capsules usually can't), a little bit of peanut butter on a pill placed in the food dish gets licked up immediately.

Oh my gosh, Toronto, I was laughing so hard at your post I was in tears! PRICELESS!!

Toronto obviously has experience.

Oh, and you do know cats are psychic, right? I take the pill out long before it needs to be given, set it on a little plate or napkin. Then don’t think about it. I’ve even carried it in my pocket. Don’t think about it. Don’t think ”I have to pill the cat”. Then, very nonchalantly, when he is sitting there minding his own business, give the pill. Really, if you think about it, they KNOW!

Also, Greenie pill pockets? If you give three, and one has the pill, he will eat two and leave the one with the pill. You can try to put the pill in the pocket without it touching the sides, so no scent is exposed.

Oh, also, we give three ”Temptations” after the pill. One, so she feels better and two, it helps ensure that she swallows it. Not 100%, but pretty close. (Our other cat, when he heard Mocha about to get her pill, would come in and wait for treats. Of course he had to get treats, too.)

For cats and dogs I do it like jane__ny and Jasdip. He who hesitates will lose. I don't believe in trying to sneak medications. However when administering medication by oral syringe to horses I have been taught to set it up with molasses/medication/molasses as long the animal is not insulin resistant.

Really it comes down to handling any animal in ways that allow you to touch them anywhere and to accept it before it ever becomes necessary. I don't disrespect horses by patting them on the nose for example but occasionally I will gently go up their nostrils a ways or run my fingers around the inside of their mouths. It insures being able to properly treat them should the need arise. Gentle handling and conditioning animals to these "invasions" pays off in the long run.

That cat in the video had been given a sedative.

If the medications can be given in liquid form, have them compounded. You’re usually given a choice of flavors; chicken, salmon salmon, tuna…

We used MixLab to compound meds for our cat. We’d usually receive them pretty quickly, and they always included a toy or two for her as well.

with cats, i've always done it as shown in the video. with dogs, i put the pill in a gob of peanut butter and smear it on the roof of their mouth. they have no choice but to lick and i've rarely had one spit out a pill.

one of my danes is currently on a liver supplement that, i swear, is the size of a nickel. she's such a peanut butter freak, i can coat the medication, put it on the end of my finger and offer it to her. she's so intent on getting every single bit of peanut butter off my finger, she swallows before she even thinks about chewing.

I should be clear my post was not written by me.......it's an old joke, but it encompasses the general feeling well.

if right handed: get cat by scruff of neck with left hand

gently open mouth with right hand forefinger and thumb while holding pill

when mouth is open, gently press down on tongue, put pill in back of throat, release.

pill gone

now give treat

if left-handed: reverse method

i have been doing this method, twiice a day, well over 4 years for our Jetty for his thyroid issue. he came to know he got a treat after, so would wait for me in the kitchen in the morning for his pill. i guess i was lucky, he was very agreeable to it. 98% of the time i had no issues. when he was feisty, it did take 2-3 times to get it down successfully.

he just passed on Sunday. he was a really cool cat and we miss him terribly.

Sprtphntc, I'm so sorry to hear you lost your kitty. We did, too, just before Christmas. We'd been giving her thyroid meds for a few years, too, but then a pill for her heart for several months, too.

Tried the wrapping in towel method awhile ago and directions on how to open the mouth and toss down pill. The pill got in the mouth, despite the protests, but got spit right back out. So a few minutes later I tried it again - boy was he mad, those teeth, those eyes, that growl! I couldn't even get the pill into his mouth this time let alone down towards the throat.

I'll try again later. I wonder if coating the pill with sardine oil would help? I have a can in the cupboard. But then the pill would be so slippery in my fingers.

I need a second person to help, but right now can't think of anyone who could come once a day. Especially not today. It's 0 degrees out there, wind chill at -12.

I'll call the vet for advice.

Oh and thank you all.

Taught many other volunteers and families who were adopting cats on meds; took ~15 minutes to teach & practice. >90% successfully learned. The skill is worth a quick trip to your vet.

If your kitty is really squirmy, burrito wrapping can help.

Good luck!

We'd do the baby cradling method for our pills/cats, but to help the pill go down easier we'd dip it in a little bacon grease or vegetable oil first.

I do like vgkg and slather the pill with butter. you have to be fast before it all melts, but I pry the mouth open from the side as far back as possoble and slip it in. The lubricant makes it tough for them to spit it out.

I didn't read all the suggestions.

This is what I do. If putting my hand around his face and turning his head slightly to the side, and putting the pill in his mouth, and holding his mouth shut until he swallows and if that doesn't work...

My vet showed me how to make a "pet pill-er". I take a syringe of the appropriate size and cut the end off, put the pill in, open the cat's mouth and shoot it into the back of his mouth. It is quick and usually they will swallow it. I say "usually". If it is a particularly bad tasting pill...flagyl, for example, it is very difficult if they ever get the taste of it. What works the first time with a cat, may not work the second time and by the third time...all bets are off.

bpath: thanks so much for your condolences... i will post a new thread soon about Jetty

so sorry for your loss, i get it....

i think what i miss most is his little face, those pointy ears, and his presence. he was just always there for 17+ years... that's a long time to have him always there 24/7 and now gone, everything stops. it's just awful.

Smudge had to take thyroid pills. He could sniff that darned little thing out every time LOL

Before I could call the vet or go get Greenies, the vet clinic called me this morning to see how Thomas was doing. I explained I was having a very hard time giving him the pills. So the tech said she'd call me back. When she did, she told me the vet said for me to just bring him back in and they would give him another antibiotic injection and forget the pills.

So I did. I took along the prednisone pills hoping they could get at least one of those down him. Upon returning the tech said, "There is no way you could have given this cat a pill!" ha Thomas must have been a handful. But he got the pill.
Only recommendation was to try crushing and putting it in a treat. We shall see.

Thanks for all the suggestions. No time to go get Greenies today. Oh, I did try the sardine thing with the tiny Prednisone pill - nada.

Toronto, I've seen that list and a few other versions. Hilarious!

You forgot to add --

How to give a dog a pill:

1. Wrap it in cheese.

The point of holding the cat next to you is to make the cat feel secure. You are In Charge. You are the mom. They feel not in charge but secure. That helps eliminate flailing. Vets exude power and cats respect that. We can do the same thing. I have often been asked to pill the cats of friends. One particular cat named Stormy,a Manx Siamese cross, was a challenge but she took her pills. Neither background was an easy sort of cat. From their point of view you are trying to kill them.

me me me!!! Been giving my kitty shots of prednazone in the mouth for a while now. He's finally very tolerant. At first i needed to wrap a towel around him to control him. Now I just hold his head.

Similar to the last cartoon posted by mdin, here's one. I can't remember where I found it, but it was probably from Quora.com:

OMG jakkom!!!!!

Very cute, Toronto Veterinarian!

Since we both live in Toronto you will know that we can't "see" a vet - we have to leave the pet at the door. I hate this.

Not a chance in this lifetime that I could pill our 2 cats. In fact they will only eat one food (and I have tried many) only available from the vets.

Putting liquid meds on a small portion of the cat's food didn't work. Next we got a very small syringe - I would say 50% of the med got in the cat's mouth - sometimes 75% - so we went through a lot of meds.

Some pills are not to be crushed - that is a non-issue since the taste of their food is affected.

Jasdip - you can get transdermal meds for thyroid issues. Our dog was hypo - but he would eat anything but our cat is hyperthyroid and we give him transdermal methimazole twice a day in his ear.

I miss our dog who would eat anything, but it was kind of scary - but useful at times.