Ask Carolann.....

Have you ever tried to give your cat a pill? You have seen the vet do it, it looks so easy:

Position the cat on a table and place your left hand (or right hand if you are left handed) over the back of the cat’s head. Place your forefinger and thumb at either side of the cat’s mouth and gently apply pressure to the cheeks whilst holding the pill in the other hand. As your cat opens its mouth, pop the pill in. Allow the cat to close its mouth to swallow.

Ok, now it’s your turn:

1) Cat on table – pill in the packet just out of arms reach. As you reach out, the cat wriggles free and jumps off the table.

2) Take the pill out of the packet and place on the table. Retrieve the cat from behind the settee and place on the table next to the tablet. Hands in the right place, pill in the right place, open cat’s mouth, pill in mouth. Feel proud of yourself for doing it just like a vet. Cat shakes head and spits out pill.

3) Take a new pill out of the foil wrap, hold tightly in the hand whilst searching the house for your cat, get a towel from the bathroom, find the cat in the bedroom. Wrap the cat in the towel and kneel on the floor with the cat firmly wedged between you knees, ignoring the growls try to open the cats mouth again. Cat struggles free and scratches arm and hisses as it runs out of the room!

Does this sound familiar? Some days it goes just like the vet/book says and the pill stays down and the cat behaves.  Other days, it’s a nightmare!

I had a Siamese called Sabre who had the knack of pretending to swallow his pills. I was certain the pill had gone, but no, he walked away and spat it out.
Crush the tablet into his favourite food – no he has suddenly gone off that particular flavour!

In the end, I found the easiest way (apart from going back to the vet 3 times a day), was to crush the pill and put into approximately one teaspoon of food from a fresh packet/tin and give this the moment he woke up from his nap. Don’t put a full packet/tin out as you won’t know for sure that the pill has been eaten. Pilchards in tomato sauce are good for disguising the taste and smell of a pill. 

How do you get your cat to take a pill?