Giving a cat a pill

My cat was perfect except for the taking of medicine. My vet said they could eat raw chicken if it was fresh.

Now my sheltie was another story. For 12 years, she took meds. Her last year or so she had 6-8 pills a day and I just had to toss them in her food and she gobbled them up like candy.

I googled for you.

How to give a cat a pill:
Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.

Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.

Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.

Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.

Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.

Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil, and blow down drinking straw.

Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door onto neck, to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of Scotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw T-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

Call fire department to retrieve the damn cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil-wrap.

Tie the little @!!@#@#$%'s front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy-duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of steak filet. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.

Consume remainder of Scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and remove pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.

Arrange for SPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

Google "how to pill a cat" and maybe that will help. GOod luck!

RedSquirrelUK that was hilarious!

There are too many sharp bits on cats to be able to pop a pill down its throat without some type of mishap! OP is there a liquid version of the meds that could be masked by, say, tinned tuna? Or given via a syringe? I found a syringe, orally, much easier to administer than a pill.

Our GSD is currently on two pills daily. He’s far easier to dose than the cat. He lets me open his mouth and put the pills at the back of his throat. The vet nurse said I was mad putting my hand in his mouth but how else will he take them? If I put them in his food he leaves them behind in the bowl!

2 tips.
First, the pill tastes bad, so encase it in an empty gelatin capsule. You can buy these online, like $10 for 1000 of them. I like size 3 for my cat, it is big enough to hold a pill, but small enough for him to easilt take. The pill is encolsed inside, so no bad taste.
Second, a pill gun. I have one pretty much like this www.amazon.com/dp/B07FCGRDQN/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07FCGRDQN&pd_rd_w=fXPMI&pf_rd_p=8a8f3917-7900-4ce8-ad90-adf0d53c0985&pd_rd_wg=gIHsC&pf_rd_r=SPWQB4TMQYEESARYX9A7&pd_rd_r=8aebd1d0-87ed-11e9-971d-cb070323b0ba With it, you can pop the pill much further back in the cat's mouth and increasing the odds of it going down the throat instead of out of the mouth.
Plus, with the pill in the capsule, if they do spit it out, you get a few more tries before the capsule disolves instead of the pill being a gooey mess.
For months I was giving one of the boys 9 pills a day, some of which tasted awful, and this method saved my life.

Just a note - this is always a bad idea.

If the cat doesn't eat all of the food then you never know how much of the medication they've had. It just results in either the cat getting a different (i.e. inadequate) dose of medication every day or you just succeed in putting them off their food and them refusing to eat that food ever again (which can be problematic for cats who are picky eaters already).

Also don't fall into the trap of getting it compounded into a lotion and rubbing it in the ear, there's only a limited number of medicines that really work this way (otherwise why don't they make them like that for people?...because they don't work, that's why!)
Again it just results in an under dose of medication and your cat's condition not being treated adequately.
You could get it made into a liquid...but you're still doing to have to squirt it directly into her mouth and I find liquids more traumatic to give then tablets anyway.

Just get the cat used to being pilled, google, there's plenty of videos to show you how or ask the vet.
But basically you get behind the and sort of bend over them a bit, so your body blocks them from escape,
then you put one hand over the top of their head and your thumb and forefinger on either side of their jaw,
tilt their head back and apply gentle pressure until their mouth opens,
with the other hand drop the pill right at the back of their throat,
get used to doing it, be fast and they won't even know they just had a pill.
Give them some affection or a treat and try to make it a positive experience rather than a traumatic one.

If the cat is smart...get the pill out in advance if needing to give it that way they won't be able to hide when they hear you getting it.

put the pill on peanut butter and wipe/stick it to the roof of their mouth.  They lick it down and the pill along with it.

It has worked with all stubborn pill takers of the past and present.

Just for medication taking though because...


"Overall, cat's should not eat peanut butter, unless it is being used as a way to give your cat medication. ... If cats ingest too much peanut butter at once, it will result in vomiting and/or diarrhea."

I just saw them at Menards of all places.  Didn't even know they existed because, peanut butter. (see above) 

My cat had to take medication daily for the last two years of his life. I used a compounding pharmacy that made it into a tuna flavored liquid. I doubt it tasted good, but he got used to a quick squirt down the hatch right before dinner and the process was really simple, much much easier than a pill.

Eventually I didn't even have to hold him, I just called him for dinner and he'd come to me and I'd open his little mouth and squirt it in and hand him his dinner. But he really trusted me, it wasn't quite so easy for anyone else to do.