I don’t know about you, but I tremble with fear every time my trusted vet prescribes me any pills for my little miniature tigers because I already know that, if I’m lucky, I’ll be left with a pint less blood (that is, IF I will suceed, otherwise my transfusion would have been in vain).

So, in solidarity for your ungrateful mission, I’ll try to suggest you three main ways of approaching this most delicate operation:

 

Use their gluttony

We could use any small amount of food or snack and try our best. Of course, the cats’ ability to block any coercion is astonishing: who hasn’t seen a cat spit the food coating the pill, savagely rebel and finally emitting the loudest meows (and a pool of drool) if only you try prying his mouth open? Only after numerous tries, maybe, we’ll get him to taste the guilty treat.

 

Eye-dropper

Pharmaceutical companies have tried in every possible way to make pills palatable for the cats, with flavors and other substances, but rarely they succeeded. Some medication is nowadays also available in drops, which can be administered directly in the mouth, either with a needle-less syringe or with an “eye-dropper”.

 

Treat…

To administer the pills it’s always worth trying to roll them up in a piece of meat or a chunk of tin, or crushing them inside the normal meal of your kitty. I have found quite useful a mortar and pestle for this purpose (makes you also feel like a witch). If this fails, do not despair, there are still some tricks you can try.

 

…or Trick!

For example, you can buy a specialized syringe which has no needle but a small opening on the top, where you insert the pill which is then held safely until administered. Then you need to open the cat’s mouth and, by pressing on the syringe, the pill gets popped into the throat of our four legged friend. The advantage of this system is that there is no need to put your hands inside the cat’s mouth to administer the pill: we’ll just have to worry about holding him still… good luck!

 

Yum yum… such a delicious smell!

Sometimes the greatest benefit comes from some specific pastes that are strongly palatable, having, for example, a fish aroma. They will hide the medicine’s taste and are a great place to crush the pills into. Such is, for example, Malt paste, which is used to favor the excretion of the hairballs that form in the cat’s stomach and bowels.

 

THIS IS IMPORTANT don’t give up immediately! It will take a lot of patience and ingenuity on your part… the operation almost never succeeds at the first try.

P.S. Dogs take oral medication much easier than cats, being, in most cases, of a much stronger appetite and less selective.