One of the least fun things as a pet parent is having to give your cat a pill. This of course may only be outdone by having to clean a littler box! Typically this means your poor furry one is sick and if you are anything like me you are totally stressed out. Also, sorry you are here but remember the medicine helps your guy feel better! I hate to put my babies through thing they don’t like but if it’s what it takes to feel better sometimes we just gotta push through.
You see in my house at the moment we have two chronically ill cats that require daily medications some pilled, some liquid and some even transdermal (a lifesaver for difficult cats). These two have put us through the paces as they are two totally different personalities. One cat will take anything that comes with a treat the other is a stubborn fluff who we have had to get crafty with.
If you are coming her after ages of having something work and now in need of new ideas. Hi, hello, sorry you have to join my club. Cats are finicky and over time they change their minds. Which mean you have to stay a step ahead and have your toolbox full so you can handle whatever nonsense they throw at you.
Now it’s on to me spilling on my secrets and sharing easy and sneaky ways to give your cats a pill.
Easy Ways to Pill a Cat
Pill Masks
Hello moldable bacon! I mean who doesn’t love bacon right?! Okay yup one of cats, so it’s not a win for everyone. This pill mask we keep in our house is from my favorite cat whisper Jackson Galaxy. It’s basically a big jar of paste.
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Features
- Product Dimensions: 2.9 x 2.9 x 2.5 inches ; 4 ounces
- Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Item model number: 305026
- Customer Reviews: 4.1 out of 5 stars 505 customer reviews
Description
Administering pills is a breeze with Pill-Masker from Tomlyn. Pill Masker is a moist, juicy, flavorful and shapeable paste that is perfect for wrapping around ANY size or shape pill. Dogs and Cats love the flavor and taste!
Pill Pockets
This treat/pill mask is a popular one from Greenies. Good news it’s found in just about every pet store out there. I found that multiple cats get flavor fatigue here. I was happy to see that they recently added a tuna and cheese flavor but you also have salmon and chicken to mix it up with. If you have a medicine you are only giving for a week or two you are most likely fine sticking to one flavor.
Features
- Product Dimensions: 2 x 4.9 x 7.5 inches ; 1.6 ounces
- Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Item model number: 10180420
- Customer Reviews: 4.1 out of 5 stars 2,836 customer reviews
Description
Take the stress and the mess out of giving your cat medicine: Vet-recommended FELINE GREENIES Pill Pockets Treats for Cats in Salmon Flavor easily hide tablets from your cat in a tasty little pill pouch treat. With fewer calories and less fat and sodium, these cat treats are made with natural...
Butter Baby!
When cooking adding butter to a dish always helps take the taste factor up. This same theory applies to cats! Coating a pill in butter may encourage them to eat it on their own, dairy (while too much can cause an upset stomach) is often enticing to cats. If they don’t eat it on their own and your pilling the “old fashioned” way it does make it nice and slippery to help it slide right down their throat.
Cream Cheese Delight
Another dairy based delight to try out on your cat. The great thing about cream cheese is it has the same pill paste consistently so you should have no trouble wrapping it around your pill. If you need to amp up it’s enticing factor you can always mix in some tuna chunks! People also like using Bonito Flakes like these ones.
Pill Popper
This tool is genius! You will see a lot of options if you go out shopping on your own. But there is a reason I picked this one something you should also pay attention to when shopping. It has a nice flexible, soft, rubber tip to the pill popper. This helps it hold all sorts of sizes and shapes of pills. But another bonus to this is if your cat decides to bite down on the device you don’t have to worry about it breaking or pieces shattering in their mouth.
Features
- Part Number: PILLGUN
- Item Weight: 0.8 ounces
- Package Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.3 inches
- Color: Original version
- Item Package Quantity: 1
- Batteries Included?: No
- Batteries Required?: No
Description
Is there anyone who really enjoys taking their medicines Pets are no exception. With this Pill Gun , giving your cats and dogs their medication has never been easier Simply load the pill inside the Pill Gun, insert it towards the back of the throat, and press the plunger down to deliver the...
What if These Tips Don’t Work?
By all means please don’t not lose hope. I remember sitting on the floor crying after one of our cats came back from the hospital because she was over getting pills. She let us for a few days but then she was like hey I have had enough, this isn’t working for me.
The reality is, I needed to take a deep breath and use my creativity, and also ask for help. We consulted our vet got some of the tips above and turns out pill popper was her happy spot. It was quick and over fast, she didn’t have time for things sticking to my fingers or missing going straight down her throat. If you are having trouble and try the step above.
If the options above are not working don’t forget to call your vet and ask for other medicine options. Pills are typically cheapest so these may cost you a bit more but in the long run it will be less stress free. Most things also come in a liquid form so you can syringe it if you cat will take the taste. There is also transdermal medication my new favorite! The medicine will come as a cream and you just rub it into their ear, alternating ear every day. Plus if you are a brave shot giving pro, that also is an options for many medications. This is particularly handy if you do something called subQ for your cat. There is a port in the IV line you can inject the medication so your cat gets everything at once. This is more advance and common when dealing with chronic conditions.
