best way to give cats tablet?

Rockiemalt

I've just got the hands scratched off me trying to give my cat a worm tablet. I ended up wrapping her in a towel so she couldn't get me with her claws and got the tablet into her mouth but she still managed to spit it out. i kinda held her mouth closed but she still spat it out. I tried putting it in food but shes too clever for that.

shes now sulking under the bed and I'm here looking for advice on how to give a cat tablets.

6th

there really is no easy way, i've heard of applicators to get them in but have never seen them - try ask your local vet? My advice is go straight for the towel, if you try for a while first and then do the towel the cat is too pissed off and tense.

Good luck with it.

Rockiemalt

heh, it was the vet that gave us the tablet last night! she doesn't like her mouth being touched and even objected to the vet looking at her teeth so even the vet wouldn't have been able to do much better than me with her.

Alun

Are you trying to do it on your own, or have you got assistance?

If you have, then try having one of you hold the cat from behind while she's sitting up. Grab her head from above, with your thumb and forefinger in a kind of pincer shape either side of her jaw, and slowly and gently tip her head backwards. Her jaw will drop open at which point you drop the pill in. Try and aim properly, and get it down her throat. Then release her head, holding her jaw closed, and gently stroke her under her neck /chin until she makes the tell-tale swallowing noise, usually accompanied by her sticking her tongue out briefly.

Works for our two, although if you aim the tablet a bit to one side, it sticks in the side of their mouth, and gets spat out again. Trying then to a) calm her down sufficiently to try again, and b) trying to drop a by now very soggy tablet in her mouth makes this less than easy.

If you're on your own this can work too, but the cat has to be very cooperative. We had an older cat once who was hyperthyroidic and had to have pills twice, sometimes three times day, and he'd just let me do it on my own. Wouldn't want to try that with our two though.

BTW In my experience trying to hide pills in food, just doesn't work for cats. It does for dogs, but then dogs are [strike]stupid[/strike] different

fabcat

I have to agree, me and my Dad were usually responsible for giving tablets to our cats, and there is no easy way, one person holds the cat with gloves and a heavy jumper, the other do their damndest to get the pill down the cats throat and get the mouth closed as soon as possible before she spits it back out, it's not easy and be prepared for your cat not talking to you for a while.

cormie

My cat loves chicken, we'd just stuff the tablet in and then squeeze the piece of chicken so it's hidden in it:)

Alun

cormie wrote:

My cat loves chicken, we'd just stuff the tablet in and then squeeze the piece of chicken so it's hidden in it:)

Tried that ... result, one very happy cat plus one pill still on the floor / in the bottom of the bowl The same thing happens with anything else the cats love like smoked samon or cheese ... no pulling the wool over the eyes of our two!

peasant

Grind the tablet down and mix it into some liver pate ...works a treat and leaves you without scars.:D

(and you can have the rest of the pate on your sandwich ...)

Arcadian

Depends on the cat, if you have a dainty eater (most cats:rolleyes: ) then it doesn't matter what you disguise it in they'll know. If only cats were the gluttons that dogs are, i get my dog excited, tell her to sit and then throw her a worm tablet as a reward:D

zippo22

Arcadian wrote:

....... If only cats were the gluttons that dogs are, i get my dog excited, tell her to sit and then throw her a worm tablet as a reward:D

I remember years ago when my mother needed to give the dog a tablet she used pretend to give it to the cat. Within seconds the dog would muscle the cat out of the way to get the tablet from her hand.

Rockiemalt

woohoo a good reason for us to get a dog too!

tk123

I have a pill syringe thingie - i got it from the vets when the cat was sick and needed a course of tablets but you can get them from pet bliss etc. Anyhoos this is what the vet showed me and it works a treat:
-place pill in applicator and put a glob of butter around it
-take kitty by the scruff of the neck and stand him up on his hind legs
-his mouth will open by itself so just put the applicator on his tounge and push the plunger
-hold his mouth closed and tickle his neck till you feel him swallow
-reward with some ham

I added the butter and ham but it's SO easy to do - some people say it's dangerous but you just drop it on their tongue - you don't go trying to jam it down their throat or anything. My cat lets me do it without any problems - prob because of the butter!!

Sigma Force

Is there any cat wormer paste available or tastier tablets you would think by now someone would of invented an easier way to dose them. I find a bit of butter on the tablet works and straight down the back of the throat, but all else fails her favourite food.

Dog Chaser

It's easy: crush it up into powder (fold it in a Euro note, and smash it with a lighter - the € will be fine), and then wrap the powder in a slice of ham.

I do it all the time with my cats, if they get in a fight and need a course of antibiotics.

Alun

Dog Chaser wrote:

It's easy: crush it up into powder (fold it in a Euro note, and smash it with a lighter - the € will be fine), and then wrap the powder in a slice of ham.

I do it all the time with my cats, if they get in a fight and need a course of antibiotics.

It's certainly worth a try, but it certainly doesn't work with all cats, believe me, I've tried. Possibly it depends on how well fed they are otherwise, but ours will just walk up to anything like that, give it a cursory sniff and walk off with a disdained look on their face

Arcadian

Guaranteed not to work with mine

Rockiemalt

got her to take it today.. 2 of us and a coat wrapped round her... opened her mouth and dropped it in. thanks for the advice all

Sysiphus

Having had one cat that was very sick (had to have her put down at 18 months for kidney failure....) she was regu;arly on tablets and had to hand feed her on many occasions of relapse, I got very adept at giving meds.

So much so that I am now the designated medic with my two cats (thankfullt healthy - shows yor better going with moggies not peds!), and my G/F two cats (Anti B regularly for Hep!).

The best way (after three patches of scarring on my arm from clw infections - watch out for this!!) was to simply, quickly get the cat, hold by scruff (DON'T lift adults or heavey cat!)with on its back with back legs at your crotch, head at your knee. Tablet in other hand, palmed like a magician's coin, using thumb and middle finger at front of jaws prise them open, won't take much as the cat will open anyway, get the thumb and middle over the incisors, to stop clamping, using index finger quickly push tablet down middl of tounge beyond the horizon, remove fingers, scratch belly (cats, not yours) and releasem whole thing takes about 30 seconds, cat will hide under table for about 5 mins then be fine (mine are used to rough-housing so the hide for 5 seconds then come back for a belly cushion!)

Ruu_Old

Our kitten is great We had to give her tablets for a cold a few weeks ago and I had to open her mouth and keep it closed until it down. After that she just opened up when she saw me with the tablet, no problems

kiffer

and old one but a good one...
http://www.honitondogs.co.uk/how2givecatablet.html



I've allways found it best to have one person hold the cat. then I hold his head behind the ears* and kind of tilt his head back... the cats mouth then kind of just opens then you pop in the tablet, right near the back ... get the wrong spot and he'll just roll it out the side of his mouth ... close mouth and hold closed for a second, rub neck ...wait untill cat licks it's lips and feed it some cream or some thing wet like that, to make it swollow.
Cats can keep pills in their mouths for ages and spit them up when you're not looking. which is why you need to see them lick their lips. which is what the cream is for, well that and to calm them down...


*It's a odd grip, not really the scruff of its neck, I'm not sure how to describe it.

popppy

My cat used to be a nightmare when giving her worming tablets but was at the vet recently and there is a new product for worming cats. Basically it comes in a drop form (like frontline flea stuff) and you just apply it to their neck....very easy and no scars !!!!

Dave!

Get a blob of food, throw the tablet in the middle, offer to starving cat.

galah

ok, same problem, slight variant:

I need to give my cat medication for fleas (preventive stuff) - it comes in little phials, and you are supposed to either give it to the cat directly or mix it into food. I've tried the mixing into food thing, but it does not work - Elvis has a sniff, gives me a dirty look, and proceeds to eat Bhubh's food instead. Any attempts to administer the phial directly results in a lot of screeching, scratching, biting, and a very angry pussycat...

(Bhubh is a more compliant cat, and eats her dose of medication no problem - she's a bit of an ally cat, that one, and doesn't care as long as it's food, preferably not out of a bin, although that's never stopped her either...))

Tablets are relatively "easy", but how do I keep Elvis still for long enough to empty the whole phial in his mouth and for me to live and tell the tale? Wrapping him in a towel? Any ideas?