The trick is to be gentle and use a little technique. I sit behind them and tuck them between my legs so they don’t try to back up.
First, I show them the tablet in my hand so they can see what they’re eating, then use the magic word “eat” as I point at it in my hand a couple of times to make it clear. I always use the same command “open your mouth” as I open my mouth too, as I pry theirs open, and place it as far back as I can without making them gag. Once it’s in, I close their mouth and hold their head up while I gently stroke their throat until they swallow. And, of course, praise them for doing a great job, no treats necessary.
The way I see it is that I’d also be freaked out if a giant forced me to swallow something without knowing what it is. They get it and get used to the drill. You only have to be nice and clear about it!
I’ll share my technique
- Control the back of the head with your off hand. At first by gripping a handful of the scruff of their neck, later just by cupping the back of their head once they’re used to it
- With your main hand, get a little slippery on your index and thumb and grip the pill between them
- Put your main hand palm up under their jaw and tip their head back with it.
- Use your middle finger to press on the side of the mouth, near the corner. Their mouth will open.
- Your thumb and index should be in position to flip into their mouth with a twist of the wrist while keeping that middle finger in place.
- Squirt the pill from your slippery fingers with a pinching action. This will shoot the pill back into their throat if executed well.
- Use your palm to close their mouth, keeping their head tilted back until they swallow.
This should all be done in a pretty smooth quick motion. Cats can understand some human language if you talk to them regularly, so I talk them through what I’m doing each time. If they spit it out, I just pick it up and repeat while telling them they have to swallow. My cats are all used to it now and take their pills without incident.
I just use a cat piller
It’s a little plastic syringe with a silicone tip. Load the pill into the tip, gently grab their scruff and tilt their head back
Put the piller in their mouth, and pop the pill. Works really well
Cat pillers are amazing for anyone who doesn’t know
I have never gotten one of these to work. I just shove my finger down their throat. I usually don’t get bit, but occasionally I catch my thumb or forefinger on a fang. They gets treats right after and a ton of love, so after a month or so they get excited at medicine time.
Interesting. With my cat I had maybe 2/3 pill failure rate he’d spit them up no matter how hard I tried with my fingers. Then they’d get caught in his fur and I’d have to fish them out lol. The piller has worked every time for me
Oh, I also get a pill pocket (which doesn’t work on its own) and tear it in half to make a tasty coating for the pill then down the throat it goes. I think most pills are chalky and get stuck in the back of their mouth or at the top of their throat and they cough them back up.
As the other person noted, pill pockets or pill wraps help a lot. My more difficult cat initially kept spitting them out even with the wrap, but he eventually learned that I’m going to try again and again, and he doesn’t get the treats until he swallows, so now he’s pretty good at swallowing on the first try AND I can get away with the occasional unwrapped pill.
The other trick I used was using my younger cat to help train the older one. I started off using a syringe of water, followed by treats to get them used to the general process and the understanding that they get treats after. My younger cat would line up for another syringe of water knowing he would get treats, so we’d do a few rounds of syringe water every evening, and I just kept doing that until the older cat got curious enough to voluntarily participate. Once they were both voluntarily participating in the syringed water, they would at least come to me for pills, so the only fighting was to get them to swallow.
Some tricks to encourage swallowing include holding their mouth shut and stroking the underside of their neck, and/or following that pill immediately with a syringe of water.
These don’t work for me at all. Pill pockets on the other hand? Lifesavers.
For some reason my cat only likes the ones thst are for dogs though.
We like this stuff. Lasts longer, sticks to the pills better.
Oh thank you, I’ve never seen that but it seems like a good idea. We currently split the treats anyway and kind of treat them like play-doh.
That’s what we did with the pill pockets too. This stuff works like that but we like it way better and the cats seem to too.
Thanks for the reminder. It’s heartworm pill day for my pup.
I had a dog several years back who was difficult to give medicine to. Wet peanut butter mostly worked (wet so it doesn’t stick to your fingers), but there were times he would spit the pill back out, and I’d have to push it down his throat. It was always a wrestling match like the meme, except I’m not ripped or have hair.
My current dog doesn’t care and will just eat it without thinking about it. Ironically, she is not food motivated. 🤷♂️
!samsondruggingthecat@lemmy sdf.org
Edit; That didn’t work for whatever reason
