Sometimes we have to give our cats pills. From deworming tablets to antibiotics, there are many different pills that our cats might need. Unfortunately, many cats are experts at spitting out pills, or they may refuse to eat them no matter how hard we try. I am going now to teach you 5 ways to give a cat a pill. Depending on your cat’s temperament you can choose the best way of giving your cat a pill.
1. The easiest way to give a cat a pill is to give the cat the pill in some food. You can choose some pate. For giving pills as a whole I choose pate for human consumption as it keeps better the pill than the pate for cats. Probably your cat will love it but use it only when you give the cat pills in a small quantity as it is not made for cats and if you will use it as regular food it can trouble your cat’s stomach. You can give it to the cat as a treat or just put it over the food. The cat won’t even realise that she received a pill.
2. There are some cats who might feel the pill inside the pate and spit it out. In this case you can crush the pill and mix it with a food that the cat likes. But be very careful as some pills are gastro-resistant or are are formulated to slow release the active ingredient over several hours, and crushing destroys this action. So always read the prospect and check if the pill can be broken or needs to be given as a whole.
3. Most of the cats like pastes. There are many kind of pastes for cats on the market like vitamins, hairball paste, malt paste or even treats. When they like it, cats would eat it even directly from the tube. You can place the pill at the tub’s entrance, press it a little and then give your cat the treat.
4. Throw the pill into the cats mouth. Hold the cat by the cheek bones firmly but gently and lift the head up towards the ceiling. Take care not to over extend . This way you can stabilize the cat quite easily. Take the pill with your index finger and your thumb. Use another finger and gentle open the her mouth. Drop the pill directly into the back of the throat and quickly take your fingers out again. Be careful to avoid the canines for your safety. Then close the mouth, return the head to a normal position and gently massage her neck for a few seconds. Lip licking usually means success.
5. Use a pill popper. It has a soft rubber into which the pill is inserted. Squeezing the plunger releases the pill.