Giving the cat a pill: in just 100 easy steps...

[Corygal]

Mr Cory, the light of my life, has been diagnosed with a hyperactive thyroid. He is entirely hyperactive at the moment as it happens, whizzing round at 3am, etc. How in hell do I get his thyroid pills down him?

Last time worming took 5 hours and about a pint of blood (mine). Bless nature's most efficient ruthless killer, little tabby munchkin that he is, I now is the time for the wisdom of MN.

Grind up pill and mix in very small blob of butter. Smear on cat's lips, they have to lick it off!

If you have to get it down the throat rather than in food, then the technique steffanoid describes is the best - when you tip the head back the jaw naturally loosens.

I know it can be easier said than done though - my last cat was an utter nightmare and when she got old and sick she was on daily meds and it was impossible - even when she was frail she put up a fight. I'd had all the advice from the vets who made it sound easy and I thought I was just incapable, til one day I asked the vet to give her pill. It took two of them to pin her down, swaddle her in a towel and force the pill down her neck. Blood was still drawn! Made me feel a bit better.

Current cat needs pills morning and evening for life. Luckily she is insanely compliant - I can practically do it with one hand now.

Our cat needs a pill a day and I've got into giving it with a dreamie (this can involve risk to my fingers). I hide the pill behind the dreamie and then as the cat tries to take dreamie drop both in her mouth - this does work well.

Before this though used to get a piece of a stick treat (aldi) and wrap it around the pill.

Look on amazon and eBay for "Pill Pockets" they are squishy hollow treats that you put the pill in. They seem to be made of the same stuff as Dreamies (ie crack cocaine for cats) and much easier than using treat sticks as we had been doing before. Crushing in thick cream or yogurt is also an option, if it is ok to crush the pills.

Our cat was hyperthyroid and had radioactive iodine treatment which was expensive (thank you insurance people) but effective.

One of ours is on three a day now, we give him treats after and it's got to the point that we can shake the tablets and he comes running! (We still have to force the tablets in but he doesn't run off at the thought anymore )

I do one hand over the head from the back and use the other to open up and shove them down (as gently as possible obviously!)

Prawns used to work with mine, but it took a few - I'd give her a couple (it was her favourite treat by miles and miles) and she would get really giddy and greedy if they kept coming, then sneak in the prawn with the hidden pill, then quickly shove a few more in front of her so she kept swallowing. She's no longer with us, and in her last few weeks had to take a lot of pills, so we got through a lot of prawns!

Place small towel and Wellington boot unobtrusively in kitchen.

Pick up once purring puddy and wrap in towel and put in Wellington boot, head only appearing.

Squeeze jaws open, insert pill, close snout , stroke throat until swallowed.

Release and reward with stinky cheap catfood.

Good grief, how big are your feet, Ancient? Or do you just have a very tiny cat?

Don't think so, size 5 , small hand towel, black fluffy feline, equivalent of dumb blonde, generally scared of mice.

If towel larger have used DH's wellies.

My cat is now on three thyroid tablets a day. She now knows she gets fed following each one - so isn't as bad as at the start.

I use a pill popper with a soft rubber end. You just push it on the tablet and the pill fits into the top. The lid is left off the tablets - for easy access - and I can get the pills out now one-handed using the popper. I hold the cat in the crook my left arm with her on her back - and I grab her front paws firmly with my left hand. I poke the pill popper into the side of her mouth which makes her open her mouth, and then quickly pop the pill directly down her throat. She is then released to eat her food. It does help that she is quite small and so fits quite neatly onto my arm.
This is the same cat who no one in the vet can get blood out of without a sedative - she has drawn a lot of blood from all the vets and nurses.