Help!!!! Struggling to get tablets down my cat.

[ALongHardWinter]

My cat was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection 2 days ago. I've been given a 7 day course of antibiotics for her,half a tablet,twice a day,plus pain relief medicine. The pain relief is fairly easy as it's in liquid form,by syringe. But the tablets,OMG. I spent nearly 2 hours this morning trying to administer the damn thing. Caught her 4 times,and she escaped every time,then hid from me. When I finally caught her,it took me 4 attempts to get the tablet down her,and even then,she spat a bit of back out again. I live alone,so have no one to help me. I am wrapping her firmly in a towel and holding her on my lap,but it is so difficult. Any hints or tips from other cat owners who've gone through this?!

I used to give Maia 8 tablets a day. I'd put them in a pill syringe thing, and they'd go down in one go. However she was an exceptionally well behaved and compliant cat!

The only time I was able to give my cat a tablet easily I was sat on his tail and didnt notice my usual way was sit over the cat knees either side feet behind preventing escape grab his head open the mouth and wack it in unfortunately he could vomit on demand 🤦‍♀️ my new ones are easier (umm old cat passed I didn't rehome him although i threatened to turn him into gloves and a pie often)

@dementedpixie Has it down. This works for mine every time.

I know it's a dog so completely different animal but our methods could work for a cat, he has loads of pills for allergies and arthritis. We either put the pill on the end of our finger if it's small then put a dollop of Philadelphia on it and let him lick it off our finger and he licks the tablet with it. Or get a pill grinder from the chemist and mix it in with a spoonful of yoghurt. That works a treat!!

I have to give my cat regular steroids. The only was is for me to kneel on the floor with her wedged between my legs, then I can grasp her head, open her mouth by putting a thumb and finger inside it and then put the pill in as far back as possible with the other hand!

Our cat needs 3 tablets a day and I use a combo of hidden in squirty cream, crushed and mixed in Sheba, damped and rolled up in wafer thin ham. I've heard Primula is good for pill hiding too!

Crush it, mix the powder with a little bit of gravy/jelly from wet cat food, scoop it up on your finger and wipe it on the back of her paw. If she wants it gone, she has to lick it off. It always used to work with mine, though I felt mean because it clearly tasted awful!

Hiya, my cat had to have antibiotics recently and WILL not take tablets. It took a vet and two nurses to get one down her. The tablets I had to give her could be crushed, so I mixed a crushed tablet with a Sheba liquid treat. They are creamy fish or chicken flavour and come in tubes. The cat lapped them up 💯. Make sure you give them before a meal so she is hungry. Good luck

About 20 years into our vet visiting life, we encountered a trainee vet/intern.

She gave us a pill syringe like this:
www.animeddirect.co.uk/buster-pill-giver.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0_ip4_ym5gIVGeDtCh2r_AnZEAQYAyABEgKgafD_BwE

it isn't great if you need to cut the wretched pill in half (why on earth do drug co's do this!), but it was a lot easier than trying to hide it in food or force it down their throats manually.

I wrap tablets in a piece of cat treat (taken from a soft strip). You could then just offer it in your hand or place some other treats in your hand as well so they just graze the lot. My 2 lovely elderly cats are on a number of tablets a day and it does work. Hope your cat is better soon.

I'm not sure if these "pill pockets" are available in the UK, but there is probably something similar.

www.greenies.com/products/cat/pill-pockets/pill-pockets-treats/chicken

They are a sort-of hollow treat, and worked very well for us.

We crushed our cats into a small lump of butter. It worked. He had a slight UTI as well, bless him!
Hope your cat feels better soon.

Your poor cats

We use treats that are kind of like a tiny pepperami: cut them in half (so the cat can eat it in one mouthful) then slice lengthways in the middle to create a pocket and wedge the tablet inside. Cat just wolfs it down and doesn't seem to notice the tablet.

That’s a bit extreme @Crazybunnylady123