Help! How do I get 11 week old kitten to eat pill?!

[Bicnod]

I've tried holding her head, stroking her throat and blowing in her nose (thanks YouTube) but she just spits it out

I also tried putting it in her food but she just ate around it.

Any tips??

Panic over - managed to get her to eat it. Hurrah! 😺

A lot, but not all, can be crushed into a small portion of their favourite treat.

Pill syringe. Mouth open and down the hatch. One of mine was on 8
Pills a day

I place it in some squirty cream on the kitchen floor.

If that doesn't work place it in a small dollop or creme friache

Tricks mine every time. Suckers.

Ideally you'll need a second pair of hands if you have a DH who can help? Then this is what I had to do with mine.

1 - Wrap cat so she turns into what I call a Purrito - basically get her so just her head is poking out so she can't claw you to bits. Then whoever is the stronger of the two needs to hold her as still as possible.

2 - then, the second person needs to prise open their mouth, pop the pill in and basically force them to swallow it. It's not nice but it has to be done. By holding them in place they eventually have no option but to swallow it down. Only release the kitten once you know the pill has disappeared!

I know how hard it is - my old female cat had to be held down by two vet nurses while the vet gave her tablets - she was used as an example of a "difficult patient" on their Facebook page

Thanks everyone, will use your tips for next time as not quite sure how I managed it this time...

Love Purrito 😆

@blondehalo love how you start off with cheap squirt my cream and graduate to more up market creme fraiche!

I usually crush tablets and mix them into a liquid cat treat (the kind that come in small sachets). Has worked every time so far.

Used to crush tablets, mix with butter and smear on top of cat's front paw.

Lick e Lix (supermarket sachets of creamy fish/liver/whatever their normal treatiness - cost pennies), crushed pill and plate. Miraculous gone in seconds and demanding seconds. My furry overlord is on daily medication and is vair upset if the Lick e Lix is late!

I cover there eyes with my hand open there mouth from above and pop the pill in mine just swallow

I used to have one I needed to wrap in a blanket kneel on the blanket to pin him in place get it in then feed him quickly because he would vomit immediately deliberately he horrified the vet doing that I horrified the vet further when I grabbed the pill out the puke and said grab him quick he rarely vomits twice wacked it down his neck (washed my hands) and grabbed some food from my purse to give him he did say ham shouldn't be given to cats I said no but it makes him drink so it washes the pill down further 🤔 🤣

Put the cat on your lap, so she is facing you.
Grape the nape of her neck so her mouth opens.
Pop the pill far down her gullet and close her mouth.
Tickle her chin to stimulate her gag reflex.
Wait until she has swallowed it.
(For a kitten, or if the pill is big, split it in half.)

GRAB, not grape!!

I never did any of this with the Bengal I put it in his food. You can request liquid meds if you need to.

I once laid around £50 for liquid antibiotics and we were going away and I didn’t want the cattery pilling him. They were pineapple flavour. The vet and I were both stumped on that one.

If the pill as for treating worms, then there are plenty of spot on treatments. If it's come from a vet, ask if there are any injections/alternatives as most vets will routinely give these options knowing how hard it is for owners.

It would actually be good to get any cat used to using a pill syringe, it will help them so much if they need medication in the future. Otherwise, you have to mix it in with wet food but they often leave some so it can be tricky.

Reading this thread makes me realise how lucky I was that the late Fatty took her 8 pills a day so beautifully. I'd have never had her for as long if she'd have been a pill refuser!

My cat had to have a pill every other day for a few years. Hiding it in tasty treats didn’t work. Putting it in his food (crushed or whole) didn’t work.

What worked was sitting him on a surface such as table or worktop so that he was kind of waist/chest height to me. Sat him so that his back was to me. Then open his mouth with left hand and gently tilt his head back towards me and drop pill right into his mouth with right hand, then gently hold mouth closed until he swallowed. Worked like an absolute dream for me. He was so good with it, never once bit or swiped.

Oh, and made sure I had tablet already out and on top of the fridge so that he never saw me getting them. Then, when it was time to give it, I could just scoop him up and grab the tablet.

Really tricky, I pi6t mine in my lap facing forward, limbs held by one arm. With my free hand I open their jaw, as vets do. Push pill into throat then after they swallow pat them and pet them. Only takes seconds. Be firm.