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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

How to get cat to take tablets

38 replies

DailyFailstinks · 22/06/2021 08:06

My old cat has been prescribed some tablets to take twice a day. I’ve tried mixing them into his food, but he just eats around the tablet, leaving it in the bowl (he’s not particularly food motivated and never eats all of his food). Does anyone have any ideas as to how I can get him to take them?

OP posts:
sluj · 22/06/2021 08:09

Good luck with that one. It involves 2 people and swaddling the cat in a towel ìn our house 😁

SoupDragon · 22/06/2021 08:10

I had some success crushing them and putting them in cream cheese but it wasn't always successful.

There are special cat treats you can shove them in.

cupsofcoffee · 22/06/2021 08:12

We had to have one person swaddling the cat and the other shoving the tablet in while wearing oven gloves Grin

Allergictoironing · 22/06/2021 08:13

I'll just repost this.....

How to get cat to take tablets
TodaysFishIsTroutALaCreme · 22/06/2021 08:13

We had the most luck making a pyramid of food as she would then gulp the very top where the tablet was hidden. We couldn't swaddle her or hold her in any way so this was the best option for us. It was successful 90% of the time. Good luck.

IsolaPribby · 22/06/2021 08:14

I have always had issues with this, and generally always ask the vet to give wormer. However, last time due to Covid they couldn't, but gave me some putty which you can mould around a tablet, and to my amazement, she took it! I've no idea what the stuff is called, but might be worth a try?

1starwars2 · 22/06/2021 08:15

Cream cheese is the only thing that works for Dcat.

We crush tablet in pestle and mortar, mix in teaspoon of cream cheese, and then feed it to her off the spoon.

I tried putting it in her bowl but she was suspicious.

RustyFig · 22/06/2021 08:15

We found some Felix treats which are like little tubes (I think they're called play tubes). I cut the tablet in half and wedged one in each tube...worth a try?

FlowerArranger · 22/06/2021 08:18

This is what you do:

Sit with cat on your lap, with his tummy facing you.
Grab his back of the neck skin, so his mouth opens.
Pop the pill into his gullet..
Close his mouth with your other hand and tickle his throat until he swallows.

HopingForOurRainbowBaby · 22/06/2021 08:18

By a pea shooter.

Beamur · 22/06/2021 08:22

Cats are hard work to give pills to!
One previous cat I had adored prawns. So I would give her a couple to get her interested and then give her the spiked one and hope she just gulped it down.
Another cat liked ham and stuff like Parma ham is ideal as it wraps easily and stays in place.
However, if not food motivated it gets harder. Have a look on YouTube for ways to gently handle your pet to get the pill in, you can also get a sort of dispenser which helps. My last cat was very ill and desperately needed to take medication and I couldn't risk hiding it in food so did resort to manual techniques. He was a bit grumpy about it but the pill went down.

Marcanana · 22/06/2021 08:23

As PP have said, you can get special pocket-shaped mouldable cat treats with a hole to stuff the pill in, but these are expensive and didn't work for me as the resulting "treat" was too large for the cat to eat in one go. You could try the same with a bit of cheddar I suppose.

Failing that non-invasive method, swaddle or straddle the cat so they can't get away, prise their mouth open from the side and throw the tablet into the back of their throat, holding their jaw shut until they swallow.

Some people grind tablets into powder but the vet told me you're not supposed to crush most pills as they are often coated to be slow release.

I use method number 2 for multiple pills every day; hence why I haven't had a holiday in four years. I don't think the cat would tolerate such treatment from anyone else. Welcome to the world of elderly cat parenting! Sad

AKAanothername · 22/06/2021 08:24

@IsolaPribby

I have always had issues with this, and generally always ask the vet to give wormer. However, last time due to Covid they couldn't, but gave me some putty which you can mould around a tablet, and to my amazement, she took it! I've no idea what the stuff is called, but might be worth a try?
Easypill, it's the putty mentioned above. Fantastic stuff, our cat virtually inhales it.
milinhas · 22/06/2021 08:24

If it can be crushed, then crushed and mixed with Lick-e-Lix or similar yoghurt substance.

MilduraS · 22/06/2021 08:42

One of my cats reluctantly accepts us shoving a tablet covered in easy pill putty into her mouth. The other one doesn't like the putty at all but thinks a tablet wrapped in Royal Canin pill assist is a treat and comes running when she hears me open the packet. She eats them out of myhand then begs for more. The RC pill assist is quite big so we have to take about 1/3 off or it's too big for her to eat.

PawsQueen · 22/06/2021 08:47

Mine is a no pill zone so he has to have other options (not helpful I know)
The vet gave him a wormer once and emerged saying "I think it's time to try a spot on"
He only has one tooth but he's so quick and like trying to throw a tablet into a basketball hoop. If I put it in something, he picks all the food off and spits the tablet out Blush

SoupDragon · 22/06/2021 08:53

I have always had issues with this, and generally always ask the vet to give wormer.

I have fond memories of the vet giving my previous cat his wormer. After about 4 attempts, she binned the soggy pink mess that was left of the tablet and used a spot on wormer 😂 (FatCat used to run away at the mere sight of any spot on treatments though so it wasn't an easy option)

SwankyPants · 22/06/2021 08:54

amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NMKUIKC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_JS0HYXH4NM2D96X1NQQW]]

Its brilliant.

HeronLanyon · 22/06/2021 08:56

Oh god. Awful. In the past I stated with my own head. My cats picked up on everything. Any day of vet visit a single stray glance towards the cupboard where the cat basket would see them out of the cat flap ASAP. So I tried utmost not to connect with the task mentally!
Only things which worked (and not always) -
Crushed unbelievably fine (in place they can’t see or hear you). Into small bit of dairylea or plain yoghurt or cream from small spoon.
If trying to put in the back of their mouth I needed to have closed the cat door and kept an eye on cat for a long time. Frequently they just spit it out a lot later in some hidden spot.
Good luck.

SwankyPants · 22/06/2021 08:59

Link fail

How to get cat to take tablets
FAQs · 22/06/2021 09:01

Pill gun or the cat yogurt seems to work for us.

Madcats · 22/06/2021 09:01

Do you have a fighting chance of being able to open Dcat's jaw a little? We were seen by a newly qualified vet once who gave us a "syringe-doser". It has a little flexible tip that holds the tablet and then you plunge it in and rub the cat's throat until it swallows.

We always check there aren't injections the cat can have instead.

TheSockMonster · 22/06/2021 09:03

My sympathies.

I had a cat like this. Said cat was also diabetic and completely fine with injections and blood tests so the second time she needed a course of something I begged her vet for the injectable version. Much easier.

I have a dog now…

AnnaMagnani · 22/06/2021 09:03

Webbox cat stix (or the Lidl rip offs which are actually better as they are softer)

Mould around the pill, give your cat a treat.

99% of the time our v reluctant pill taker would go for this, we could just chuck them on the floor and she would run up and eat them.

Fluffycloudland77 · 22/06/2021 09:04

I used to crush into a small portion of gourmet. A lot of cats can’t resist gourmet.

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