Urgent-cat medication

[Pineapplemonkey]

I am beside myself with worry about my moggy.

After a trip to the vet on Wednesday he has to take one pill a day and a syringe of liquid medicine. I have managed to get the pill in him two and a bit times. I tried crushing it into lick-e-lix, worked the first time, he refused the second time, he knows somehow, won’t go near the bowl. Tried it in food, again, he knows. Watched several YouTube vids on how to give pills whole, managed it once after a 20 minute fight and I suspect that was luck rather than skill, today I lost in the fight, crushed it in his favourite food tuna, again he won’t touch it. He’s got dental issues (hence the liquid painkiller) so I can only give him soft liquidy foods and he’s eating sooooo little, I think he’s afraid of the pain, he’s lost so much weight.

so does anyone have any fool proof tips for getting cats to take pills?

also, any food ideas to try and get calories into a reluctant cat who I’m sure is hungry but scared of actually eating

What worked for my old cat, when she had to have thyroid pills everyday, was the Encore cat food that you can get in the supermarket. They are little tins and they have real fish, chicken and cheese bits in it but it is very soft (she had very few teeth!) She used to wolf it down, pill and all. It's quite expensive but it did work.

When all other food failed my cat would take it crushed in tinned sardine or mackerel in tomato sauce.

Wow I feel better knowing mine is not the only mog licking the jelly off and abandoning the food! I have raised the bowl height so he can stand and eat and weirdly I find myself sitting next to him while he eats as this seems to help, I even find myself making eating noises in the hope it encourages him 🤣
Will move to pate type foods, I obviously can’t be sure but I’m not sure he is nauseous, I think he’s just been suffering with gum/teeth pain for longer than I knew and he nervous about eating, fingers crossed tomorrow I’ll get the pill in him and he’ll up his eating, luckily he’s still himself, follows me everywhere, wants to sit as near as humanly possible (preferably next to my face) and still keen to chase stuff on a string.

I feel like people on this bit of MN understand how important our cats are, I think my friends and family think I’m being a bit dramatic about ‘just a cat’ but I don’t know what I’d do without him

Nausea would be my guess too
Cats can have really quite horrific teeth and gum disease and still happily eat even dry food.
What are the tablets ?
Assuming the liquid is pain killer, metacam ?

The tablets are denemarin which are high level nutritional support for the liver and the liquid painkiller is Loxicom

I was told by the vet the pills could be crushed and all three meds mixed together in food. I wouldn't have been able to give them to Harry otherwise. It's all very well to to try to force them to take pills but when it's medication for life it's a bit different. I'd have had to have weighed up whether or not it was worth upsetting him every day for the rest of his life.

We have some crushable & some not (thyroid meds) so the crushable ones go in food & the non crushable in Easypill. When it was just one tablet a day we just popped it in her mouth, she was very good. Now it is lots we try not to traumatise her too much!

One of ours is awful with pills. We now crush with a bit of marmite and stick it on his paw which he then has to lick off. He runs from us but it’s easier to catch him and just rub the mix on his paw. It’s definitely working as he is in steroids and is certainly eating!

My cat has 2 tablets a day for her thyroid. I put her food down then pick her up after she's had a bit. Then I take her into the utility room and shut us in. I hold her on the worksurface close to my body, right arm round her body with my right hand cupping her face and then gently open it with that hand and with my left hand drop the tablet down her throat with tweezers (the tablets are toxic and you're supposed to wear gloves but they freaked her out). This method is pretty fool proof now. She knows it's the routine now.

You can get hepatosyl capsules, equivalent to denmarin, you can pull capsules apart and sprinkle into food if any easier ?
Might be worth asking your vet about using miritaz, it's an anti nausea and appetite stimulant and it's a gel you smear on the ear flap so easy to do. If she eats will help her liver, help you get pills etc in as well and make her feel better.