How can I disguise a tablet for a clever cat?

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I've bought pill pockets, I have tried crushing them and hiding them in his food.
I have tried a 'pet introducer' but he's a very big strong boy and took exception to this even with me and DH working together. With my other cats I can just give them tablets in the back of their mouth if ever they needed it.

He needs daily tablets for the rest of his life so I need to come up with something.

What haven't I tried?

Maybe crushed up in chocolate milk

I buy the wafer thin ham slices. I roll the worming tablet up in the ham then fold the sides in and roll again. I pinch it between my fingers say ham and my cat comes running. I give her 1 piece of ham broken in bits. Then once she hooked I hold out little parcel of ham with tablet in and she opens her mouth and I pop it straight in.

Lidl pate is good for moulding around things.

Obviously it's better if you can get her to take it willingly, but if not there's a way of holding her on the table that isn't too stressful, and keeps her from scratching. Imagine cat in sphinx pose, on the table, back towards you with bottom at the edge of the table. Get up close so that rear end is blocked by your chest. Put one arm either side of cat and link thumbs and index fingers around cat's neck. From here they can't get up, lash out or bite, but they're in a perfectly natural and comfortable position. You will need an accomplice to administer pill though.

Does it come in liquid form as well? Much easier!

Keeping the tablets in the fridge helps. Apparently the cold dulls the taste.

@Fartughtyred 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I have a dog with similar quirks and liquid meds are the way to go, I agree. I was convinced that he was swallowing his meds (nothing made him eat them, it was a case of pin him down and force feed / make him swallow). He'd obviously watched too much TV as I found he'd managed to "palm them" and hide them under his bed!

This isn't original, but it's very good:

How to give a cat a pill ... and a dog, too

How to give a cat a pill:

1. Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.
2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.
3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.
4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.
5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.
6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.
7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.
8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil, and blow down drinking straw.
9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

10. Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door onto neck, to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band. 11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. 12. Fetch bottle of Scotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. 13. Toss back another shot. Throw T-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom. 14. Call fire department to retrieve the damn cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil-wrap. 15. Tie the little @!!@#@#$%'s front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy-duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of steak filet. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down. 16. Consume remainder of Scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and remove pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table. 17. Arrange for RSPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

How to give a dog a pill:
Wrap it in cheese.

These are brilliant

You can mould them around the tablet and they absolutely stink! My cats never know the pills are in them

😆

My dog will obediently take the pill then spit it out the side of his mouth. Can repeat several times in a row until I give up

Clotted cream, ice cream or custard also a good shout (unless he has a sensitive stomach)

Pill syringe. My late girl was on 8 pills a day.

Lick E Lix works for ours, with the tablet crushed in it. It’s actually a German version and its liver sausage flavour. It’s like kitty crack.

Or squirty cream.

Crush them into hairball paste apparently cats love it .

Chocolate is toxic to cats!

At my vets (well dcat's) vet, they recommended popping the tablet in the back of the mouth and then picking cat up a couple of inches off the floor and then letting go. (So not high at all, but all 4 paws should land at the same time and absurb all the power equally.)

It causes them to involuntarily swallow the tablet.

Crushed up and mingled with corned beef.

Any chance you could dress the pill in whiskers and mouse ears?

I crush pills and mix with liver paste into a ball

Following with interest. I have an incredibly placid cat. She’s a gentle soul and will tolerate all kinds of things pretty well, but she is the most determined pill refuser I’ve ever come across. She doesn’t get scratch or bite but just resolutely refuses to swallow anything and then spits it out right after you think she’s swallowed it. She won’t touch anything that you crush tablet into, even her favourite treats. Nightmare!

Put grated cheese in the palm of you hand along with the tablet. Rub hands together to create a ball of cheese with the pill hidden in the middle. The trick is not to make it too big so they eat it in one go.

I used to mix my elderly cat's crushed tablets with a bit of mayonnaise, she could never resist

Primula squeezy cheese works well for ours - especially the ham one

check with your vet before crushing - with some tablets it changes the way they're absorbed.

I though I'd mastered it, but after my cat died, I found a stash of little pink tablets stashed under the sofa.