Cat owners, I have a question

I've been very preoccupied lately with getting ready to retire. Whew, there's so much to do. So I felt really badly when I looked at my sweet little female cat and noticed that she was just not herself and looking thin. So off to the vet we went, and it turns out that she has multiple problems....a heart murmur, which isn't bad, and probably won't cause her any problems, but also a thyroid problem, for which she has to take medication twice a day. Here's the question I have for you, she doesn't have many teeth left, and I always feel like I'm hurting her when I have to pry her mouth open and push the pill to the back of her throat like the vet showed me. I think I dislike the process as much as she does. I touched my tongue to the pill, and it tastes bad, so I tried hiding it in a little dab of cream cheese, but my poor toothless girl just licks it, I don't know if she can smell the pill hiding in there, or what, but she ends up just dropping it and walking away. So I'm wondering if any of you have any tried and true methods for getting your cat to take to take pills without causing them any trauma. She probably senses my stress when pill time rolls around, I'm probably more traumatized than she is, lol. Any help would be appreciated.

I am the human of an 18 year old cat who has 3 teeth left in his head. He is in the very early stages of kidney failure (he gets special food which seems to have halted it) has a heart murmur, but thankfully his thyroid is ok.

He does however occasionally need meds. When he does, I will either grind the pill up into powder and mix it with a small amount of his favorite food - tuna, or break the pill up into halves or quarters and sneak it into his wet food.

I have also put it in a small amount of american cheese and press the cheese to cover it. He will usually just swallow this - but not always. I have also used some other cat food that is very thick and tuna flavored. But I have to be careful because he will stop eating his diet food and demand the other stuff if he gets too much.

I think my cat has the same thing! I got a syringe (no needle), put the pill in there, add a little water and shake it until it dissolves, than squirt it down her throat. The pill is very bitter.

BTW, consider switching your cat to a higher fat diet. I have recently switched to Orejen which has 20% fat. Calories come in 3 forms - carbs, protein and fats. Cats don't need a lot of carbs, and protein can be hard on their kidneys, especially as they age. As far as I can tell, Orejen has the highest percent of fat for a dry food. Plus it doesn't have vitamin dense "life source bits" like Blue Buffalo (our previous food). The high temp the rest of the food is cooked at destroys some vitamins, so Blue Buffalo makes a vitamin dense kibble, cooks it at a lower temp, then mixes it with the rest of the kibble. Which is great, until the cats decide they don't like the life bits. (b/c cats are jerks.)

Liverwurst is what I have the best luck when hiding a pill. If they see through that, I find that coating the pills with butter before stuffing it down their throats makes it less traumatic for all of us.

Good luck to you and your little sweetie.

Oh boy. Been there.

It might take some searching, but some veterinarian somewhere should have a relationship with a compounding pharmacy where they can work with you and Dr. to make alternative flavored pills, or liquids (with my cat liquids were easier), or even transdermal meds.

Also, technique is important. But its hard to find cat behaviorist who can train you with a technique that helps reduce a cat's resistance.

And some cats are just stubborn.

Check out cat forums for people who've had to deal with giving daily meds. My cat had to have subcutaneous fluids and other owners who'd been through had a wealth of info on how to make it painless and calm.

Greenies pill pockets work for some, but you'll need to be sure that med is inserted as cleanly as possible into the pocket or the smell will contaminate the pill pocket.

I've had some luck with smelly soft cat treats....the kind you can mold around a pill. But it was never fool proof.

I sympathize with you and wish you luck!

Your poor little girl! I have a kitty that needs routine meds but they're injection and liquid. I can't imagine trying to give her pills as the liquid is hard enough. Do they not make the meds in injectable or liquid form as opposed to pills? So much easier.

My little girl has an autoimmune disease that causes her to be allergic to her own teeth. I can't have them removed because she also has a heart murmur which is severe enough that general anesthesia would probably do her in. The way we've increased her body weight and improved her general health is by feeding her canned tuna. We give it to her 2-3 times a day and she's gone from 4 lbs to 6 lbs in the last 5 months.

So I have no recommendations on how to give her pills as you've tried the hiding-it-in-food trick (and she's on to you with that one, lol) other than to see if you can get it in another form. I also highly recommend the canned tuna. I didn't want to give her canned cat food since it's usually filled with so much filler crap. Cats have to have very aromatic food because if they can't smell it, they won't eat it. With tuna I know she's getting excellent quality protein that's really smelly without added junk.

Good luck with your girl!

The med I give my cat is Felimazole. (Can't remember the generic name.) I have found that she goes in cycles - a small dose will work for a while, but then she will start getting restless - trying to escape out side, yowling, etc. Then I increase the dose. That will work for a while. Then she will become very lethargic and even nauseated. I remember for several days she did almost nothing but lay on the couch and throw up. (Sorry, TMI.) I was going to take her to vet on Monday, and since she was feeling to poorly I didn't want to hassle her with pills - and after 24 hrs off the pills she improved. So you may find yourself in a cycle of lower dose, higher dose, then no dose.

What worked for me with my (sadly late) boy-cat Jack was to coat the pill in butter, and then use a pill gun to shoot it into his throat. He figured out the pill pockets after the first course of antibiotics, and I couldn't get anything else to stay in his mouth.

With my late kitty, Max, I used the pill gun. It worked really well with him. Winston, my current fellow, is very resistant to pills no matter what I do. The best I can manage is to give him a treat before and after the pill battle, and give him lots of love afterwards, too. Best wishes for you and your sweet kitty.

My old kitty doesn't chew either. I use Greenies Pill Pockets. I usually rub some wet food or tuna around the pill and wrap the pill pocket around it. My kitty swallows it whole.

We have an assortment of pets, and it seems to work for all of them if I grind the pill and put it in something soft...then they think they're getting a special treat just for him/her. Applesauce and pudding are faves around here.
Good luck, hope things get easier.

Peanut Butter works a treat for keeping it their mouth long enough to get them to swallow.

Kissing them smack on the nose makes them swallow whats in their mouth
or you could blow gently on their nose...

My "baby boy" Cassidy is my mostly-toothless elder cat with diabetes. I give him a pill 2 times a day. I have learned how to gently but quickly open his mouth and insert the pill deeply enough that he can't spit it back up.

I used to use a small dab of butter to keep the pill on the tip of my finger. That helped a lot until I got better coordinated.

Another thing that has been helpful is to sit on the couch or floor with one leg drawn up -- kind of like sitting cross legged, but with only one leg, not both -- and trap the cat's rump in the crook of my knee. When he would try to scoot backwards as I opened his mouth, I had him trapped.

I don't give him a pill if I'm stressed or in a hurry. If I'm act with gentle, calm purpose, it goes better for him too.

What I also always do is offer a yummy treat immediately afterwards. That helps a lot to erase any nasty aftereffects.

My cat had hemobart (sp?) a few months ago and had to have a pills 2× a day for 4 weeks. I first tried to give it to him in a hot dog but he would just eat the hot dog and spit out the pill. I quickly figured out that if I wrapped the pill in a tiny piece of deli sandwich meat he would just about take my finger off to take his medicine lol. He wanted his "treat" so bad he knew what times he took it and would start mewing and crying until I gave it to him. If only my kids took medicine so easily...lol

My cat got the point she'd turn down any thing that wasn't dry kibble. Including lard, mayonnaise, yogurt, cheese, cream cheese, sardines, tuna, wet food, egg, Greenie pill pocket, etc. Hence the syringe.

Lots of good advice here!

I have 3 elder cats one of which has one tooth and is in the middle stages of renal failure as well. He hates pills. He will not take them in food or ground. Anything I hide them in he either ignores or eats around.

He hates being pilled, but the best way I've come up with is, as DeeAnna said, I make sure I'm not stressed or in a rush, he picks up on it. I have my pill ready, flip him on his back and pop the pill as far back in his mouth as I can. Then I use a squirt bottle to put a very small amount of liquid in his mouth to help him swallow (a needleless syringe works great too). I've read (and personally agree) that the water is very important. I know whenever I try to dry swallow pills it's more difficult, so it makes sense.

I follow it up with lots of love and treats, I think he's grudgingly accepted the tradeoff.

"... I follow it up with lots of love and treats, I think he's grudgingly accepted the tradeoff. ..."

That's a cute way to sum things up, Stacy! I think Cass would agree with your elder buddy. It probably bothers me more (especially on days when I miss my aim and have to try twice!) than it bothers him from watching his body language and his attitude.

I always think that I like most animals better than I like most people, and then I read posts like these, and I think humans can't be that bad if they can love their animals with such devotion. Thank you all for your wonderful advice and encouragement. I will try liverwurst and tuna and peanut butter and deli meat......and nose kisses......especially nose kisses, lol! I will also try to take a deep breath and relax before med time, because I know she feels my stress. Thank you again for all your help, and Mimi thanks you too! Here she is chillin' on the couch.

She's so pretty!