Tips on Administering Tablets

Sometimes you may have some antibiotics or another type of medication prescribed to your cat by your vet. While this is going to be the best thing for your cat, trying to get your cat to take a tablet can be quite a struggle. Cats don’t want something forced down their throat; they can fight you tooth and nail to prevent taking that pill! Cats are small creatures but are still very powerful with teeth and claws that can do some damage. However, there are some tricks you can use to get your feline to take their medication. One of the easiest ways to give your cat a tablet is to crush it into a powdery form in a pestle and mortar or between two spoons. Oncethe tablet is in powder form, mix it in with some wet cat food.  Cats that are used to eating dry cat food will see the wet food and think of it as a treat.  They should eat it up, unaware that they just took their medicine.

If the medicine happens to be in capsule form, all you have to do is to break the capsule apart and then pepper the medicine on some wet food and serve it to your pet. Make sure you do check with your vet this can be administered in this way – sometimes the capsule is required as the liquid inside may be harmful to your cat’s mouth and throat.

Unfortunately if your cat is so sick that they are not eating you may want to look into a pet piller. You can generally get these handy devices from your veterinarian, or they will let you know where you can source them.  These are plastic rods that hold the pill until you press plunger.  When you get one, you should always get a long one with a soft tip.

When you get your piller, your vet should show you how to use it.  The most difficult aspect of using the piller is getting your cat to open his mouth.  The piller will more or less shoot the pill in the cat’s mouth at such an angle that it should be immediately transferred down the throat. You will need to hold you cat tight during administration to make it as quick and stree-free as possible. After the pill has been inserted, make sure you give your cat a treat.

If you can’t get any of the above techniques to work, you can always go to a local pharmacy and get them to a make flavoured gel or liquid using your cats medication.  You should use this as a last resort though, because it can be very expensive.

Do you have any tips on administering medication to your cat?