Why is it so hard to get a cat to take their medicine?

@hezoid (2144)
April 18, 2009 6:26pm CST
My little pusscat is a totally gorgeous little things, really soft and daft and butter-wouldn't-melt - until we need to give her any kind of medicine/treatments! We've had a right saga with trying to give her worming treatments. We got some tablets last week and she sicked up the first lots of pills (you have to give them in 3 doses over 3 weeks), then we crushed the second lot up today and she wouldn't even eat the food! So we got some Panacur stuff from the pet place that you syringe into her mouth. It was a two person job, with my husband holding her and her mouth open, and with me injecting it onto her tongue, or at least trying to! Well she put up a real struggle and got some of it all over her face, my husbands hands and even his jumper! She also bit him and drew blood, she never normally bites. I had to inject a little extra to make up for the bit that didn't quite go in, and then wipe her face down with a flannel (which annoyingly she let me do without any fuss!!!) Why does she turn into a little gremlin when trying to administer these medicines, is your cat the same?
4 people like this
16 responses
@teka44 (3420)
• Brazil
19 Apr 09
Hi hezoid. You are right, cats only take what they want to LOL. The way I find to give medicine to my cat was put the medicine in some ground meat (I grind the pills too). The meat must be raw. Cats love it. I had a cat with epilepsy and need to take medicine every day. So I find this way that work, giving little balls of meat with part of remedy inside untill he take all the diary dose. It works with all my cats. Have a nice weekend.
1 person likes this
@irishidid (8688)
• United States
19 Apr 09
Just be caution with the pills that aren't meant to be crushed!
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@teka44 (3420)
• Brazil
19 Apr 09
I always ask the vet before do this, don't worry because I love my babies.
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
19 Apr 09
are dogs are the same so if its pills we wrap cheese around them they eat that up fast and hardly every get the pills out before they swallow them
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@lilaclady (28207)
• Australia
18 Apr 09
yeh it is hard to give cats something they don't want as they are so indepenedent. I have noticed vets have a special way of opening their mouths,popping the medicine in then gently massaging their throats so it goes down, cats are not stupid they know what you are up to...i used to try and give my cat flee tablets but no way thank heaves for this new stuff you just sqirt on the back of their neck..i hope things work out for you.
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
19 Apr 09
My furball seems to be suffering from cat flu at present..all the vet could offer me was a course of tablets for him,which I was able to get him to take quite easily when crushed to a powder and mixed with a little milk or Tuna..I haven't ever had to get physical with him to get him medicated before,but having the experience of bathing him in the past,it's not something I'd like to be doing on a regular basis!
@irishidid (8688)
• United States
19 Apr 09
My daughter taught me how to give our cat medicine. With liquid go for the side of the mouth, you don't have to force the mouth open. With pills, push it into the throat and hold kitty's mouth shut until he swallows. They also make tubes and I imagine you could get one from the vet. They would probably show you how to use it.
1 person likes this
@jugsjugs (12967)
19 Apr 09
i found it easy if u open a tin of tuna then giving the cat a bit of tuna so your fingers smell of tuna it was easy to get anything into my cat as well as it didnt mind having its mouth open.just an idea as i have 6 cats.anything is worth a try.try it you never know.your cat should not put up such a fight then.
1 person likes this
@tholmes (100)
• Canada
19 Apr 09
I am very lucky because our cats love yogurt! And all I have to do is crush the pills and then put them in the yogurt and they eat all the yogurt and the meds, no fuss and muss..One of the females is smart though, if we have to give her pills for more than 3 days in a row she will stop eating the yogurt, so as long as the dosage is only for 3 days we are good to go.. As for liquid, we squirt that into their yogurt and they will still take it no problem, you might want to try that as well with your cat.. Just an idea is all...
• United States
20 Apr 09
My cat had to have surgery recently and had to take antibiotics for 10 days. The first several days we tried shooting it in her mouth with a syringe and, yes, it was a two person job. I finally decided to get some canned cat food and put the medicine in the canned food. She ate it right up. Worked very well. I know it doesn't always but, it worked for me.
@ElicBxn (63194)
• United States
19 Apr 09
Oh, yeah! When Taj was sick we were giving him pills and after his surgery, antibiotics and pain pills. We had wrap him up in a towel or shirt so he didn't tear the roomie to peices while I put the pills down his throat. I'm pretty good at holding the head and shoving my fingers down their throats, but he put up such a fight! And all this without having to worry about his teeth, because the surgery was to pull them all!
@Loverbear (4918)
• United States
19 Apr 09
First, I would check with the vet...it could be that your cat is allergic to the pills. I have had that happen with my cats. Also, before administering the medication give her a full meal so that it doesn't rest on an empty stomach... Make sure that the food is something that she really really likes. Now, get her under your left arm, securely but gently under the arm. Then with your right hand pry her mouth open and hold it open with your left hand (put your thumb and index finger just in front of the jaw bone hinge thingy. If you can position it right there is an area in the jaw where there are no teeth and that way you can hold the jaw open without injury to yourself.) and take the pill in your right fingers and place it as far back on the tongue as you can. Then give the pill a little shove and it should go right down. Hiding it in food is okay but 9 times out of 10 the cat will find the pill and spit it back at you and give you that sour "YUCK" look. I had taken one of my cats to the vet and he was going to show ME how to give the cat the pill. He came at my cat with a pair of forecpts and the pill. The cat took one look at the stuff coming at him and cut and run like hell! It took us about fifteen minutes to catch the cat and the vet was ready to try again. I looked at him like he landed from Mars and demanded that he give me the pill. Fortunately he gave in and handed it to me. I opened the cat's mouth and popped the pill in, gave it a little push and the cat swallowed it. He was in AWE! He decided I was from the Vet review board and about crapped himself! Don't flip your cat on her back to give her any medication. There are chances that she could inhale it into her lungs and that could spell disaster. If your cat has a tendency to claw, then wrap her in a large towel or blanket.
@bellis716 (4799)
• United States
20 Apr 09
Why did you wipe down her face? Had you left it, she would have washed it herself and you wouldn't have had to give as much extra. I've had the same problem with my usually docile tom cat. I remember giving pills to one of our previous cats. I would roll them in butter, open his mouth and shove the pill into the back of his mough as far as I could get it. Then, I'd hold his mouth shut and stroke him under his chin until he swallowed. Worked for that cat, but not for this one.
@kellycat (48)
• United States
19 Apr 09
Cats are notorious for not taking their meds. Try wrapping the cat in a towel like a swadling baby and have someone else hold the cat tightly while you gently open the cats mouth, by putting your hand over the top of the cats head from behind its head and with your fingers on both sides of its head gently pull the head backwards and the mouth will fall open. BE GENTLE DONT PULL TOO HARD YOU CAN HURT THEM. Quickly put the pill as far back in mouth as you can and close mouth hold mouth closed and wait for cat to swallow. Try coating pill with butter before you put it in cats mouth. You could try to crush pill and put in tuna or some other very smelly food. Liquids should be squirted in the side of the mouth, slowly so the dont have a chance to spit it out, this works with the same type of hold. Team work is key!!!! If none of this works ask your vet to administer meds on a daily basis for a small fee. GOOD LUCK
@intari (190)
• Indonesia
20 Apr 09
yes, cat so hard to take medicine.so, when my cat get ill and need medicine, i usually mixed the tablets with water and sugar then put in the spite.then i hold her mouth to be open then i pull the medicine from the spite. i doing that 3 times a day. the next day she get better.
• United States
23 Apr 09
Everyone hates taking medicine, unless you're an adult coz you know better. Baby animals especially and even grown animals hate that. One of my cats were sick when we first got him, h e was only 4-5 weeks old. And I was really scared that he would die. So it was great that I just made sure that he took his medicine and ate all the time. Him being sick affected his appetite.
• Canada
19 Apr 09
It's not that easy to get a dog or any other animal to take their medicine either. I have found that if I need to give a cat a pill, it works best to roll the pill into a ball of tuna. Cats love tuna as a treat, and they are not going to pass that up regardless of what's in it. With a dog, cut a slit into a piece of wiener, and give it the pill that way.
• United States
19 Apr 09
Both my cat's hate to take their medicine. My oldest cat is on liquid anibiotics right now and he fights me and my husband when we try to give it to him and he fakes us out a lot, like he pretends he takes it then when we let go of his head he spits it out..LOL.. And my younger cat fights when I give him his pills also. They also do not touch their canned cat food when we mix the worm medicine in their food... They must know it's in their food because they can smell it.. Little buggers!