# My cat REFUSES to take his pill



## xhenri (Jun 19, 2010)

Ok, so my cat is nearing 11 years of age. In the last 6 months or so, he started to develop anxiety problems, where he would pull out his own fur on his sides and on his legs. It was really horrible, and the vet prescribed some medicine that's basically the feline equivalent of Valium. It calms him down, makes him more subdued and he stopped pulling his fur. The problem is that the pills that we have to give him (apparently) taste horrible, and he refuses to take them. We started by just opening his mouth and popping them in, but after the 2nd day he got smart and started spitting them out. So we got this special syringe/tube made for pills so that we could get it into the back of his throat. However, he reacted to this by closing his mouth and drooling profusely. Basically he lets the pill dissolve in his mouth and then drools it out. Because of this, he no longer trusts us and if we put ANYTHING in his mouth, he starts drooling and gets mad at us! Even when we try to give him cat treats, he refuses to eat them and if we pop them in his mouth like we do the pills, he drools it out! We're getting very frustrated, because when he doesn't get his pill he starts pulling his fur. We've tried coating the pill in butter, putting it in his mouth and holding his mouth closed, nothing works. We bought special cat treats where you put the pill inside the treat and give it to him to eat, but he just chews up the treats and spits out the pill, then starts his drooling routine. We even went to the vet and had his pills ground up and mixed with this liver-flavored liquid, but when we try to give it to him he just drools it out. Like I said, even if we give him a cat treat with no pill in it, he drools it out! It doesn't matter how it tastes, he doesn't trust us and he drools out everything we give him. We're now at a total loss. We've tried everything the vet has recommended. We don't want him to start pulling his fur again, but we can't give him his pill! Please, any suggestions or advice is greatly welcome. If you've had similar problems, please tell us what you did! Thanks a lot.


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## KatBudz (Jun 18, 2009)

I'm practically a pro at pilling cats lol. In the past my older cat has had to go on antibiotics for urinary tract infections, and she is VERY stubborn and in the beginning she did kind of the same thing your cat did. So this is the stragedy I have come up with for my cats,
I prefer using my couch for this because I can put their butts against the arm of the couch, so they cant shuffle away. I also take a blanket and put it over the cats body, excluding the head ofcourse, and then at the front I take the blanket to cover their front paws (my one cat likes to push my hands away with his paws). Then when I have the blanket secure like that, with just the cats head out, I lift the head by lifting from their chin and hold their head while with my other hand I open their mouth. Once their mouth is open I hold their head up that way and quickly grab the pill with my free hand (which was the hand that was holding the chin up). I drop the pill right back into the throat, and quickly close the cats mouth, while keeping the head up from under the chin again and then start petting down their neck to get them to swallow it. You can also blow into their nose, or while petting down the throat also press on the nose gently very quickly and then let go of their chin so the cat can lick their nose and swallow the pill. Sometimes they will try and spit the pill out still so you just lift the head again and pet their throat or blow on their nose. I don't know a better way of explaining it without actually showing you how to do it, so I hope this helped! Good luck!


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Here is a link to a topic about medicating cats. It has various techinques listed/shared and you may find something in there that can work for you and your cat.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=50199

IMO, your best bet is going to be either a *properly* applied pill-gun, making certain the pill is released at the very back of the throat so it cannot be spit back up or drooled out and then 'chase' it with an eye-dropper of water to help flush it down his throat. Next is the liquid medicine and the same principle applies; squirt the medicine at the back of his throat and then hold his muzzle so his nose points toward the sky and chase the liquid medicine with the eye-dropper of water.
To get the muzzle pointed up, I grasp the upper jaw with my palm spread over the top of the head and my fingers pressing between the canines/molars. When I pull the head to point up, they usually will open and gap their mouths ... then it is medicine-time. _Be sure to have your medicine and chaser *ready* so you aren't fumbling around while trying to restrain your cat. You need for this 'operation' to be smooth and fast for the least amount of stress to the cat._

















IF YOU CAN GET THE MEDICINE AT THE BACK OF HIS THROAT AND CHASE IT RIGHT AWAY WITH THE WATER, IT WILL GET FLUSHED DOWN HIS THROAT ... _AND ONCE IT'S DOWN HIS THROAT_ ... HE CAN DROOL ALL HE WANTS.


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## love.my.cats (Jan 29, 2009)

When Samson was sick, there was one particular medication he HATED he would froth at the mouth and make a huge mess with them! I went to the chemist and bought some empty gelatin capsules. I then placed the pills he hated in the capsules and gave them to him that way. I found that really worked. When giving pills, you need to make sure you're pushing them fat enough down so the cat can't spit them back up. I'd definitely try the techniques mentioned above so you know they're going in properly. I found the gelatin capsules worked really for me, and Samson. Goodluck!


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

love.my.cats said:


> ... one particular medication he HATED he would froth at the mouth and make a huge mess with them! I went to the chemist and bought some *empty gelatin capsules*. I then placed the pills he hated in the capsules and gave them to him that way. I found that really worked.


Hey! That is a *great* tip! 
... would you add it to the topic I linked above?


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Heidi n Q said:


> [quote="love.my.cats":374sgcyx]... one particular medication he HATED he would froth at the mouth and make a huge mess with them! I went to the chemist and bought some *empty gelatin capsules*. I then placed the pills he hated in the capsules and gave them to him that way. I found that really worked.


Hey! That is a *great* tip! 
... would you add it to the topic I linked above?[/quote:374sgcyx]


Heidi, that tip is already in the topic you linked above. It's the #2 tip in my response on that thread.

Laurie


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## phisigjuliet269 (Feb 27, 2010)

My poor baby Smalls developed Cardiomyopathy and I had to give her pills twice a day and then when the heart got worse she had to have more pills she was a trooper with her pills right up to her last days. 

I used Pill Pockets and she always ate her pills. Its a little treat that is like a pocket where you can stick the pill in and smoosh the top down over the pill. This way the cat eats the pill with the treat and they don't realize you gave the medicine. This is a little more difficult when the pill is large though. I would break it up into pieces and put them in a few treats.

Pill Pockets areavailable at stores like PetCo and PetSmart and maybe even in regular pet stores.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

laurief said:


> Heidi, that tip is already in the topic you linked above. It's the #2 tip in my response on that thread.
> Laurie


  I hadn't read through the topic in a while and couldn't remember what was and wasn't in there. My bad, sorry!  
Forgive me? *_makes google-y eyes at Laurie_*


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