Cats and pills!

Hi everyone!

One of my old cats has just been put on pills. As far as cats go he's pretty easy to pill, but he still hates it. I had been using margarine on the tablets to help them slide down once I got them to the back of his throat.. but yesterday for a change I had some cream cheese in the fridge and decided to use that!

WELL! I wish I had tried that sooner! I just rolled a ball of cream cheese around the pills (It was a pill and a half actually!). He saw me coming and started to back away into the corner poor thing, but when he sniffed the cream cheese he thought he'd hit the jackpot. He actually wanted more when we has done!

I had the firm cream cheese (the one in the silver box). Don't know if the spreadable stuff would be thick enough to hold it shape once the cat starts eating it (ie: maybe the cream cheese would dissolve and the pills get spat out?!)

Anyway I just thought I would pass that on. My cat is happier and it makes life easier for me too!

Good find but you are lucky he eats the pill and all. Our one that had to end up with cream rubbed into her eartips would have eaten every bit of the cream cheese but never, never be tricked into swallowing a pill!

My cat doesn't chew much (and he's not the brightest spark either!)! Seriously I don't know how he's gotten to 15 without choking. So he probably hasn't noticed there's something in there.

The cream cheese is fairly strong tasting though and so you never know!

Your cat is lucky he has a nice mum. My cats are scruffed, mouth forced open and pilled before they know what's hit them.

I even tried it with one of our wild cats. Turns out, scruffing a wild cat doesn't always work

We tried feeding the wild cats worming tablets wrapped in tuna catfood (didn't work) then cooked bacon (also didn't work). Didn't think of cream cheese, good tip!

My Birman is on the kitty eq. of prozac (sp?) He has ½ a tab every morning. Most of the time he will take it wrapped in a little piece of meat, but occasionally we get the "phewt" and then I resort to the down the hopper trick. Mostly works.

PG that's the treatment my cat gets too. Unfortunately she is now on daily pills. After about a month of scratching, spitting and a lot of lost hair she gave up arguing and we can now put them in with her meat,whole and undisguised. Guess she wised up and realised it was a much easier option!

Dogs are soooo much easier

We spent years battling with one cat who needed daily medication, and who had such a fierce character when pilled that the vet would say, "Oh no!" whenever we phoned to say we'd be bringing him in[:0]. We developed a technique that required two people, but reduced the chances of injury and the likelihood of him later spitting out the pill. (He managed to do this even after being pilled and then eating something!) No camouflage of the pill worked on this cat.

It needed two people and about three sets of arms. One person kneels with the cat facing away from them wedged between their knees, one hand grabs the top of the cat's head and tips it back to vertical, and the other pokes the pill right back to behind the curl of the tongue, meanwhile the other person prevents the front legs clawing and squirts just a little water from the syringe into the cats mouth which compels it to swallow. The lower jaw must be brought up an the mouth closed and held shut in the vertical position immediately, and stroking the throat helps to encourage a swallow.

My husband was known to wear welding gauntlets for this, but the best thing is to move fast and decisively.

The funny thing was that immediately after this was done the cat would be back to his friendly self - he just didn't want to be under control of anyone else and was quite clear about this[]. Our dogs at 40kg each both deferred to him, and sometimes needed him to be shooed from their food, because they were so afraid of him.

Gloat time.
We have an old Abyssinian that requires a pill every day. I am not kidding, but he likes his pill!! Every time we go near the desk that has the meds in, he runs over and asks for it, whether he's had it already or not. Pop the pill out of the packet, put it flat on your hand like you're feeding a horse, and swoop, its gone. No tricks, no scruff and force down the throat. Gone. Done. Jealous??? Our other cat was a different matter of course. I'll keep the cream cheese in mind for next time we have a difficult puss.

Robinsons Folly?;311676 wrote: Gloat time.
We have an old Abyssinian that requires a pill every day. I am not kidding, but he likes his pill!! Every time we go near the desk that has the meds in, he runs over and asks for it, whether he's had it already or not. Pop the pill out of the packet, put it flat on your hand like you're feeding a horse, and swoop, its gone. No tricks, no scruff and force down the throat. Gone. Done. Jealous???

Please tell me you're breeding from this cat...[}][}][}]

I bought a pill putta inna thingie ma gig from the Vets(cheap as chips)...... having two people makes it easy but can be done solo:rolleyes:
I want a cat like Robinsons Folly too[^]
Cheers

I bought a pill popper too, but i found that if the cat struggled and knocked the end of it before it got to the back of the throat the pill would fall out!

I can pill this lad by kneeling and prying his mouth open, but when the cat starts to cower when you try to pet him its just too sad!

I just had a new experience today too, I have to give the cat subcutaneous fluids! I have an iv bag and everything. I suck up the required amount into a big syringe with a length of skinny tubing on it, warm it, pop the needle under his skin an squeeze! He was so good about it he definitely deserves the cream cheese with his tablet!

Kate;311694 wrote: Please tell me you're breeding from this cat...[}][}][}]

Sorry Kate, although he is pure pedigree, he was "fixed" before we got him.
He is a lovely old man, the vet people all like him very much too. He's 18 now and still going strong, although he can't see as well as he used to. He loves his cuddles, and is a real people cat. Follows you around like a dog. Doesn't scratch or bite and the last time he was at the vet to get a rather large cut sewn up which we had no idea he had gotten the day beforeas it was all clean with no blood, they just gave him some local dopey juice due to his age, and he just lay back and purred.... I highly recommend this breed to anyone. I hope Aby's are all like this! We got him from a couple going overseas, he's just lovely. Our other cat we also inherited and he was a moggy, and we tried the pill popper thing with him, and he'd have none of that idea!

Trying to give my elderly cat "Worry" a pill put me in hospital.

Even though he thought I was the next best thing to a bed and a fridge, he would NOT swallow a pill. In this effort, he managed to bite the end of my little finger.

I spent 3 nights in hospital with blood poisoning/cellulitis, with a injection of something every 8 hours.

"Worry" did not get his pill ever again, but lived to his early 20's, still loving me, and me loving him.

Worry 1, WalterPark 0

Got to love 'em