How to Give a Cat a Pill

Although some cats will take pills hidden in their food or given by hand, this is a more likely scenario:

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. 

   Gently lift kitty into your arms with the pill ready in your right hand.

2. Pry open mouth and pop pill inside.

3. While holding kitty, retrieve pill from floor.

4. Pry open mouth again.

5. 

   Drop kitty softly while yelling and wash off bloody finger under faucet. Wrap finger, retrieve pill from across the room and hunt down kitty again.

6. 

   Climb under dusty furniture to re-capture kitty. Grab and pull. Re-adjust clothing and check for serious scratches before striking out in the direction the furry-blur-resembling-kitty that just vanished around the corner.

7. Don leather jacket and gloves and pursue missing kitty. Bring pill.

8. Corner kitty and pounce. With kitty firmly held in place, once again pry open jaws, flip in pill quickly and close mouth. Hold it there. Wait until you see kitty gulp.

9. 

   Now, watch kitty closely when letting go. Kitty will indignantly strut away. You will have succeeded. Or kitty will have pocketed the pill and you will find it neatly deposited on the floor behind the departing tail.

10. 

    If you haven't succeeded, I recommend you call in help from someone you know who is an expert at pilling a cat, or have a pet-care person do the job, or tote kitty to the vet and spend a fortune to pay for the visit. Or -- just how important IS that pill, anyway?

Tips & Warnings

• On a more serious note it does help to approach your cat calmly and act as if taking the pill is fun.
• Getting a kitten used to you putting your fingers in his or her mouth will also make the job easier later on.
• Coating the pill thinly with a little tasty fish oil or food might help.
• Try to get the pill in the back of the throat where the cat can't pocket it in the cheek.
• Getting it down first try is the goal. Otherwise it can get progressively harder!

Resources

• Introduce new cats to other pets
• Grow cat grass in a pot
• Help your cat lose weight
• Treat hairballs

[motherNN]

on 11/2/2008 Nicely done. Those cat pill jackets are for sale at stores like Petsmart too. Put pill inside and your cat eats it. Chewable pills only, of course.

[Ladybugblue]

on 10/14/2008 Very cute article!

[cadence]

on 10/12/2008 I love this list! :)

[momandpopoften]

on 10/12/2008 Cute article!