If you can find a compounding pharmacy in your area, they can make most medications into a liquid form. Mine even offers flavors. Oliver gets so excited when it's time for his chicken flavored mediction! He just laps it up from the oral syringe!

that is a GREAT tip fuzzles!!

lawchick,

All I have to say is "Oliver want chickens?" and pandimonioum erupts! He sounds like a hippo running to the kitchen!

I actally had to go through this last week because my kitty got spayed.
She was easy to give the pill to though.

I just snug her between my legs, pushed on either corner of her mouth so she would open it, and stuck the pill in her mouth and she was fine

max isn't a cat, but my poor baby just tested positive for lyme disease. he is fine, but the vet gave him a 28 day course of antibiotics. yes 28 DAYS! anyway, parents found these pill pockets, made by the same company that makes greenies. it is this little rolled up thing, basically looks like a snack combo (remember those? they are like pretzel on the outside and cheese or peanutbutter on the inside?), except without the inside stuffed. you put the pill inside the combo like snack and voila. maxie LOVES them..

runnergeek - those pill pockets are great! my dogs love them. and, they have yet to spit the pill out of them. re: the post of grabbing kitty from behind - that would get me mauled! i suggest wrapping up kitty in a towel beforehand. and, leave the medicine in the other room - my kitty can smell the medicine and heads for under the bed!

Veterinarians offices can sell you a "pill gun" which really isn't a gun at all, but looks a little more like a hypodermic syringe.
You put the pill in the end of the "Pill Gun" insert the contraption into your kitty's mouth and quickly and gently depress the plunger, easily giving the pill to your pet. Then just stroke her throat, as mentioned. Super easy to use, painless and makes medication time so easy, your cat should not fear it.
The Pill Gun is easily cleaned & reusable.

I put my pills (for both my cat and dog) in pieces of cheese. They both love it thinking it's a regular treat for them.

Thanks for all the great tips! I have the worst time giving my cat any type of pills or medicine.

My vet showed me the craziest technique I had ever seen...but it actually worked! Pretty similar to the steps above including holding back kitty's mouth and shoving pill in mouth, but then the vet, who had my cat under her arm, dropped him down to the floor....! I was in shock, but she said that was the key, the dropping motion makes them actually swallow the pill before they land on the floor, and it was true!

mannylove,

I hope your vet is short!

my baby isn't a cat but she refuses to take medicine... if i crush it and mix it with her food, she will not even touch it and since it's a cocker spaniel (not as easy to hold it still and open its mouth as a cat would be), it would take at least 3 people to get her to open her mouth and put a pill in her mouth... she's well behaved most of the times, but she becomes a monster when we're trying to give her medicine! even when i had some of it made into liquid form and flavored she wouldn't take it!! the only way i found to give it to her is to crush the pill, mix it with some water and put it on a oral syringe, then i hold her down against the sofa, so she can't move much, push the liquid inside her mouth and hope she will swallow it instead of trying to spit it out...

ntshlv - try the pill pockets. they are moist treats and the pill goes in the center and you smoosh it closed. the dogs love them. hopefully that'll do the trick so you don't have to hold your little down anymore.

Another tip with a cat or dog that is difficult to pill is to put their butt in your...um...crotch while you are sitting and to hold one hand on their chest. That way, when they try to put it in reverse, they won't get very far!

Great tips everyone. Still you might appreciate this:

Cats vs. Dogs

How to give a pill to a cat

1) Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As the cat opens mouth pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

2) Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.

3) Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.

4) Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.

5) Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.

6) Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and vigorously rub cat's throat.

7) Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make a note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

9) Check label to make sure pill is not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

10) Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

11) Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of scotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of your last tetanus jab. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw tee-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

12) Ring fire brigade to retrieve the friggin' cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil wrap.

13) Tie the little @#!*#^~!'s front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining room table, find heavy duty Pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of fillet steak. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.

14) Consume remainder of Scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.

15) Arrange for SPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and ring local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

How to give a pill to a dog

1) Wrap it in bacon

I use Pill Pockets now and even my finiky eater will take her pills.

easy peasy

Putting pills in cream cheese, cheese or some thing similar works too.

I wouldn't specifically buy pill pockets for my dog; I just stick pills in any semi soft treat to get her to eat them. I got lucky with my cat; I just have to put pills in a tiny amount of Science Diet i/d food (the smelliest wet food on earth) and he'll wolf it down. When I worked as a vet assistant, I had to "pill" several cats and we had a pretty good technique for it: hold their head firmly and pry their jaws open, put the pill in its throat, hold their mouth shut and then let them jump down to the floor. The vet I worked for knew the "drop and swallow" thing too!