I have an elderly cat that needs a half pill of cyproheptadine (small pill) every day or 2. Recommendations for pill dispensers please.
We have a cat that’s impossible to pill. It’s like dealing with the Tazmanian Devil.
Our vet gave us a “cat piller” that’s a short stick with a slit rubber end that holds the pill while you insert it in the back of the cats mouth before releasing.
Worked once or twice for us, but it really depends on how difficult your cat is to pill.
Compound the drug into a liquid and squirt it in. Or grind the pill in a grinder and mix it into some canned cat food and paste it into the roof of his mouth. Having been a caretaker I find the pill dispensers more trouble than they’re worth.
Paula
Even with the nastiest cats, I prefer my fingers over a pilling gun. If you hold their head properly they cant close their lower jaw to bite you.
I wish I could rent out my 12 year old daughter-she can give a cat a pill before the cat has time to think about it. She says it helps if you get them when they’re sleepy. :lol: I know she goes in from the side but other than that she’s too fast for me to catch her method…
I grind and mix with flauvorite ( thick molasses paste with vitamins and taurine in it). It’s very, very sticky. I go in from behind, slide my finger from the front canine to the back.
I found compounding pharmacies and my vet unhelpful when I tried to get my medicine in liquid format.
Make sure, if your handle the pills, that it’s okay to absorb through your skin. For example, hyperthyroid medicine can be absorbed through your skin. Wrapping your finger with SaranWrap helps.
Oh, and you need to know if the pill will still work if it’s ground up, some may not.
The cat’s not too bad about taking pills. Mostly I have trouble with her spitting the pill back out. Some days I can get the pill right in the middle of the back of her tongue in one go and other days it takes a few tries.
I had a cat years ago who was a professional faker when it came to taking pills. You’d think she took it, she wouldn’t spit it out…right away. Just later when you’re cleaning a room you’d find slivers of pill.
Paula
Agree with the grinder. Just picked one up myself in the local drug store for about $3. I grind up Vitamin C to add to my cat’s canned food.
I have an epi-kitty so am now a pro at giving pills. I like this piller the best:
http://www.amazon.com/Jorgensen-Pet-Piller/dp/B0002YFRMU/ref=pd_sim_petsupplies_7 Makes my life easy!
cheese- get a smal bit of cheese and slite then shove pill inside and offer as tip bit she will eat it
another method- wrap the cat in a towel and place it between your knees
you your be at a kneeling down position- lift head so its looking up towards you open cats mouth, place tablet at the back of the tongue shut mouth rub thoart
when the cat shut his mouth he will auto matically swallow
this is how vets do if nesscary
[QUOTE=paulaedwina;6368259]
I had a cat years ago who was a professional faker when it came to taking pills. You’d think she took it, she wouldn’t spit it out…right away. Just later when you’re cleaning a room you’d find slivers of pill.
Paula[/QUOTE]
My cat’s not that good but I do try to give her the pill out in the open so it doesn’t get slung under a couch. It is bitter so it will make her drool if it doesnt go down right away.
The real clue is whether or not she eats well… she’s in kidney failure and that’s affecting her appetite.
[QUOTE=ponygirl;6368581]
I have an epi-kitty so am now a pro at giving pills. I like this piller the best:
http://www.amazon.com/Jorgensen-Pet-Piller/dp/B0002YFRMU/ref=pd_sim_petsupplies_7 Makes my life easy![/QUOTE]
Is that one good for small pills? The cypro is a small pill, not a horse pill like Drontal.
[QUOTE=goeslikestink;6369041]
cheese- get a smal bit of cheese and slite then shove pill inside and offer as tip bit she will eat it [/QUOTE]
I’ll see if that works.
[QUOTE=goeslikestink;6369041]
another method- wrap the cat in a towel and place it between your knees
you your be at a kneeling down position- lift head so its looking up towards you open cats mouth, place tablet at the back of the tongue shut mouth rub thoart
when the cat shut his mouth he will auto matically swallow
this is how vets do if nesscary[/QUOTE]
That’s what I do except for the towel part. She doesn’t really struggle or anything – the biggest problem is her tongue. If it don’t get the pill in just the right spot she can get it back out. I use the handle of a plastic spoon to try to insert the pill.
I like that idea too.
The pill is just an antihistamine and has no coating so it’d probably be fine ground up.
put some butter on it to make it slide down, then hold her mouth shut, blow a time or two on her face, maybe give the throat a little rub.
Works for my cat. 
So far he is not running for the hills too violently when I grab the pill bottle.
We’ve used butter to help things along too-it does help. There is a way to clutch the cat at the back of the neck that makes the mouth open and cat lean back and you can plop that pill down the hatch but it sounds easier than it really is… a good vet tech (or 12 year old) can do it like magic…
yep, grab them to make them do ‘chinese eyes’
(who on here said that?)
works much better than trying to hide the nasty in the food! :yes:
Thanks for the tips! I think she liked the butter.
