How to Give a Cat a Pill

Giving a cat a pill can be one of the most difficult and exasperating chores that come your way. If you work at it with preparation and patience, you will succeed in no time. Cats don’t like to be forced to do anything, let alone swallowing a pill. Even otherwise friendly cats will fight you on this project. There are a few tactics you can attempt and hopefully succeed in getting your cat to swallow a pill.

Step 1 - Wrap the Cat Method

• Fill a syringe with a few milliliters of water. Remove the needle from the syringe.
• Wrap your cat in a blanket or towel to give it a sense of security and also to prevent it from scratching you.
• Pry open the cat’s jaws by pressing your thumb and fingers to its jaw hinges.
• Hold the cat’s head back and put the pill down its throat, then inject the water from the syringe into it.
• Hold the cat’s mouth closed and massage the neck until you are sure the pill has been swallowed.
• Blow lightly on the cat's nose, this helps the cat swallow as well.
• Let go of the cat once you feel the pill has been swallowed.

Step 2 - Chair Method

• Get a chair. Fill a syringe with water (after removing the needle).
• Gently hold your cat by the scruff of the neck.
• Hold your cat on the chair so its paws can rest on the back of the chair. By the way you're holding the cat, its mouth will be slightly open.
• Take a pill and put it as deep as you can into the cat's throat. The angle will make sure the pill is swallowed automatically.
• Finally inject water from the syringe into the back of the cat’s throat.

Step 3 - Crush the Pill

• Make a fine powder from the pill by crushing it.
• Mix the powder with a few drops of salad oil.
• Place this mixture on the cat's back end or under its tail. The cat will lick the pill powder off its buttocks completely.
• Make sure you check with your vet to ensure the pill is effective after it is crushed.

Step 4 - Hide the Pill

You can always camouflage the pill in some special food which the cat loves as a treat. Check with your vet about what food might clash with the pill. Before you give the pill, give the cat some of the treat food without the pill. Then give the cat the food with the pill in it from your finger or from its dish. You might get away with tricking the cat into having the pill because it’s excited about the treat.

You can give the pill whole or crushed. If you want to crush the pill, you can put it between 2 stainless steel spoons and press hard until the pill is in powder form. You can also buy a commercial pill crusher from a pet store. You can add the crushed powder to some water and make a paste and add that to the cat food.