I'm studying Kitty Ju-Jitsu

It helps to hold her little kitty mouth shut for a bit and massage the underside of her chin to help get her to swallow the pill.

Of course, that's the easy part, after you've gotten the pill into the mouth.

How many days?

Maybe you can try sneaking up on her when she's asleep next time.

 

Boy, they've got every trick in the book in that video. And it still does nothing to capture the absolute frenzy that occurs when YOU try to get YOUR cat to take a pill. I bet they pre-drugged those cats in the video somehow.

 

You have much to learn, young grasshopper. :ninja:

 

Here's a variation on how to give a cat and a dog a pill that made the rounds of internet e-mail a while back:

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 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 rub cat's throat vigorously.

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

8. 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 the label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink glass of water 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. 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 door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus jab. Throw Tee shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

12. Ring fire brigade to retrieve 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 cats front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed, pry cat's mouth open with small spanner. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of fillet steak. Hold head vertically and pour a pint of water down throat to wash pill down.

14. 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 at furniture shop on way home to order new table. Arrange for SPCA to collect cat and ring local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

How to give a dog a pill:

1. Wrap it in bacon.

 

Naw, they probably have cat treats that look like pills, and those cats in the video have never had a real pill.

I had to give Leonardo pills once. It was hard at first, but eventually became impossible, as he learned how to avoid the pill.

Good luck.

 

Trust me. They shot those cats full of Haldol before they filmed the video.

 

Ask the vet if they can give you the antibiotic in liquid form. They will give you a small bottle with an eyedropper. You hold the cat's jaw open by pressing on the sides, insert the eyedropper down past the tongue and squirt the medicine down the throat. Make sure to get the eyedropper as far down the throat as possible to prevent kitty from spitting it out with a violent headshake and getting it all over you and any nearby objects. Yes, I have done this before.

 

I remember this from a while back. It's still funny. And not too far off the truth.

 

Not that I appreciate the concept of supporting the veal industry but if you go purchase veal baby food and mash up the pill in the baby food, I do believe you will encounter success with pill dispensing. Cats LOVE it and it's not harmful to them in any way. The trick is to make sure to use enough of the baby food to properly disguise the flavor of the pill.

 

Don't get me wrong - it still requires practice - the amount of time between getting the eyedropper in position and the cat trying to move its head is about 1 millisecond, but its doable. For our cat, we tried to disguise the pill in food, but no go. But I was able to get most of the liquid down her throat with practice. I have done two rounds of antibiotics with the cat using the liquid type.

OT - One of my dogs is expert at spitting out pills - trying to disguise the pill doesn't work with her, the only way is to pry her jaw open and push the pill down her throat. She was on pain pills for about 3 weeks after getting hit by a car and having a ruptured disk in her back.

 

I had to give antibiotics to a hamster once, through a little eye-dropper. It was beyond adorable. She really loved it and we bonded over it--she loved being picked up and held after that. Unfortunately, that scenario is unlikely to happen with a cat.

 

I'm not sure if anyone has suggested this, but you can also try using Greenies Pill Pockets. You stuff the pill into the center of the treat and close it up, hiding the sight and smell of the pill, and give it like a treat to your cat.

Greenies® Pill Pockets® treats for cats

My cat goes crazy for the Pill Pockets.

 

My first wife was an absolute expert at this. Any cat, any time. She could swoop one up, have the mouth open by pressing the "open" buttons (the sides of the jaw) and even insert a pill clear to the back of the throat all in one lightning motion. Amazing to watch! She was so quick the cat could barely react before it was back on the floor making those "YUCK!" faces. She never shoved one down a windpipe (something I'm terified of doing) and the cat never spit the pill out. The trick is to be very fast, very sure, and DON'T MISS!

Also, we found that, amazingly, they react quicker if you try to catch them quiet or sleeping. It was better if they were walking around, rubbing against your leg, or otherwise engaged. I believe this is because at rest they are not distracted and can react faster than you can deliver the pill, while when they're active it triggers less of an immediate survival response. I had forgotten about this until today (it's been 25 years).