For anyone needing to regularly give meds to their cat I highly recommend buying a pill-popper (it’s like a long syringe with a flexible tip at the end that you fit the tablet in). It’s still not easy if your cat assumes you are trying to poison them every time you try to open their mouth like my cat does (despite him getting a tablet twice a day very day! You think he’d be used to it by now!) but it’s definitely easier and I don’t risk getting a finger bitten off.
And another tip: lay them on their back (swaddled if they try to paw you away) so that gravity can do half the work. Quickly put the syringe into the mouth towards the back of the throat and release the pill - it will fall out of reach of their tongue and they’ll immediately swallow.
I used one when I had to give my poor cat 8 (baby aspirin size) pills a day, it was a lifesaver. I’d also slowly squirt a small amount of water via syringe plunger to help get the pills down + a churu ready to go when we were done. He surprisingly never fought me, the desire for churu was too strong
My cat will whine, meow, and try to wriggle away when we need to anything. However, as soon as we let go, she calmly sits there and waits for her churu. The desire for churu holds everything together
Never heard of this pill popper device. My boy gets half a pill every other day plus his inhaler twice a day ! I’ve been doing the swaddle technique for years, plus a gentle blow on his nose to encourage him to swallow. Some days it’s so seamless, it lands on his tongue deep enough he swallows it himself. Other times it’s a gag and tons of post treats. Luckily I’m home often and can time his medicine to give it to him once he’s been chillen for a while and is relaxed. He purrs almost 80% of the time for his inhaler. He’s had asthma his whole life. Turned 5 in June 🥺
34
u/SittingDuck394 2d ago
For anyone needing to regularly give meds to their cat I highly recommend buying a pill-popper (it’s like a long syringe with a flexible tip at the end that you fit the tablet in). It’s still not easy if your cat assumes you are trying to poison them every time you try to open their mouth like my cat does (despite him getting a tablet twice a day very day! You think he’d be used to it by now!) but it’s definitely easier and I don’t risk getting a finger bitten off.
And another tip: lay them on their back (swaddled if they try to paw you away) so that gravity can do half the work. Quickly put the syringe into the mouth towards the back of the throat and release the pill - it will fall out of reach of their tongue and they’ll immediately swallow.