I've only been successful 1 out of 3 times getting a pill down Toby's mouth (for his diarrhea). Yes, I wrapped him in a towel and had to have a glove on to hold his mouth open.
The vet has it in liquid form too. I realize that the liquid seems easier, but is it? Or do they spit it out or does it just dribble down the side of their face?
Personally I've always found pilling my cats to be so much easier than liquid. So much so that when Sammy was sick a few years back, I bought gelatin caps to put the liquid in and give to him like a pill. The liquid was apparently not very good tasting and he'd shake his head and it would just make a huge mess. If you were able to mix the liquid with a little bit of food though and get him to eat it all, that may work. For such a young kitty, I'd recommend trying to get him used to you pilling him as it is likely to get harder as he gets older. Maybe even see if your vet is able to show you their best technique at pilling. Good luck. Medicating cats can be a very frustrating task sometimes.
Hal, which med are you giving? Some taste absolutely horrible, and some are more acceptable. I, personally, find it MUCH easier to administer pills than liquids (Pill Pockets are a godsend for cat owners). The link below will take you to a sticky thread with LOTS of great strategies for administering meds to cats:
WOW. Got the same med in liquid form from the vet along with a syringe. I kneenel (knelt?) down over him trapping him between my legs, put the syringe in his mouth and in it went - easy peazy, lemon squeezy.
No fuss, no muss, I can't believe how smooth it went.
Metronidazole is extremely bitter, which explains why you're having such a difficult time administering it. I strongly recommend you try Pill Pockets to disguise the taste. Better yet, cut or crush the pills so that you can fit the dose into a #3 or #4 empty gelcap (you should be able to buy these from a pharmacy), then put the gelcap into a Pill Pocket. That will give you two layers between the foul tasting med and the cat's taste buds.
It's very important when administering ANY pill, to wet the cat's throat before administration and to chase the pill immediately with a little water or food. Otherwise, you risk having the pill get stuck in the throat and potentially irritate or cause ulcers in the throat. If your cat likes canned food, mix up a little canned food soup (canned food mixed with warm water) and offer it to your cat right before you pill him. Let him lap up a couple of swallowsfull to wet his throat immediately before administering the pill. Then give the food back to him to continue lapping up after taking the pill. In case the cat refuses to continue eating after the pill, have a syringe handy with a cc or two of water in it to administer in the side of his mouth to help wash the pill down his throat.
Yes, aspiration is always a risk when administering any type of liquid orally. This is why you should NEVER point a syringe at the back of a cat's throat. Oral liquids should be administered very slowly across the mid-tongue. This gives the cat time to position the liquid for proper swallowing.
Laurie, the liquid with syringe went down very easy without much fussing from Toby. I'm curious, since it's available that way, why would one bother with the pill? Is the liquid just as effective?
I've never given liquid metronidazole to any of my cats. Since the pills are so extremely bitter, I just assumed that same bitterness would be present in liquid form, as well. Apparently that's not the case, though, if your cat's acceptance of it is at all typical. I'm sure it's just as effective as the pills (assuming the dose is the same).
Similar effectiveness. I'd say it all depends on the cat...I couldn't get liquid or tablets into Callie because of the bitterness...she'd be frothing and foaming. I finally had to the get the tablets crushed and put into gel caps, which I administered with a pill popper and a chaser of water from a syringe (to make her swallow).
I've had to do liquids with both cats and I've had to do pills with both cats.
Pills all the way. I request pills if there is any way they can get it instead of the liquid. The liquid always ends up being a mess everywhere and the pill, while hard to give to Sinatra, is easier than the liquid. Nutmeg is a dream to medicate but pills are even easier with her.
Ritz (18 months at the time) was too smart to eat any pill in any pill pockets no matter how much I disguised the pill before putting it in a pill pocket. Cream cheese, butter, peanut butter, nothing worked.
So when ever possible, I got the prescription in a liquid form, flavored with chicken/tuna, and mixed it with food.
If the drug is also prescribed for humans, a pharmacist who compounds drugs can fill the prescription and flavor it (tuna/chicken). If the drug is not used/prescribed for humans, then the pharmacist can WITH THE VET'S ORAL PERMISSION also flavor the medicine. In either case, you'll need either a prescription (humans) or the pills themselves (non human). Note this is true for Washington DC and other states; may vary according to jurisdiction.
A "mom and pop" drug store is more likely to go out of their way to provide good customer service.
Finally, some drugs come in "taste tab" form; that worked for Ritz when my vet declined permission for my pharmacist to flavor the pills.
And definitely if you need to pill your cat, follow it with a "chaser" and massage the throat area to make sure she swallow it; salmon flavored cream cheese worked well.
Good luck! It's one of the hardest things I've had to do.
I had a kitty that was hard to pill - he'd bring it up with it already dissolving. I found liquid meds easier to give. Syringe to the back of the throat, head held up, stroke throat gently. The act of trying to "spit" it out actually caused him to swallow, as long as I didn't let him tip his head down.
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