Pilling the Monster

[catmandu]

I TRY TO HAVE THE MEDS IN A GEL SO I CAN WIPE IT ON THIER PAWS OR NOSE, AND SOMETIMES THEY LICK IT OFF.
ALTHOUGH JJJ3 HAS THE KNACK NOW OF SHAKING HIS HEAD AND THROWING IT OFF!!!
THE ONLY ONE WHOS NO TROUBLE IS MICHAEL THE DREAMWHO ACTUALLY PURRRS AS HES PILLED AND MEDICATED. THATS WHY HES THE DREAM CAT

[aki]

the best way i know to pill a cat, is to put them on your lap or a table, and then scruff the back of their neck. not hard and do not pick them up. but just enough so you can tip their head back a little and their mouth will automatically come open. then drop the pill as far back into their mouth as you can, so they won't spit it back out. then just hold on to make sure they swallow it. it takes literally like 5 seconds and less tramatic IMO than wrapping in a towel.

[krazyaboutkatz]

When Storm was on Clomicalm his was compounded into a liquid form and he hated taking it. It must really taste bad. I wanted to try the cream version so I could rub it into his ear but my said it wouldn't be as effective so I never tried it. Now he's on an herbal calming pill instead and luckily he loves the pill pockets so he now thinks that he's getting a treat.

Starr is my worst cat to pill or medicate so I have to use a klaw kontrol bag. I also use this for nail trims and you can zip all of their paws inside they then only their head is sticking out and they can't run away from you. I don't have any one here to help me so this has worked very well for my situation. Here's the link to the Klaw Kontrol bag: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=3159. You can also probably order something similar through your vets office. I also use a pill dispenser so that my fingers don't get bitten off and I put some water in a syringe to help wash the pill down. Good luck.

[jenluckenbach]

The clomicalm (at least the generic version) tastes REALLY REALLY bad!!! I doubt any cat with taste buds would eat it out of a dish, even mixed with tuna!

Wrapping is a towel is a good idea! Beware, though ,they may run away when they see the towel coming, in the future.

Scruffing is also a GREAT way to pill a cat. And so is having help.

I like to turn the cat on its back and lay it across my lap so when the mouth opens, gravity works with me and not against me. Just pop the pill!

But most of all, just keep trying. Once you get a technique that works, the cat will relax more and more with time.

[mamaducky]

Hi again --

Well, the canned food didn't work this evening; Zorro is an exceptionally smart guy, and I think he had the whole thing figured out.

But I am so grateful to all of you for these excellent suggestions! One of them is bound to work -- or at least work better than the current plan!

One kind of cool thing happened today; Zorro and Meg were in the same room without any problems for 15 minutes this morning, and 25 minutes this afternoon. That doesn't probably seem like much of a big deal, but it's HUGE compared to the last time they were in the same room a week or so ago when Zorro made a beeline for Meg as soon as he saw her.

I'm hoping that the Clomicalm -- and the fact that I've been keeping them away from each other (by alternating them in a closed "safe" room) for the past 3+ weeks -- is going to help the situation.

Keep your fingers crossed -- and as always, thanks for all your help!

Hugs,
Diana

[carole]

We are just in the process of pilling my old cat Ash and he is one of those difficult cats to pill and can be very aggressive, it takes hubby and I to both do it, we wrap him in a towel, hubby holds the scruff of his neck, i open his mouth and shoot the pill in with the pill popper, best thing i ever invested eight dollars in, at first we did not get it quite right, but we are getting better at it and Ash is becoming a much better patient too.

We hide the towel , wait until he is nice and calm getting himself warm by the heater for a while , then grab him, we check his mouth afterwards to make sure it really has gone, cats are notorious for hiding them in their mouth then spitting them out when you don't see it,but the pill popper is good for that as it gets it right at the back of the throat.

Good luck , i am sure you will manage, the less stressed you are about it the less kitty will be.