Steno, my saving grace as far as pilling was the Pill Popper!! It is a wonderful invention. When I pill a disagreable cat I find that wrapping them in a towel and pilling them very quickly with a pill popper is very easy. I felt awfull at first restraining them like that but I found out in the long run that they are much less stressed when they are retrained than when you are fighting with them to get the pill down. I am praying for your kitty.