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How to "Pill" Your Cat

Do you:

1) Sneak up on the cat, grab him/her and shove the pill down it's gullet
2) Speak softly. Play easy-listening music. Have some wine. Then try to pill the cat?
3) Just go up to the cat, open its' mouth and drop the pill inside
4) Have an animal communicator discuss what is going to happen to mentally prepare your cat for the inevitable
5) Ask your Vet to just keep the cat until the meds are finished being given out
6) Call your health insurance provider, first to make sure your coverage is up to date in case you need to go to the ER after trying to pill your cat.
7) Cry. Just cry.

but in all honesty, for our 19 year old sasafrass, Juno, I smoosh up her thyroid pill, and mix it in with just a DROP of the yummy juice from her can of food, and only AFTER she's licked it all up does she get the rest of her breakfast.

Because when I had to give Cougar his every other day prednisone? Dud did NOT fall for the "it's mixed in with my food" trick - I had a technique down!:

*best attempted when kitty is sleepy - just waking up is perfect.

-rub chin, ears, etc. (pill is concealed between thumb and forefinger of right hand)
-With left hand, coming from BEHIND the cat, so he doesn't see you, grab the TOP of his head, pushing his BODY under your arm, essentially (to you know, hold him there, in theory)
-with right hand, hook middle fingernail on tooth of bottom jaw, and PUSH DOWN (slightly, of course, just enough to get a clear shot)
-TOSS pill down gullet, aiming for BACK OF THROAT, with forefinger and thumb.
-close cat mouth, wait.
-Watch immediate area for sneaky pill spit outs. (typically, this worked 90% of the time, which by my calculations, is a success)

I used to wrap the pill in half a Pill Pocket and throw it across the room for kitty to chase down. He thought it was a game, and always looked forward to pill time. My holistic vet wasn't too thrilled with Pill Pockets because of the corn syrup and other junks in it, and urged me to try smearing the pill with some meat baby food. Lo and behold, kitty loves it! Basically, I put the pill(s) in the palm of my hand, cover with a dollop of turkey baby food and sprinkle a tiny bit of crushed bonito flakes on it. 100% success rate! (Note: make sure it's 100% meat baby food and does not contain onion)

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