How to give medication to your cat

Giving medication to a cat can be very stressful. There are just a few cats who allow this without a struggle. With this letter we hope we can help you through this process as relaxed as possible.

Mixed with food

The easiest way to give medication is to mix it with food. Choose food that the cat doesn’t know, or something you know he really likes, but doesn’t eat too often. You can think of a certain kind of wet food, a piece of meat/fish, cheese, peanut butter etc. If the medication you have to give is a pill, try to crush it first (if possible, ask the vet first). When you choose to mix the medication with wet food, don’t use more than a teaspoon, so you know for sure that all the medication is eaten. After this you can give the rest of the food. What also works very often, is to mix the medication with some tuna juice or whipped cream.

It’s best to choose something they don’t normally eat, because cats know exactly how their food smells and tastes. If you put something in there, they will know straight away. For this reason it’s best to change the food where you put the medication in.

Easypill®

Like the name says, this product is made to make it easier to give pills to cats. It’s a sort of dough that smells and tastes very appealing, so cats won’t know that there’s medication in there. You take off a small piece en fold it around the pill. Most cats really like this and will eat the Easypill® with the pill as a treat. You can get the Easypill® at the front desk.

In something sticky on the paw

Mix the medication with paté, peanut butter, cheese spread etc. and put it on the front paw. Most cats are very clean and will lick it off.

Directly into the mouth

If your cat doesn’t fall for all those tricks with food and treats, it’s also possible to give the medication directly into the mouth.

Put the pill at the back of the tongue and flush some water with a syringe. They will swallow the water and the pill together
Crush the pill and mix it with some water, then give the fluid with a syringe
Use a “pill shooter”. If your cat closes it’s mouth every time you try to give the medication, u can use a pill shooter. This “shoots” the pill into the throat. Carefully flush some water with a syringe after this, so the pill can easily be swallowed

You can put some butter on the pill, to mask the bitter taste en make sure it glides easy. In both cases, it’s best to wrap the cat in a towel (see pictures below). Make sure the paws are inside the towel, this is so they won’t run off, but it will also help them to calm down. Make sure the towel is already there on the table, don’t walk to your cat with the towel in your hands. Also, never pick up your cat when he’s asleep or in/near the litter box.

Now take your cats head with your thumb at one side and the rest of your fingers on the other en gently put the head a little bit backwards, so the cat looks up towards the ceiling. Use a light pressure and you will see that the mouth will open a little bit already. With the middle finger of your other hand, you push the lower jaw down, so the mouth will be completely open. With your pointing finger, you place the pill at the back of the tongue (as far as possible) or you use the pill shooter. In both cases, flush with some water and wait till the cat swallows. Give the cat a treat when it’s done and look carefully if the pill doesn’t come out again.

Note: If you have to give fluid medication instead of a pill, you don’t have to flush with water afterwards.