How to give medicine to a cat

All cats are likely to need some form of medication in their lifetime. As cats are stigmatized as being independent and preferring not to be meddled with, it’s no surprise that the thought of medicating your cat seems daunting. After all, these cats have twenty needle-like nails and a mouth full of sharp, bacteria ridden teeth.

But worry not, there are simpler ways to give your kitty their meds. Read on to learn about the different ways you can medicate your cat, and how to make the experience as positive for both of you.

Often the starting point when trying to administer meds to a cat is to attempt to manually put a pill down the cat’s throat. When trying this method, remember to be extra careful — your hands will physically be in your cat’s mouth, giving them priority access to take a bite. To ensure this process is as stress-free as possible, you’ll want to walk through it one step at a time.

1. Hold their head still. Place your nondominant hand on your cat’s head with your fingers wrapping around down to their jaw on both sides. You should feel their cheekbones. It helps to have them cradled in your lap so they can’t scoot backwards away from you.
2. Be ready with the pill or capsule. Hold the pill in your dominant hand between your thumb and forefinger.
3. Open their mouth. Most cats open their mouth when their head is tilted backwards, so start with that. Cats’ mouths open by their jaw going down, so your focus should be on gently applying pressure on the bottom jaw.
4. Hold the position. Keep your cat’s mouth open by resting one of the fingers on your dominant hand near their incisors on the bottom jaw. Be careful to stay clear of their canine teeth!
5. Drop the pill in. You want to toss the pill as far back on the tongue as possible and immediately close their mouth. If it’s too close to the front of their mouth, they’re more likely to spit it out!
6. Get your cat to swallow. Hold your cat’s mouth closed to prevent them from spitting the pill out. You can try blowing on your cat’s nose or gently massaging their throat to help encourage them to swallow.

7. End on a positive. Pilling your cat can be stressful for both you and your kitty. To ensure your cat doesn’t have a lasting negative memory of the medication administration, make sure to give them something they love like a treat or a dollop of whipped cream afterwards.

If your cat fights to prevent you from opening their mouth in the first place, you are not the only one. Try sliding your finger into your cat’s mouth from the side, then placing it over their small canine teeth to guide their jaw open. Keep this finger there while you either drop the pill over the back of their tongue, or use your fingers to push the pill over the back of their tongue.

If you’re worried about losing a finger when pilling your cat, don’t worry, there are alternatives! Commonly referred to as a “piller”, a pill plunger, or a pill gun, this device allows you to insert the pill over the top of your cat’s tongue without needing to stick your fingers in your cat’s mouth. They’re super affordable and can be ordered online to be shipped right to your home.

Using one of these devices may seem tricky, but once you get the hang of it, it will make your and your cat’s lives easier when it comes to medication time.

1. Choose your grip. There are multiple ways to hold a pilling device. Regardless of the way in which you hold the pilling device, you’ll want to hold it in your dominant hand.

• “The Pencil” — Hold the device in between  your middle finger and thumb, like most people would a pencil. Use your index finger to press the plunger down.
• “The Fist” — Curl your hand around the device as if you’re making a fist. Your thumb should be on top, and will press the plunger to shoot out the pill.
• “The Cigarette” — Place the pilling device in between your index and middle finger. Use your thumb to press the trigger.

2. Open your cat’s mouth. Tilt your cat’s head back or use the middle finger of your dominant hand (the one holding the plunger), to guide their mouth open.

3. Administer the pill. Position the plunger over your cat’s tongue and push the plunger, shooting the pill into the back of your cat’s mouth.

4. Follow with a positive. To ensure that pilling doesn’t feel like a negative experience to your cat, make sure you end on a high note! Using the plunger to squirt some tuna juice into your cat’s mouth afterward will not only taste delightful, but also help make sure the pill gets all the way down into their stomach. If they don’t let you put anything else into their cat’s mouth, give them a treat instead.

Liquid medications tend to be prescribed more often for cats since they can be an easier experience than giving your cat a pill. Liquid medication can be given two ways: by mixing in with your cat’s food, or via a syringe.

Mixing the medicine in your cat’s food

Start by choosing a wet food your cat enjoys. To ensure your cat actually ingests all of the medicine, only give your cat a small amount of wet food to mix with the medicine. While this is by far the easiest way to administer medicine for your kitty,  your cat may choose not to eat the food with medicine in it, develop food adversity because of the meds, or may have dietary restrictions — all of which make this method more challenging.

Syringe feeding your cat’s medicine

You may find yourself having to administer liquid medicine via a syringe. Though this may seem daunting at first, once you get comfortable with the technique, it can be an easier way of getting your cat the medical care they need. And you don’t have to worry about trying to buy the correct syringe on your own, your vet will provide you with those when they give you the medicine.

1. Prepare the medication. Make sure to read the directions on the bottle carefully. A good number of liquid medicines need to be refrigerated. Gently shake the bottle prior to drawing up the medication into the syringe.
2. Draw up the medicine into the syringe. Be mindful that many liquid medicines, especially for kitties, are measured in fractions of millileters – that means that for some meds, you’ll be giving .03, and others you’d give . 3. Generally the syringe your veterinarian sends you home with will be geared directly towards the measurements applicable to you, but better safe than sorry!
3. Warm the liquid, if needed. Many liquid medicines need to be refrigerated, so to make the swallowing less startling for your cat, warm the medicine by wrapping your hand around the syringe for a few minutes. You can also let it sit in a bowl of warm water, but do not microwave the medicine.
4. Get everything together. Make sure you have all of your supplies together and easily reachable, such as your syringe, a towel, and treats.
5. Time to purrito! Wrapping your cat in a towel is an easy way to ensure your cat stays still and allows you to administer the medicine. The towel should be wrapped over and around your cat’s legs, overlapping under their chin with only the head exposed.
6. Try giving your cat a choice. Hold your wrapped cat in your non-dominant arm and lap, and the syringe in your dominant hand. Start by bringing the syringe to their mouth and gently squeezing out a few drops to see if your cat will lick it. If your cat willingly laps up the medicine, continue with this method.
7. If your cat doesn’t choose to lick the medicine, place your thumb and finger of your non-dominant hand into the sides of your cat’s mouth to gently guide their jaw open.
8. Position the syringe. Insert the tip of the syringe into the side of your cat’s mouth between their canine tooth and the molars closer to their cheek. Angle the syringe to deposit liquid on your cat’s tongue. Make sure you aren’t aiming the liquid directly down your cat’s throat, as this can cause your cat to get liquid in their lungs and aspirate.
9. Squeeze the syringe plunger slowly, pausing every few seconds. This will give your cat a chance to swallow the meds, rather than have them overflow out of their mouth.
10. Reward your cat. As with any time you’re doing something unpleasant to your kitty, make sure to end with a treat!
11. Clean up. Make sure that you put the medicine back in the fridge if need be. To clean your syringe, simply rinse with water and let it air dry for the next use.

If you’re not having success with pilling or using a syringe, there are other things you can try:

• Wrap the pill in something. Try hiding the pill in something your cat will have less of a problem ingesting. You can cover it in Churu, make a meatball out of wet cat food and stick the pill in, or even wrap it in sliced turkey. Pill pockets and gel capsules are popular options as well.
• Crush it up. If you’re looking to try this method, make sure you clear it with your vet first. Crushing the pill exposes the inside, which, when mixed with water or food,  tastes a lot more bitter. If this is a tactic your vet recommends, mixing the crushed pill into gravy from cat food is a good alternative. Most of these gravies have a strong enough flavor to cover up that of the pill. Some medicines will already come crushed up in a packet, and are specifically meant to be mixed in with food.
• Put it on the skin. Transdermal ointments Trusted Source This is an approved Trusted Source for betterpet. Learn more about Trusted Sources may be an easier way to medicate your cat, depending on what the medication is for. Just make sure to be mindful that your cat doesn’t lick them off!
• Inject them. Not all medications can be administered through injections but if this is an option, it’s worth looking into. Though this method can seem intimidating, injecting the medicine is often easier and there’s a lower chance of only part of the medicine getting where it needs to go.

Medicating your cat can seem like a daunting task, regardless of the method you choose to administer the medication. You may need to collaborate with your vet and try a few different methods before you find one that is efficient and minimizes the stress of your cat. With time, patience, and practice, you’ll be able to get medication into your kitty in no time!