The other day I went to the vet’s office to pick up my disgruntled cat and, in addition to the little darling, I was also provided with a small container of pills. Unfortunately, they weren’t for me. I wasn’t quite sure how exactly to get the cat to take the pills and so the earnest vet tech suggested that I try and hide the pills in mushy food, otherwise I would have to pill the cat.
I wasn’t terribly excited about pilling the cat so I decided to try and hide the teeny tiny pills in some soft cat food. You may wonder how many times you can hide pills in mushy cat food before the cat figures it out. Twice, exactly.
This left me no choice but to attempt cat pilling. The method outlined in the vet office consisted of standing behind the cat, using one hand to open her mouth and the other to throw the pill as far to the back of her throat as possible. Like I said, it wasn’t my first choice.
What the vet tech failed to mention is that if you don’t get the pill in far enough, the cat will spit it out. Repeatedly. All the while the cat is producing a sound somewhere between a growl and demonic chanting. Fortunately, if you repeat this process enough times, the cat will eventually give up and swallow the pill. Fortunately no cats, or people, were injured during this project. I can only hope that none of you have to attempt this.
You may have actually stumbled onto another "universal truth" here - the number of times one can hide any kind of pet medicine in mushy food before they catch on - Two.
ReplyDelete(As this has be the exact number of times our dog has "fallen" for this trick as well. Hmm.)
Hilarious! I must say, a husband with a firm hand is extraordinarily helpful in these situations... cat pilling at our house is often a 2-person task. Now. Don't get me started on how to administer asthma medicine (puffer-style) to a 1-year-old...
ReplyDeleteBuzz - wrap the dog's pill in Liverwurst and give it like a treat. He won't care what the hell else is in it! Seriously. I am not sure what would have a similar effect on a cat. I think they get suspicious if you start giving them too much of a good thing. Dogs however think that this is the best thing ever!!
ReplyDeleteHairball Remedy (Tonic-Lax or Hartz) is much more effective at pill-hiding.
ReplyDeleteIt's a sticky gel in a tube, and most cats would devour the whole tube if they had the chance. Squeeze a small pea-sized blob onto your finger, stuff the pill deep inside it, and hold out your finger towards your cat's face. After a quick sniff, the cat should snarf it right down in one gulp. Hairball remedy is sticky enough that the cat won't even know the pill is in there.