3 Questions to Ask Your Vet if You Can’t Pill Your Cat
No matter how many tips folks may share with you, sometimes pilling your cat just may be impossible for you. (However, before you come to this conclusion, try these pilling tips first!)
Photo courtesy HeyRocker
You may feel this way because your cat is particularly difficult or perhaps you’re not physically able to perform the task. Either way, it’s important to recognize this right away so you can come up with a solution with your pet’s vet.
While your vet will certainly have a number of his own suggestions, here are a few questions you can ask, too:
1) Is there an alternative drug? Perhaps a pill isn’t the only option. Ask if there are chewable, liquid or topical alternatives. These will likely be easier to administer. CG once had a gelatin-based medication that he didn’t mind taking in the least.
2) Is there any way to cut down the number of daily doses? This can be an important question for two reasons. First, sometimes your pet may require medication every few hours, which may interfere with your work schedule. Second, fewer doses may mean someone else can help you administer the pill when necessary. Either way, don’t be nervous to ask if there’s a longer-lasting drug.
And if there’s absolutely no other option,
3) Can my pet be hospitalized during treatment? This is most likely the less desirable and most costly option, but it’ll guarantee your pet is medicated when he needs to be.
Do you have any other suggestions? Please share in the comments!
Life with Cerebellar Hypoplasia Cats 
I’m really dreading Dotty ever getting sick and needing to give her a pill, or even needing eyedrops, because she bites. The very first time I took her to the vet, the day after I got her, he gave me eyedrops for her, and I got one drop in out of that $18 bottle, and after that I went through months of being bitten, and as she got older, her jaw got stronger. I read a lot about aggressive cats, and I got some bad advice from a vet and several people, but the best advice I got, and what has worked the best is to move my hands and arms and myself away from her when she starts to get aggressive. Now, she’s over a year old, and she and I play a lot and cuddle a lot, and I only occasionally get bit, but I won’t let her around children. However, I am extremely worried about ever needing to give her pills or eyedrops. I seriously don’t think she’ll let me do either one.
I think that’s a very good reason to consult with your vet the next time (although, like you said hopefully not!) Dotty may need a medication. Perhaps he can prescribe something you can add into her food — or a chewable version that she may think is a treat. I also wonder if Pill Pockets would work for her… just a thought.
I’d have to either hide it in her food, which is canned, so that’s a possibility, or get it in a chewable form and hope she goes for it. I’m afraid with the Pill Pockets, she’s eat the pocket and spit out the pill. And I just hope and pray that she never gets another eye infection.
Here is another excellent suggestion from me : )) Always ask your vet about giving the medication via a transdermal gel, this is a gel that can be rubbed into the ear flap. most kitties just think you are petting them. A lot of meds can be compounded into a gel, but the pharmasist is usually the person who knows whether it can be or not.
Wow, I’ve never heard of that. Thanks for sharing, Lizzie!
Oh, okay! Thanks, noted!
Almost any medicine can be compounded into a liquid. My vet is a cat specialist and he gives all his medicines as liquids. If your vet doesn’t know, call the local pharmacies and ask if they can compound for you.