<p>Seems the right time to read this:</p>
<p>[How</a> to Give A Cat A Pill, Humor](<a href=“http://www.nanceestar.com/CatPill.html]How”>How to Give A Cat A Pill, Humor)</p>
<p>Hope your kitty improves soon.</p>
<p>Oh my God, MommaJ, I laughed so hard at that I have tears streaming down my cheeks.</p>
<p>I couldn’t even finish that! So true and funny!</p>
<p>I would look to behavioral changes too rather than commit to long term pilling. It’s so hard to know how the pills are actually affecting them because they don’t show emotions. </p>
<p>Lily was impossible to pill and Jeff, our vet, insisted it couldn’t be that hard. So we brought her in. He couldn’t pill her either. He had to get a tech and the 2 of them stuck the pill down her throat with a metal tube. We then relied on shots and liquids. She would foam up the liquids so we’d wrap her in a towel really tight, like a papoose, so she couldn’t rip your face off and then push it in until she got enough. Poor, loving, insane animal.</p>
<p>The worst though may have been trying to wrap Magie’s foot for weeks after an operation. I had to change the bandage every day and put medicine on. That required catching him and then extremely careful work by the holder so he wouldn’t kill you. The wrapping took ages because he’d rip it off if he could and he’d struggle the entire time. He was a great guy but he would hurt you. Heck, if we were smaller than him, he’d have killed and ate us.</p>
<p>If you really feel that you end up having to go the pill route, I’d recommend trying Greenie’s Pill Pockets. They are clay-like and have a hole to place the pill in, and you can mold the treat around the pill. Some cats don’t like them, and others chew them too much and learn there is a pill inside. However, these things have been a godsend for our two cats, both of which needed a medication at some point. In particular, our Himalayan was horrible to pill because he has that smushed face, so our usual strategy of chuck it in the throat, close the mouth until they swallow didn’t work with him. He gobbled these down like crazy, though. I usually followed up with another crunchy treat to make sure it all went down. The pockets made giving them their medication totally painless though, for us.</p>
<p>I have given pills to my cats, and it is very hard. I would not want to do it daily. I usually wrap the cat in a towel, and perhaps with help, put it on the back of the tongue, hold the mouth closed, and blow into the nose. I hate this myself.</p>
<p>I used to have a Maine Coon that plucked all of the hair off of his belly. Funny thing was, he was a very calm , happy and extremely friendly cat. He just seemed a little groom-happy when it came to his belly. We did have other cats too , but he was the big daddy of them all</p>
<p>I would also suggest using Pill Pockets. For a cat who won’t go for those, I wrap the cat tightly in a towel and use a “pill shooter” to get the pill into the cat. The pill shooter lets you get the pill farther back into the cat’s mouth without getting bitten.</p>
<p>Thanks for pill advice. I will certainly give those a try if I end up giving pills. Holding this calico is challenging as she is the slither queen and gets away from you. I have been putting ointment on one area that has gotten very sore and I have my husband hold her.</p>
<p>I just looked up pill shooter and I had no idea there were a variety of products for this purpose on Amazon.</p>
<p>Re pill shooters: In the horse world we call the equine equivalent a “balling gun.” As a once and future horse person, currently a pet store owner, I have the hardest time remembering that for the dog and cat owner, it’s not a balling gun it’s a pill shooter …</p>
<p>I would recommend Greenies Pill Pockets which are a really great treat without the pill. Get them excited about the treat, and then big surprise with the pill, and another treat.</p>