How to give your cat a pill in 7 steps

Do you know how to give a cat a pill? Now I know, but it took me some good practice before managing to do it without spending hours and nerves. I want to share this with you. I’m sure there are so many people out there trying to make their cat swallow pills, so my article will probably help some.
When it comes to swallowing pills, cats are pretty much like children: they would not open their mouth, despite whatever efforts you may try. Unlike children, cats have fangs and claws, and I can tell you they use them if necessary. I’ve had my first cat ever about three months ago, and recently I had to give her some bitter pills. I experimented several methods, such as:

• Asking somebody to hold the cat, while I tried to sneak the pill into her mouth. This was a complete failure, we got scratched all over and wasted several pills in order to make her swallow one.
• Crushing the pill, mixing the obtained powder with a sticky food (such as butter or processed cheese) and putting the mixture on the cat’s fur; she could not stand to be so dirty, so she licked the mixture. This worked fine, but she made such a sad face while cleaning herself, that I felt really bad for doing that to her.
• Wait until she yawns, then throw the pill in her mouth. This would have worked, but the cat could not be convinced to yawn at fixed hours (the pill was supposed to be taken at exactly the same hours every day).
• After searching the web, asking friends and cat breeders, and a lot of practice with small pieces of food, here it is the best solution to feed your cat a pill:

1. Grab the cat from behind the face, making sure that your thumb and index are positioned on the maxillary joint. It is good if you can do this with the cat sitting on a high place, so you do not need to bend over.

2. Slowly, shift the cat’s head backwards, gently raising her mouth. She does not like it, but she does not object, either. Apply a slight pressure on her jaws, with your thumb and index (or middle finger). The mouth will still be closed.

3. Gently sneak your middle or ring finger between her front teeth, and push down the bottom jaw. The cat has no power in it when her head is bent backwards, so she won’t bite back. Before attempting this, take the pill and hold it with your thumb and your index finger.

4. Now, as the cat’s mouth is wide open, throw the pill as fast and as deep as you can inside. Try to aim the bottom of the throat, in order to avoid the contact of the pill with the tongue. Thus, the cat cannot detect the unpleasant taste, so she won’t spit the pill (yet!).
5. Keep her mouth closed and gently rub her neck, until you feel that she swallowed.

6. Release the cat and watch her closely for about 10 seconds: if she licks her mouth, it means that she swallowed the pill. Nevertheless, look around her, because some cats are tricky: they pretend they swallowed, and when you don’t watch, they spit the pill which was all the time in their mouth (my cat tried this trick with me, when I did not manage to throw the pill deep inside her mouth).
7. Give her a nice treat, so she gets used that this is part of the ritual. She might even give you a smile at the end

The Cat Pilling Troubleshooting guide:
Problem: You don’t manage to keep her by the head, so she runs away.
Solution: Show her a toy, so she gets out from behind the sofa, and try again.
Problem: You caught the cat and put her into position, but you cannot sneak your finger between her teeth.
Solution: Try to sneak your fingernail first, but be very gentle (long nails help a lot here).
Problem: You managed to open the cat’s mouth, but you threw the pill directly on her tongue, so she spit it and ran away.
Solution: Give your cat a nice treat, take another pill and repeat the procedure.
Problem: You aimed the throat, but the cat scratched you when you tried to rub her neck, she spit the pill and ran away.
Solution: Try again, but try not to position yourself in front of the cat. Stay behind her, so she cannot reach you with her claws.
Don’t forget that the path to perfection needs a lot of practice. I managed to give my cat a pill without incidents only after five or six trials. Good luck, and happy cats to all of you!