One of the many quirks we love about cats is their independence and unwillingness to do anything they don’t want to do. This can be amusing to witness, but when it comes to your cats taking their meds, it can be infuriating when they won’t comply. We know how frustrating it can be to get your kitty to take their cat pain meds and other medications when they simply refuse; medication is only successful when it’s actually taken, after all.
That’s where we come in. Cats are smart animals, and they can usually tell when we’re trying to trick them into doing something. From pills and capsules to liquid medication, we’ve compiled the most common medications prescribed to cats and the best tips to motivate your onery kitty into taking their medication.
Common Medications Prescribed to Cats
At some point in your cat’s lifetime, they’ll need medication. The following are the most prescribed:
1. Frontline Plus for Cats
Frontline treats fleas and ticks and is applied topically on the shoulder blades.
2. Drontal Feline
Drontal is used to treat parasitic worms like roundworms, hookworms, and tapeworms, and it comes in pill form.
3. Clavamox
Clavamox is an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections, and it comes in pill and liquid forms.
4. Onsior
Onsior is an NSAID cat pain med. It comes in a flavored tablet that cats eat like a treat.
5. Prednisone
Prednisone is an anti-inflammatory drug that treats IBS, allergies, and auto-immune diseases. It comes in pills, syrup, or liquid forms.
How to Get a Cat to Take a Pill
Giving your cat a pill or capsule to take can be incredibly challenging. It’s important that you remain calm and confident, no matter which method below you choose. If you start to get stressed or hesitant, your kitty will pick up on it, making your task more difficult.
Use food
The best way to get your cat to take a pill is to hide it in some of their soft food, like wet cat food, tuna, or a soft treat. Use a small amount of food so you can make sure they actually swallow the pill.
Use a Cat Pill Pocket
Pill Pockets are soft treats that can hold the pill inside. You mold the treat around the medicine so that cats don’t see it.
Use a Cat Pill Popper
A Cat Pill Popper is a device that shoots the pill directly into the back of a cat’s mouth. You place the pill in the popper, hold their mouths open, and then gently shoot the pill into the back of their throats.
Administer manually
You can also try to give the pill manually. Hold your kitty’s mouth open and gently place the pill as far back on the tongue as you can.
How to Give a Cat Liquid Medicine
As with pills, giving your cat liquid medication can be challenging and requires staying calm and confident. The best ways to administer liquid medication to your cat are:
With food
Mix their medication with a little bit of their favorite wet food. Use a small amount of food with the medicine to make sure they eat all of it.
With a syringe
When giving your cat liquid medication with a syringe, you can try two things. First, let them lick it off the end of the syringe while you slowly let it out drop by drop. Second, squirt it into their mouths. The second way is more difficult and requires you to hold the cat’s mouth open. Aim the syringe at the back of the throat and slowly dispense all the liquid.
One trick that also helps is to make sure your cat is comfortable and can’t get away. You can hold them on your lap, and if they fight to get free, you can burrito wrap them in a towel, blanket, or our personal favorite — an article of clothing from your clothes hamper that smells like you.
Motivating your cats to take their medication can be challenging, but not impossible. Try one of the tricks above next time your cat needs to take medication. For more information on cats or their medicines — or if you need help getting your cats to take their meds — contact us today!
