Liquid Meds: Try a dropper instead of a syringe.
I've found that when I try to use a syringe for liquids, much of the dose might splash out and be wasted because it
went in too fast. There's also the risk of liquid going down the back of the throat and being aspirated into the lungs. Eye droppers with a rubber bulb give more control. Quite often
you can request a dropper when you buy the medicine. If not, buy one.
Some cats can't easily handle a full ml without
spilling some, so I always gave Coco half a dropper-full at a
time. She couldn't easily swallow in the position I held her
(head tipped back) so I always immediately released her so she
could swallow comfortably and then she let me give her the second
squirt.
Tablets: Get a pill splitter
Many doses are a half or quarter pill. Tablets can be
difficult to split with a knife or razor blade, but
pharmacies sell pill splitters for about $10 that do the job quite
nicely.
Note: Not all splitters are the same. Cheap ones selling for less than $5 may not keep a sharp edge with the result that the tablet gets splintered or crushed instead of cutting cleanly.
Consider using gel-caps.
A lot of kitties have to take several different types of pill every day, often splits of 1/2 to 1/8th of a small tablet. If they're to be given at the same time many people combine these tiny bits into a single empty capsule which serves the dual purpose of reducing the number of times they have to be given and also of preventing bitter pills from touching the tongue. The capsules also work better with pilling devices than broken pieces. Empty gel-caps may be bought in bulk from pharmacies and online suppliers.
Hiding pills in something may or may not work.
I found that on large pills putting them in cheese, etc.
actually made them harder to swallow because it made them
larger. If the pill is put on the back of the tongue where it's
swallowed automatically, the cat probably will not taste it. On
pills that were consistently a problem due to size I just split
them and gave them in two halves
For one member's detailed, step-by-step description of pilling her cat, please see:
Pilling QBert