GULP!!
My boy used to be so difficult to pill that at first I actually had to hire a vet tech to come to my house daily to dose him. And I'd been doing this for 20 years!
After trying every possible combination of techniques and tips from support groups we finally came up with a routine that worked for us.
- Cut up the pills with a high end very sharp pill cutter and put the pieces into number 5 gel caps. I felt that the smaller capsules would be easier and less "chokey" than the larger ones.
- Roll the gel caps in a tiny bit of petroleum-based hairball remedy that he likes the taste of. The idea is to make the capsules very slippery and also to smear off any dust left over from the cut pills. My boy was extremely sensitive to the taste for whatever reason.
- Load the filled greased capsules one at a time in a cat piller, and rub the same slippery stuff on the rubber end. I would line up three of these at one time in preparation.
- Make a kitty purrito out of my cat. The trick for me was using a very large beach towel so I could wrap his whole body including back legs and tail. The towel had to come all the way to his ears and completely enclose his body, or he would wildcat out if it.
- Hold him in my lap with my non-dominant arm around him and use that same side hand to make a cup shape around his muzzle, then pull it back. This trick was taught to me by the vet tech--get all his whiskers lying comfortably flat against his head, also so he can't "feel" you coming with the piller.
- Hold either side of his head with thumb and fingers and slowly pull his head up until his nose points toward the ceiling. It's okay if he is clamping his jaw at this point. Don't squeeze too hard. I did this accidently a few times and he freaked out and bit me once. You just want to tilt his head up.
- Use the loaded piller at the side of his mouth to encourage him to open his jaw. Have patience! I would touch his lip between canine and Carnassial teeth and poke gently.
- When mouth is open enough to insert the piller, go all the way to the back of the throat. This used to make me so nervous, but vet tech assured me it's nearly impossible to put a pill into the trachea by mistake.
- Once I touch the back of his throat I dispense the pill, remove the piller, and quickly close his mouth. This is of course easier said than done. If he gets his tongue around the pill, just let him spit it out and try again rather than trying to keep his jaw shut and hope he still swallows it. I tried that. It only made him madder and often caused the capsule to leak if I fought him too long.
- Keep his nose pointed to the ceiling and gently stroke his throat to help him swallow. Praise effusively!
- Repeat until all pills are given and praise effusively! Let him loose slowly and gently. Then reward with Churu or something he really likes.
After 5 months of this daily ritual, I can now scoop my guy up without a purrito and give him all three capsules full of drugs in less than a minute. I think the small flavorless gel caps made the biggest difference. I buy them on Amazon.
Many thanks go to CP for sharing this technique.