Yesterday I had in-home appointments all over town. I was mostly trimming cat nails, giving tips for getting finicky cats to eat and administering SC (subcutaneous) fluids. But I was also delivering the news that I had finally figured out where to buy the elusive hickory smoke flavored Greenies brand Pill Pockets® that have fooled every cat I have ever given a pill to, when the pill was wrapped in a tiny piece of this. While this might not sound like rocket science, if you have ever tried to make a cat eat a pill….you know it might as well be rocket science. And I can thank a cat named Slinky, a wonderful but especially difficult-to-pill cat for this major breakthrough in the world of pilling cats. Slinky was boarding with me at CatNurse Cottage and needed to get a tiny sliver of a very bitter pill. I tried all my usual tricks (see below) but nothing worked until I remembered I had a small unlabeled sample of what looked like a dog size Pill Pocket. I opened it up and immediately wanted to eat it myself! It smelled yummy. Then Slinky perked up, looked around sniffing the air and when I put the pill in the pocket in front of him, he scarfed it up in heartbeat. And the next day he ate it again…and again…. and again…as has every cat I have tried it with since. This is miracle stuff! But my stash was running low; I had to find out exactly what this sample was before I ran out. I finally found them yesterday at a farm store away from town. I was so excited to open up the package and smell that hickory smoke flavor that I exclaimed Eureka! I have found them! Then I called Slinky’s Mom and said “I’m on my way over! I have a whole bag of them!” And at every appointment I had after that, I shared the goods with grateful cat parents. As you know, sometimes it’s the little things in life, although getting your cat to take its pill is no little thing.

Here are more tips for giving your cat a pill:              Hide it in a Pill Pocket and offer it this way.             Hide it in a Pill Pocket and bury in some very tasty canned food.             Hide it in a Pill Pocket and put in a bowl with a few pieces of a kind of dry food or treats that your cat LOVES but usually doesn’t get.             If it is not a bad tasting pill you can crush it and add it to a small amount of tuna water, chicken gravy or some very yummy food.  (Keep in mind that what we consider bad tasting or not differs from your cat’s opinion because humans and cats have very different taste buds.) Often anything added to food makes it highly suspect. Add the crushed pill to a small amount of food and watch to make sure they eat it. Once your cat has eaten that amount you can give them the rest of their meal.            My friend Nydia came up with a great idea for getting her cat to eat its pill in a Pill Pocket. She placed the pill in the pocket and lightly moistened the pocket. She then “breaded” the pocket with a powdered freeze dried chicken treat. She said this works  like a charm! Freeze dried treats also come in salmon, beef and turkey flavors.

 Do you have any favorite tips for pilling your cat? Comment below and share your tips!

(For much more information on medicating cats and dogs please see my book The Feel Better Book for Cats & Dogs - Nursing Care for All Life Stages)