Is it beyond modern science to come up with something better?

It's always hard to get tablets down a cat.They refuse to eat them in food!
It's a two person job Phoenix one of you wraps the cat in a throw( no paws out!)
The other opens the cat's mouth, pops the tablet in and then holds the jaws shut while gently stroking the throat. It takes a minute or two, but eventually the cat swallows.It does work, but a bit of a carry on.

roses we have done that in the past, in fact I'm a dab hand at creeping up on moggs with a towel and "swaddling" them, but these damn tablets are a ridiculous size.

Cut them in half? But then you have to go through all that twice!

My next door neighbour is a vet and taught me her technique when I had the job of giving her cat his tablets each lunch time. You hold the cat by the scruff of his neck and raise his head then using a pill pusher poke it through the gap in the teeth at the side of the mouth. Keep him scruffed until he swallows. It was easy, but maybe was a particularly tolerant cat. Haven't had to try it on my Bengal, I think that might be more difficult! Good luck Phoenix!

Thanks abysmaL, that is the method I have used before, usually successfully, but these pills are on the large side, as mentioned, I have a pill pusher, but have a worry that the size of the tabs could present a possibility of choking, even with the pusher!

Why on earth couldn't they just make them smaller?

My cat adores the sticky treacly stuff you give them to deal with fur balls. The last time I had to give her a tablet I ground it up and mixed it into a paste. She actually licked it off my fingers. I did have to do it in two halves though or she would have sussed.

merlot what is the sticky treacle stuff? I have never had to treat my moggs for fur balls.

In fact, the way Digby is at the moment, it's more a case of bald balls, not that he actually has any, having had a (ahem) "testiclectomy"

I use Beaphar hairball paste, phoenix

There are other brands but I think this one has an addictive flavour.

When I looked after my daughter's cat and it was on meds, she delivered it with tablets and in a separate container "the stinky stuff the vet gave me to wrap the pills in". I have no idea what it was but think stinky brown jellied sweet. I whacked the pill in the middle and folded it in half and squished it a bit and the cat would practically chew my fingers off in her haste to get to it. I'll ask daughter for more info.

I know I have posted this before, but it seems a good time to revisit the instruction manual perhaps?

How to give a cat a pill

1) Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

2) Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.

3) Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.

4) Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right fore-finger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.

5) Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.

6) Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.

7) Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

8) Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

9) Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply band-aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

10) Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

11) Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus jab. Throw Tee-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

12) Ring fire brigade to retrieve cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil-wrap.

13) Tie cat's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of fillet steak. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.

14) Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.

15) Arrange for RSPCA to collect cat and ring local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

HOW TO GIVE A DOG A PILL:

1) Wrap it in bacon.

All my past feline friends have liked cheese. I used to put the pill in s bit of Chedder and squish it down so that the cheese was quite soft, with it sticking to the pill it was hard for the cat to east the cheese and spit out the pill( They are good at doing that lol).

Paracetemol size though? hmmm that IS a bit big. If it is ok to break it up then I would do that , saves the wrapping in towels and or scruffing.

The wormer I have for the Dog is like a small chew, they must taste good as he loves them. I just give it like a treat, wonder why they don't do this for cats too.

I mash up the pill finely and mix it with a small amount of tuna fish juice. I use a plastic syringe to squirt it into the cat's mouth. You may need to fill the syringe more than once if the pill is large. I get the syringes from my vet. The plunger type are better than the ones with the squeeze bulb on top. This worked great for two cats meds 2x a day for ten days. Of course they hate the smell of tuna fish now.

Mawbroon - fabulous!! ??

www.stressnomore.co.uk/genius-ideas-sonic-pest-repeller-collar-11334.html?gclid=CN_G0sKx7NMCFXEW0wodVLsPEw

Saw something like this at a fair last week, looks like a good idea but we, like so many here, dont have collars on our dogs

Maw Broon, that was so funny. All these hints bring back memories.

So sorry shysal goodness knows how your name got to be abysmal!

Your reply was hilarious!
I am stuck in bed, unable to move, and I was hysterical with laughter.
It was well worth the agony of laughing.

Sorry to hear that you are bed-bound * Leonora*, hope it is something that will improve.

Sorry to hear that you are bed-bound * Leonora*, hope it is something that will improve.

Oops!