Help! Any good ideas for disguising pills?

[shirleyp01]

Wow thanks for that advice, i am sure we have all had difficulty with trying to feed our lovely cats tablets at some point.

[Nicola (RockysMum)]

Thought I'd update this with what seems to be a failsafe option incase anyone else is struggling with a cat who can spot a disguised pill at twenty paces 
We've now been using Good Girl catnip drops for weeks. They go soft in your fingers so I just mould 2 of them around the pill.
Gone in an instant!!!

[HelenD]

Hi Kay

I think it might have been a previous post by you that got me looking into this! I also switched her water to filtered rather that tap - we dont have a fountain but use a Brita jug, and her water bowl is filled from that.

I have to say I do think its made a difference, as shes certainly looked a lot healthier since

H

[Kay and Penny]

my vet was advised by the Bristol Veterinary Hospital, where I was initially thinking of sending Trigger, that there can be quite high levels of iodine in tap and bottled water, and to use a fountain with regularly changed filter

[HelenD]

Our Schmoo is HyperT and on Vidalta once a day, plus a few more tablets!

We went through the exact same thing pilling her, and have found that one thing will work for a while, then we have to switch tactics!

We tried Pill Pockets - worked for a while but not sure she liked the taste
Wrapping in ham or sliced chicken didnt work as the pill slid out
We tried wrapping in a pinch of mince beef - that worked for quite a long time, but then she got fussy!
We tried wrapping in cheese - worked well, but she has liver issues so we avoid fatty food, so this is used as emergency only!

I also read that dairy and fish are high in iodine, which is what cats use to make the thyroid hormone, so I try not to give her any food containing either of these to help keep her levels steady.

Currently the reliable trick for us is using the 'own brand' treat sticks (Webbox equivalent) they sell in Tescos - I find them softer than Webbox sticks so we can mould it round the tablet better.

She has wet food (in gravy) so I drop the treat-wrapped tablet in a teaspoon of the food and gravy, and pop it in her bowl. It usually goes down the hatch as if its dinner, but I make sure I only put it in the first tsp, so I can check shes eaten it - if she hasnt, then I drop a bit more gravy on until its gone, then she gets the rest of her food!

Good luck though, you will get there but I know how frustrating it can be!

[Kay and Penny]

have pm'd you, Rocky's Mum, as I have some recent experience of the radioactive iodine treatment which may be of help

[Liz]

Max had his thyroid removed but a bit is still there so he back on tablets and Clio being feral will be on tablets she wouldn't cope being away from her home environment and neither would Max have as he is one of my handrears and has taken 12 years to sit in the room with guests unlike his brother Merlin who is Mr Sociable!!!

[Nicola (RockysMum)]

I hide Licky's tablets in a whiskas stick , the salmon flavour as they are soft. He takes tablets really well but if it was stressful fot him i eould be highly considering having his thyroid out. X

How old is Bailey?? There are options to tablets and this is one along with the radiation treatment which would mean Bailey would have to stay in hospital a while. It's expensive but some people on here have had good results as it means no more tablets. He has to be completely fit and well but it is non invasive and involves an injection then time in isolation.

I've started looking into the radioactive iodine for him. He's 11 and it certainkly seems to be the best option long term. It's early days though as he's only just been diagnosed. Hopefully once his thyroid levels have stabilised, there won't be any other underlying problems and he'll be a candidate. He has a galloping heart rythym at the moment which we're hopeful is a symptom of the hyperthyroidism. We'll also need to see whether his kidneys are still OK once the thyroid problems are dealt with as I know it can mask kidney problems.

It would be great if he's a candidate for it. My main concern about it is it's a three week quarantine peiod. he's never spent a single night away from home and even a short trip to the vets for a check up completely traumatises him. I think if we go for it I'll probably need sedated for the three weeks he's away!! The thought of it breaks my heart and I'd be terrified something happened while he was away from me.

Once we know whether it's an option for me i'll definitely be on here to get as much information as possible from people who've been through it.

[LouiseJ]

I hide Licky's tablets in a whiskas stick , the salmon flavour as they are soft. He takes tablets really well but if it was stressful fot him i eould be highly considering having his thyroid out. X

How old is Bailey?? There are options to tablets and this is one along with the radiation treatment which would mean Bailey would have to stay in hospital a while. It's expensive but some people on here have had good results as it means no more tablets. He has to be completely fit and well but it is non invasive and involves an injection then time in isolation.

[Stezzle]

I hide Licky's tablets in a whiskas stick , the salmon flavour as they are soft. He takes tablets really well but if it was stressful fot him i eould be highly considering having his thyroid out. X

[Nicola (RockysMum)]

Thanks so much for all the tips! My other half came home in his lunch hour and managed to sneak the pills into him with cheese triangles and lots of patience!! I love how clever my fur babies are but when it comes to pills, Bailey is too clever!! I've ordered pill pockets on amazon too. Anyone used them? I think variety is going to be key...
I'll keep you all posted x

[Liz]

My 2 are on 20mg and 10 mg respectively and it says on the jar that they can't be cut because they loose effectiveness

Max had his thyroid removed and we have a but left and Clio was diagnosed in November ad is well within limits but being feral she is on tablets!

[Tiggy's Mum]

Being lazy and quoting an old post I made, I see you've tried most of them but the Webbox and defurrum treat ideas are worth a go. F8ingers crossed you find something that works for you, I know how stressful it can be trying to get the meds down them 

I have an addition to the list which I discovered when Riley had a diaorrhea and had to take Metronidazole which had been broken into quarters exposing their bitterness, he refused any of the below as he could obviously still smell/taste the tablet so I discovered Webbox treats.  They're stick treats but quite maleable so I cut a piece off and moulded it round the tablet.

For the last two years when she was having 5 tablets a day my main methods were 1 & 2 below (with no 2 being less sticky!), if she were feeling off colour I had to resort to one of the other methods.  One of the tablets she had was Fortekor (for CRF not heart failure) so the tips definitely work with that shape/size of tablet.

1) Primula Cheese in a tube (Chs, Chs & Ham, Chs & Prawn but NOT chs & chive), also works with Dairylea triangles, laughing cow etc, just cut a small chunk off..  Place tablet on finger, squirt a blob of Primula on, Tiggy licked it off, tablet and all. 

2) De-furrum treats (available from places like Pets at Home, Jollyes etc) they are designed for hairballs.  When snapped in half there is a gooey mix which holds the tablet perfectly when you poke it in.  Tiggy loved these and hoovered them up.

3) Wafer thin ham (Bernard Matthews is best as is nice and moist and sticks to itself when folded over).  Wrap tablet in small parcel and hand feed, the tablet may fall out the first time so I roll up in another piece and keep going.  Wafer thin Beef or Chicken is also effective.

4) Cheddar Cheese, experiment with varieties but the moister the better. Shave of a thinnish layer and squish around the tablet.

5) Chicken breast, don't overcook, needs to be nice and moist.  Shave a thinnish layer and again squish around tablet.

6) Tuna, squeeze most of the juiceout and squish around tablet.

7) For powdered meds: Beef sandwich paste (check ingredients NO onion or garlic) mix with a little hot water to make a yummy beefy paste.

[Kay and Penny]

you can cut Felimazole in half, but you must be careful when handling the pieces - I gave my Trigger two halves a day for several weeks, and used a pill cutter and tweezers

I then broke up a Webbox stick and put the piece in the third section - and then finger fed the bits from above, so each one went well in - I got at least 40 pills into him that way

[Scooby]

Hugo is on Atenolol, so we can cut them, in fact we have to as he has 3/4 of a tablet at a time.
I didn't know that about hyperthyroid meds though - why is that Liz?

[Liz]

You have to give Hyper T tablets whole or they don't work

[Scooby]

We usually cut our tablets into smaller bits and hide them in a squashed up bit of Webbox treat.  Hugo started turning his nose up at the Webbox recently, so we change the treats to keep him interested.  At the moment they're hidden in squashed up Whiskas salmon flavoured treat - they're quite whiffy so he likes them! 
If he's really not interested, I stick a Dreamy treat onto the squashed tablet treat - He is addicted to Dreamies, plus the crunchy Dreamy treat disguises the crunchy tablet!   

[Liz]

We use human Pate for Master Max who is Hyper thyroid and fresh chicken for Clio feral Hyperthyroid here

I have used Webbox and Tedsco kitsticks with success and also cheese and Primula cream cheese and Pill pockets with some success I have to change my methods of worming my ferals so we have used most things

[LouiseJ]

Good luck
I had this trouble with Chelsea who could hold a tablet in for what seemed like ever before spitting it out. I tried allsorts - cheese, pate, ice cream, coating it with syrup....

I've used Webbox paste for Luna and now use it as a treat and so regardless or not of there being a tablet in it they just lap it up.

[souffle]

Have you tried rubbing them with butter as this makes them easy to slip down?
Another good thing is the webbox rolls which you can mould over them - even crush the pill between two spoons and then mould into the webbox. Give a pill free piece then rapidly follow with a pill bit and hopefully it will be taken and swallowed before he notices.

Edit sorry just reread and you can crush the pills That's tough. Maybe make a pocket in a chunk of raw chicken?
)

[Nicola (RockysMum)]

Hi All, my gorgeous boy Bailey has just been diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism. He's on 2 pills for this per day as well as a beta blocker. The thyroid meds cant be crushed or halved.
For the past 3 weeks he's taken the pills fairly easily disguised in some minced beef, however, since last night he's completely refusing to take them. We've tried ham, salmon paste, soft cheese & sardines so far.
Forcing the pill in isn't an option. He instantly becomes a tasmanian devil and when even my much trusted vet tried to show us how to do it with a pill popper it took 3 of us to hold him, then Bailey literally spat the pill accross the room - 3 times. Not something i want to put him, or us through on a daily basis.

Any ideas of how we can sneak his meds past him would be MUCH appreciated. Both me and my partner were late for work this morning, I was almost in tears and we still hadn't managed to get his pills into him!