How do I get my pet to take the medications!
It's one of the most common questions we get. Animal can be tricky to get medications into. Cats are especially talented in spitting them out.
We've got a couple of tricks for you to try out to help get important, possibly even life-saving, medications into your pets. Hiding medications
First of all, we don't recommend hiding medications in a pet's food. If the medication doesn't taste bad and they do eat it, then no problem. But, if the medication tastes bad, or your pet eats the medication and they don't like it for any other reason, they can start associating the food with medications and refuse to eat. It's a vicious cycle.
Refusing to eat can be especially harmful to animals with diseases that cause their appetite to go down already, such as kidney disease. That's why we don't recommend hiding medications in food. Using an aid such as Greenies Pill Pockets (picture below) are great for covering the offensive medication and making pilling a little smoother. Some animals will gladly eat the medication once it is covered. If not, the pill wrap helps the medication slid down their throat as long as it gets far enough back in their mouth. The only caution for using Pill Pockets is for pets with food allergies or on a prescription diet. Double check with your vet if you have any questions about using one of these. Hand pilling
Most pets won't take medications readily out of our hands. So, another option is hand pilling them.
The trickiest part is to make sure to get the medications up and over the 'hump' of their tongue in the back of their mouth. Pet Pilling 101
This video courtesy of Wedgewood Pharmacy has us laughing with the whole 60's housewife vibe, but it does show fairly well how to give medications orally.
Check it out below: Another option:
If your pet clenches their teeth, or is difficult to hand pill there is an option to not stick your hands in their mouths. The 'Pet Piller' is a pencil sized hollow tube with a plunger running through it. One end has a rubber tip to hold medications. ​
Essentially the medication (tablet or capsule) is placed in the rubber tip and then the piller is inserted into the pet's mouth. Gently push the piller to the back of the mouth then depress the plunger to push the medication into the back of the mouth. A tip is to insert the rubber tip into the gap right behind the canine teeth (their fangs) then angle the piller towards the back of the mouth. This helps open their mouths to get the piller in. Last Resort
If there is no way for you to get the tablet or capsule into your pet, speak to your veterinarian to see if there is an option to get the medication in a liquid or compounded. This may not be an option for all medications, but you can always check to see if it is.
We hope this helps with getting medications into your pet. Some pets may be sneaky, and if you struggle you can always ask your veterinary team for tips and tricks to help, we're usually happy to help out!
AuthorYvonne Brandenburg, RVT, VTS (SAIM) is a Registered Veterinary Technician practicing in California and obtained her Veterinary Technician Specialty in Small Animal Internal Medicine in 2016. She is the founder of InternalMedicineForPetParents.com. For more about Yvonne visit her author page here. NewsletterSignup & be first to hear about great info just like this! Thank you!You have successfully joined our subscriber list.
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