Try the pill pockets, I believe they are made by the same company that makes the greenies, they come in flavors :>)
Christine

some dogs can detect meds in absolutely anything! why can you not open his mouth and pop it down his throat?

Forgot to mention, this is a cat. Sorry. He's a stray and has accepted me ALOT, but trying to open his mouth and force a pill down is not an option at this time. I'm still working on him being picked up. I've managed several times to lift him off his feet a few inches but I'm not going to envelope him in my arms or grab him by the scruff of the neck. Should have the vet try giving the pill I suppose but I'd have to coax him into a carrier somehow and pay the office call.

He's picky about new wet food. When he first came around he would inhale any food or scrap put in front of him. Now I've spoiled him. He will eat cat treats, but not sure about the pill pockets. He would chew them and right away discover the taste of the med.

Are you the only one feeding him? If so you might skip a meal so he's hungrier when you try to give the pill. It's very nice of you to take care of a stray. Good luck!

This got me to thinking, since there are a couple of strays here that we have been looking after. I found chicken-flavored tapeworm meds online. I have never tried them, but they might help you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Flavored tapeworm med.

Thanks Cercis141.The flavored med sounds interesting. And yes, as mentioned on that site I paid $17 for just three pills at a pet health store.

I can't be positive I'm the only one feeding him but that makes sense to refuse food for awhile, but I probably would give in to him too quickly. ha. But then again, he didn't get to eat wet food this morning so maybe tomorrow he'll be more inclined.

I can crush these pills into a powder, I nearly did this morning, and that site says to use sardine/oil. That's a good idea and one I even thought of when I saw a can of sardines at the store today. And I do have some canned tuna in the cupboard. I wonder if that cat would lick up the tuna juice? I guess I may as well try again later.

Same problem with cats. I have given up on some of them and don't even try to get them to take worm meds. Some love yogurt, beef stock and tuna and pills can be tucked in. The other three won't even go near anything with meds in it.

I also have a little stray that I have been trying for two years now to allow me to pick him up. He will allow pats but even then his whole body shudders. To try to stuff a pill down that ones throat would be very dangerous!!!

These are all indoor/outdoor cats so pretty much always have worms. Some are 8 years old and seem to do just fine with them.

Make an appt to see the vet TECH. They should be able to demonstrate and teach you how to give the pill (at my feline vets office there is no charge to see the tech).

After you see it done a couple times, you may be able to do it. I volunteered at a shelter and taught many/most volunteers how to give pills to cats. Interestingly, some of the most friendly/social cats were the most difficult and some of the semi-feral/strays were easy. Learning to "burrito wrap" with a thick towel can also help.

Once you crush the tablet, taste it yourself to see if it's bitter. I do with with my pets meds so that I know what my pets are likely to refuse. Talk to your vet and see if they carry the flavored pills or if they have a lab that can compound the med in a flavored liquid form.

I always had trouble with this until I used peanut butter and my dog gobbled up any pills I gave her.

Either liverwurst or brunsweiger (sp). Have used this for all my dogs for years and it has never failed.

Wrap a small hunk around the pill, completely covering the pill. I almost always give a couple "tastes" before I give the one with the pill. By that time they usually just swallow the whole thing without biting into it. I'm guessing it has something to do with the smell of the stuff which they all seem to love, along with the taste. Our present dog has never liked anything cold so we give it to her at room temperature.

Peanut butter, for us anyway, was always hit and miss, as is/was cheese. Try the liverwurst, giving a bit or two without the pill first.

Jenna

See my second post - I'm dealing with a cat, not a dog. The cats I've known always chew their treats politely, never wolf them down like dogs. :)

I tried the tuna juice poured over the bit of canned food from yesterday. He didn't fall for it just licked some juice. So later this afternoon I'm going to crush another pill dose and put it directly into just some tuna juice and see if he'll lick it up med and all. If that fails, then I'll try again another day. Thanks for all the input!

I figured you were trying to get a pill into a cat. My dog is unusual in that he thinks meds are candy - not good - he actually begged for his meds post his dental that he had 2 years ago. He has the same meds for the dental that he had on Thurs. but now they are coming in liquid form - he is kind of ticked off!

We always had a difficult time with our cats - no matter what we did they would manage to leave the pill pieces - or wouldn't touch a pill if it was crushed in tuna oil etc. Ever tried to feed a cat kitty stew - who didn't like peas? Cleanest peas you ever saw - quickly eaten by the dog. And this was a cat who loved fruit cake.

I don't know what to suggest other than pill pockets. I hope you have some luck - I know that missing a meal would not have done it for our cats - they considered it to be our problem....Plan C would be asking a vet tech for help. And of course you don't know how many other people may be feeding the cat.

how to give a pill to a cat

Here is a link that might be useful: video demo

Update: Straight tuna juice with crushed pill into powder form did not work either.

As far as opening his mouth like in the video for either pill or liquid - nicks that. Just awhile ago he was laying in the chair, I reached over him to brush some lint off the arm of the chair and he reached up and snagged me with a claw and gave my arm a nip! Mostly got my shirt, but still startled me. He looked very pleased with himself as I scolded him, twitching that big tail. Ingrate.

Like I said, I'll just let treatment go until something changes.

When I mentioned having the med compounded, I didn't mean for you to try to put the liquid in his mouth. The flavor they can compound would be much different in taste than a crushed pill in a broth/liquid.

Unfortunately, video did not show need to do a "burrito towel wrap," to restrict movement of legs/paws.

It works, really it does. Video clip attached.

Here is a link that might be useful: towel/burrito wrap kitty

That was a cute video, but I know that my cat would have been long gone before the first wrap was in place!

My 14yr.old cat that passed away last year didn't mind at all being rubbed down with a towel when he came in wet, and I could also wrap him up in one when necessary. But he was very tame to begin with, had him since he was a yr.old. You might get away with doing it to a feral or stray but it would take an extra person to help and also some very thick gloves! Like murraysmom, I can only imagine the havoc and noise; but in an emergency situation you'd have to try.

Thought I'd post in this thread so you all were more familiar with the cat and what I was trying to do.

Just wanted to say that today the tom cat came limping up from the barn and into the house, holding his paw up. I assumed he must have been fighting again. All afternoon he limped from one chair to another and I cooed over him, feeling sorry for him. Well I finally got a closer look at his leg and here it has been shaven and there is what looks like a needle mark! He's obviously been taken to the vet by someone and had blood drawn. Then I checked out his other end to see if he had been neutered. ha. Well, I don't think so, looks like he's still intact.

So someone else is caring for him too. I only hope there was only a checkup and not a serious condition.

Cats usually don't limp after blood has been drawn. You should watch your cat carefully and make sure he's not reacting to a spider or snake bite. Hair loss at the site of a bite is very possible.

If he comes around tomorrow I'll see if he's still limping. The area sure looks like it's been shaven to me, not a bite. I remember when my cat was still feral I trapped her and took her in to be spayed. When I brought her home, they had a bandage on the area where the IV had been , and she held that foot up for about a day. (The bandage eventually fell off like the vet said).

OMG - your tom cat is cheating on you and has another family???

Often vets who neuter feral/stray cats clip the tip of the cat's ear (usually the left ear). Does your kitty have a clipped ear?

Good idea Cercis141. Never thought of that, I'll check his ear saving him (and me) the indignity of prying about the other end. : )

mdln - my suspicions from the get go! I'm fine with it, as long as he gets something to eat when he's hungry. I'm a sucker for that.