Part of me feels like I can learn pilling pets easily and nothing bad will happen to my hand, but I am also nervous about getting attacked or antagonizing the pet. Can anyone tell me more of their experiences with this, please, with sitters new to it? Thanks.
Do you mean giving dogs pills?
Pilling dogs is usually very easy - just wrap the pill in cheese/peanut butter/pill pocket and they gobble it.
Pilling cats - not so easy! For a funny take on this, see How To Give A Cat A Pill Versus How To Give A Dog A Pill
Some people use a pill shooter device. I had to pill my old cat for years and my technique was to put the pills in an empty gelcap (so she couldn’t taste them), dip it in baby food, and then open her mouth and put the pill inside, along her cheek. I would hold her mouth shut and stroke her neck until I knew she had swallowed the pill. She wouldn’t eat the pill in a treat or crushed in food, so i had to pill her.
It definitely takes practice, and I think it helps to be very comfortable handling cats. Some cats take the pill easily, others fight it.
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If a pet doesn’t easily take a pill directly from my hand, I either mix it up in their food or cover it in peanut butter or cream cheese. And if that doesn’t work, covered in PB or CC and dropped on the floor can work, too. They think they’re eating something you didn’t mean for them and often will scarf it right down, LOL.
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Owners who have to pill their pets are going to find a way to do it. You really need to discuss with the owner how they pill that particular pet. It may be the pet is very easy and will allow you to pill it by opening up the mouth, getting the pill in and closing the snout/mouth making sure the pill is swallowed. There may be a trick or two the owner has developed. You can watch videos on youtube. Other pets could involve chasing around the room! Some pets will easily take the pill hidden in their food. This worked with our dog, but we’d have to check the food to make sure the pill wasn’t somehow leftover. There are also various kind of rollups you can hide a pill in – better for dogs than cats. Cats are small and this should theorectically be easy, but when we have to pill our cats for travel it can be a whole lot of drama if they know what’s coming.
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@FreeSpiritManette I have always asked my host what technique they use for pilling. Most hide them in cheese, whipped cream, or something else yummy. One host sent me a video of how to pill her elderly cat. It was really helpful.
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Thank you all for helping me. Unfortunately, the host only showed me one way, which was literally sticking my hand in the cat’s mouth with the plain pill, no food or anything to cover it. One is a very large male cat.
Cats are not easy to give pills to. They’re super squirmy and can easily escape from your arms.
I used to look after my mom’s elderly cat and I found that grinding pills and mix them with a treat they liked helped. She really liked chicken so I would blend some chicken. And fold in the powdered pill.
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@FreeSpiritManette If you let the owner know that you are having issues they might have other suggestions. But also the vet advice line can be used for general questions and advice as well, so might be worth a call? The number is at the bottom of your dashboard.
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Try putting baby food or some Churro treat (or similar) on the pill first. It helps mask the taste and helps the cat swallow. If you’re in the US, Gerber #2 baby food is like kitty crack.
Crushing the pill and mixing it with a little baby food might work, but you need to be sure that the cat eats all the food/pill combo, otherwise she might not be getting the correct dose of meds.
Hiding the pill in a gelcap might help. especially if the pill is not coated or is cut so that part of the pill is exposed and bitter-tasting.
If you want me to walk you through it via video, let me know. I’m on US Central Time. I’ve medicated lots and lots of cats, between mine, pet-sitting, and fostering almost 70 cats!
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@Lassie , what variety of Gerber #2 baby food – vegetables and chicken? Or something else (fruit, oatmeal, etc.)?
Cats can be difficult. Using food rarely helps. We’ve used couple of methods. One is to wrap the cat firmly in a towel, place it in your lap so that it’s head is upwards and then opening it’s mouth and dropping the pill in.
The easiest method is to give the pill, when the cat sits on a table (or something similar). Turn it’s head gently upwards, open the mouth and drop the pill straight down to it’s throat.
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@FreeSpiritManette this may sound whoo-whoo, but check that your own energy is calm and cool before attempting pilling. The pet will feel your nervousness before you even reach it, and will scramble or fight. And honestly, some days are easier than others, some days just seem to work, while other days the pill miraculously seem to re-appear several times! Best of luck!
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Chicken, turkey, beef. All work well
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For cats, there’s also this salmon paste kind of goo that squirts out of a tube, like toothpaste. Once, I crushed a pill into powder, mixed it into some of the goo, then spread it on one of those silicone pads that adhere to a floor, wall, counter or bathtub and the cat licks from it. Worked!
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It is SO kind of you to offer to walk me through with a video. Thank you! This has been resolved by the host approving someone they know of to come in just to pill the two cats. In the future, I think I will avoid such sits, at least for a while. Forgot to add that I’ve decided not to take this sit and it’s not confirmed.
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I don’t think what you said is woo-woo at all! It makes plenty of sense to me. I have studied energies and how they can affect others. I have more mastering to do with my own.
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We just finished a sit where one of the cats had a daily pill. We were just instructed to grind it between 2 teaspoons and mix it with the dinner. Easy peasy!
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