Tips to help pets take their pills
The easiest way to give your pet a pill is to hide it in food. This usually works best if you hide it in a special treat like a small amount of canned cat or dog food, or a soft treat that that can be molded around it (e.g., Pill Pockets™). Watch your pet during and shortly after eating it to make sure they don’t spit the pill out!
If your pet keeps spitting out the pill or they have dietary restrictions preventing the use of a special treat, you can put the pill directly in your pet’s mouth. Above all, stay calm and confident to minimize the stress on your pet.
Get ready
- Don’t interrupt your pet if they are eating, grooming or (in the case of a cat) using the litter box.
- Prepare a safe place to handle your pet with minimal distractions.
- For cats, you may find it easiest to have your cat on your lap, and simpler still, wrap them securely in a blanket or towel with only their head exposed.
- Have the pill ready and in a place where it’s easily accessible.
How to give a pill directly into a pet’s mouth
- Lubricate the pill with a very small amount of gravy from canned food (nothing too fatty or greasy, as it may upset the stomach) so that it does not stick in your pet’s mouth or throat and is easier to swallow.
- Hold the pill between the thumb and index finger on your dominant hand (i.e., the hand you write with).
- Dogs: Gently grasp your dog's muzzle from above with your other hand, by placing your thumb behind the canine teeth on one side of the upper jaw and your fingers on the other.
Cats: Gently grasp your cat's head from above with your other hand by placing your thumb on one side of the upper jaw and your fingers on the other.
- Once you have a firm but gentle grip, tilt your pet’s head toward the ceiling (the lower jaw will usually drop open) and with your pilling hand, use your little finger and ring finger to open your pet’s mouth further by gently putting downward pressure on the lower lip and front teeth.
- Quickly place the pill as far back over the tongue as possible to stimulate an automatic swallowing reflex—but not so far it makes your pet gag, then close your pet’s mouth and hold it closed while you return their head to a normal position.
- Gently rub your pet’s nose or throat or blow lightly on their nose to stimulate swallowing. Dogs and cats will usually lick their nose after swallowing a pill!
Give plenty of praise throughout the process and offer positive reinforcement afterward—a treat, playtime, brushing, petting—to help make it easier to give the pill the next time.
If you continue to have difficulty, ask your veterinarian for advice. They can show you pilling techniques or find an alternative method of giving your cat or dog their medication.
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