Where a dog often happily eats a piece of ham with a pill in it, most cats do not let themselves be fooled when it comes to taking medication. They often realize immediately if you have hidden a pill in a treat. Still, you can train this to give your cat a pill hidden in a treat.

The best way to give your cat a treat with a hidden pill in it

Is your cat not very suspicious, fond of treats, and does he get meaty snacks? Then you can still try to put the pill in the meaty snack such as a piece of sausage. Or spin a ball of pate in which you hide it. If you put the ball in the freezer for 15 minutes, the taste of the pill will decrease. (Let the outside become a bit soft again before you give it to your cat).

 There are even special cat treats on the available that are made to hide pills in it.

First, make sure your cat gets used to getting a treat at the same hour of the day.

Keep this up for a few days. Your cat will know when he will get a treat and chances are that if you give the treat with the pill he will not notice this and will just eat it. Make sure that you put the pill in properly and that there are no traces of the pill (which were on your hands) attached to the pill.

You can also choose to give 3 snacks instead of 1 snack. The first without medication, the second with pill and the third without pill. If your cat has just finished a treat without a pill, the chances are higher that he will not notice there is a pill hidden in the second treat. Here too it is useful to alternate a quantity without pill, then the quantity with pill and finally a portion without pill.

Grind the pill and add it to the food

If the pill allows it to be grinded into powder (first consult your veterinarian). Then you can also hide the crushed pill in its normal portion of canned food. Or you can also hide the crushed pill in a liquid snack. Keep in mind that this changes the taste and there is a chance that your cat will notice this and will not even touch his portion of food or the liquid snack.

Does your cat still not eat treats or food with pills in it?

You can also train your cat by letting the cat sit quietly, massaging his head and opening his mouth and giving him a treat.

As soon as your cat is completely used to this and knows that his head is massaged and his mouth is opened followed by a treat, you can try it with a pill. Hold your cat’s head with one hand, open its mouth while the cat looks up. Place the pill as far back as possible on his tongue (not under his tongue or in his cheek pouch). If your pill is on his tongue, close his mouth as quickly as possible and keep it closed, making sure the cat is looking straight ahead again (looking up makes it difficult to swallow). Rub your cat’s throat until you feel the pill is being swallowed by your cat. If everything went well, the pill is gone now..

There are also pill shooters available that make it a little easier for you to give your cat a pill. The only question is whether this is so pleasant for your cat.

If your cat has swallowed the pill.

Then give your cat something else to eat or drink to ensure that the pill does not stick.

It is also useful to ask the vet for extra pills, if your cat spits the pill out of his mouth you still have “spare” pills to give. A wet pill that falls apart is a bit harder to give to your cat. And some pills also have liquid versions (including tasty flavor) available. This is even easier to give to your cat, you can simply mix it with his wet food.