A tough pill to swallow for pets

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Animal care technician Susan Wyman attempts to give Birch a pill. Chances are Birch isn’t going to like this, so Wyman is using a pill syringe to administer the pill quickly. | Janet Winikoff~ AP

Updated: November 27, 2011 1:21PM

Giving pills to your pet may be more traumatic for you than the animal, but it doesn’t have to be.

There are many ways to get the job done. You can hold a small dog or cat like a football or a baseball; wrap the cat like a burrito; try decoys and disguises; or arm yourself with squeeze cheese.

Whatever you do, “Be cool, calm, collected and quick,” said Janet Winikoff, director of education for the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County in Vero Beach, Fla. She has given pills, injections, liquids and subcutaneous fluids to shelter animals and her own pets over the years.

Administer medications with confidence and the least amount of restraint, she said. “For many pets, the more restraint you use, the more they struggle and become stressed.”

Pet medicines may be in the form of pills, liquid, shots, gels or creams; they can be flavored or smelly; chewable, tablet or capsule; meant to be taken with food or without; big and bitter — or not.

Kim Saunders, vice president of shelter outreach for Petfinder.com, an online pet adoption database, has been giving her 22-year-old cat thyroid pills for years. She just found out there is a transdermal form of the medicine and her cat is much happier, she said. The medicine isn’t a patch, but a cream she puts inside her cat’s ear.

Cats usually are harder to medicate than dogs. Many dogs, especially bigger ones, appear to inhale their food, so they barely notice a little medicine. Cats are more likely to chew and bite down on a pill, spit it out and leave it behind.

Greenies and Pill Pockets are hollow treats made to hold pills and are extremely popular for both dogs and cats. But you might have something right in your fridge that can disguise a pill: liverwurst, baby food, cream cheese, string cheese, meatballs, tuna or peanut butter. Rolling a pill in butter will make it easier for the pet to swallow.

Everyone seems to have a trick. One person online suggested crushing the pill, mixing it with something sticky and rubbing it on the cat’s gum. Someone else suggested dabbing a squirt of squeeze cheese on your cat’s paw right after giving a pill so the animal has something else to think about besides the bad taste of the medicine.

For dogs who must take pills for a long time, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals suggests cutting up hot dogs or cheese, or using small chunks of ground beef or chicken, and giving your dog 10 to 20 decoy treats in a row. Do that two or three times a day for several days to prepare your dog before sneaking a pill into one of the bites.

Most vets will tell you to hold the pet’s lower jaw in one hand and upper jaw in the other and lift the animal’s head toward the ceiling before popping the pill in its mouth. Easier said than done, but there are any number of online demonstrations. Cornell University — http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/pet/fhc/pill (or capsule) — has a cat video and Washington State University — http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/cliented/cat—meds.aspx — has cat photos.

Ask your vet for a demonstration, and also ask what to do if things don’t go as planned, Winikoff said. “Sometimes you think you’re successful only to find a half-dissolved pill on the carpet several hours later. Do you re-administer? Wait? Try another method?”

AP