Me versus Cat versus Pill

Some of you may remember Pookie. He was the perfect cat. He never had vet issue up until the very end of his life. I remind Mr. Linus of that daily now. 

Linus now has hyperthyroidism and it requires a daily pill...TWICE. Linus also suffered from UTIs as a kitten and so after a 4 day stay at the VET he has been on expensive food since then. Pookie ate Friskies and never had to stay in the hospital. 

Ok, maybe Pookie wasn't the perfect cat, but he was the cheaper cat. 

Because of the twice daily pill, I have had to learn how to give a cat a pill. Have you done that? 

To prepare for this even, I did some research. The vet explained giving the pill and sent me home with instructions. That's not enough. I went to YouTube to watch video after video of a vet tech or someone who's done this a thousand times, give a very docile cat a vet. Those aren't helpful videos. 

Show me how to give a stubborn, little cranky cat a pill. A cat that wants NOTHING to do with that pill. Oh and given by a person who's never done that before. That's the video I want to see. 

Once I got the pills, the vet recommended a pill plunger to make it easier or a pill pocket. 

The pill pocket was off the table because he won't eat them as a treat already, so one with a pill won't work. 

And so we begin. 

Day one:

I decided to give the pill plunger a try. It worked! And the reason it worked is because Linus had no idea what was happening. He was a little confused and took the pill easily. I had been warned to not think this was how easy this was going to be. Now he knows. 

That night we struggled with the pill plunger and after stressing him and myself out we got the pill down. 

Day two: 

Another battle with the plunger. It's an awkward thing and I found that trying to open his mouth and REACH for the other end of the plunger just wasn't doing it. 

That night I decided to give wet food a try. I "hid" it in a mount of wet food and watched. He ate it! Success...or so I thought. I heard a little "plink" sound and when I looked down, the bowl was clean of food and there sat a little pink pill. 

He did not get his pill that night. It had already been a struggle in the morning and I just didn't want to stress him out any more. 

As I tried to fall asleep I was thinking about all the other options. The medicine can be put into a liquid. That might be easier. And it might not be. 

They have topical option where you rub it into his ear. That's an option to consider too. The danger there is if I get any into my skin it can cause some health problems to me. Gloves resolve that issue. 

Day three:

Finally on the morning of day three I thought, just give it the old fashion try. Use you're own hand, open his mouth and shove it in...gently. Then give him breakfast. 

It worked! Like a charm in fact. It was super easy, he took the pill with little to no struggle and after rubbing his neck I gave him breakfast. 

That has now been successful three times in a row. He still doesn't want to take the pill, but it seems like he prefers this method of this long pole thing headed his way. 

I also think feeding him immediately following the pill helps it stay down and clears his throat a little. 

He's been a trooper for sure. He and I both hate this, but in order for him to live out the rest of his nine lives we need to do this. 

Side note, I did ask the Vet if we didn't do any medications, what would happen. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good. Obviously his life would be fewer years. He'd have vomiting issues and continue to lose weight. We don't want any of that, so a two pills a day it is.