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My cat hates pills. Can I hide them in freeze-dried raw treats safely?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Male | neutered | 18 years and 11 months old | 9.5 lbs

Hi tony has early stage kidney disease and is on a kidney diet. I wonder is it safe to hide his blood pressure pills, thyroid pills , and tumil k tablets in a freeze dried raw cat treat? he has grown tired of my current method of hiding pills in a small bit of fancy feast wet cat food that i form into a treat ball. Thank u!

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on December 20th, 2018

Yes of course. You can try hiding the pills in his freeze dried treat or any treat for that matter. If he grows tired of that too you can also try “Pill pockets” which are pliable soft aromatic treats specifically designed for giving pets daily medication. You can find these at your vet clinic or at some pet stores.
Best wishes with your pet Tony and keeping up with his laundry list of medications. : ) Take care.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Amber W
Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist
Published on September 24th, 2017
Although it is best to avoid too many treats and other kinds of food it should be okay to still use these things to get Tony to take his medications.

The main thing we try to avoid by feeding a renal diet is high phosphorus levels. Royal Canin makes several renal canned options so maybe trying that first to hide pills could work. If it doesn't work I doubt a small amount of treats will effect Tony negatively.

It sounds like Tony is lucky to have you as an owner! I wish you both the best and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Ann Dion, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on February 6th, 2019
Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

In terms of a small portion of his food to get his medications into him, it isn't THAT important. As long as his main portion of his food is the kidney diet that is fine.

The main factor is low protein.

Best of luck with Tony!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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Hello, thank you for your question about Tony. I am sorry to hear that Tony does not seem to love the kidney diet; these are known to have a bland taste so many animals do not like them. The freeze dried morsels have a high protein content; most veterinarians recommend minimizing protein ingestion in patients with kidney disease. However with that being said, the main goal in any patient with kidney disease is to ensure that they eat. If this helps Tony eat his food regularly I think it is ok to add this as a meal topper. One other thing you could try (if you are using dry kibble) is to add a small amount of low sodium chicken broth to moisten the food and help improve the taste. Hope this helps, good luck!

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