My cat won't take his deworming pills. Any tips to make it easier?

Hello there and thank you for your post! I am not sure what medication you are trying to hide, but you could potentially have it compounded into a liquid form if that is easier. I've had clients use pieces of canned tuna to mash around the pill and that seemed to work well. I've had other clients use pieces of liverwurst to mash around the pill as well. You could also invest in a Pill Popper, which you can find in pet stores. Basically, a Pill Popper is a syringe like device that contains a hollow rubber tip which you can insert capsules or pills and safely administer them into the back of your cat's mouth. I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me with any further questions or concerns that you may have.

If you can't get Sweetie to take the pill by pilling her or adding it to her food, you can buy a "pill gun" that is like a little syringe that you fill with water, and then hook the pill to the end of. This lets you place the pill in your cat's mouth, and then the squirt of water helps them to swallow it down immediately a little easier with less risk of fighting it or being bitten. This site has some more info about how to use a pill gun with a cat: https://cats.lovetoknow.com/Pill_Gun_for_Cat You can also search "pill" in our search bar if you'd like to see other general articles regrading pilling pets. If all else fails and Sweetie won't take the medication at all, or it is too dangerous to try and give it to her, I would contact your vet to see if the medication can be compounded into a liquid or different formulation through a pharmacy, or if a different medication that is easier to give can be given instead.

YEs, it is ok to break up the dewormer but I would recommend mixing it with something strong smelling and oily such as fish oil or a mousse textured food. Many dewormers are bitter in taste and hard to disolve and so difficulty in administration is heightened by mixing in water

I can certainly understand your frustration. Cats are very smart at not taking their nedicaiton. I would talk to your vet about getting his medicaiton compounded into a flavor that he likes. There also may be an alternative medication in capsule form that won’t taste like anything that you can hide in a soft treat or a pill pocket. Most vets carry pill pockets or you can get these from your local pet store in many situations (call first). And finally there is a “pill gun” or “pet piller” that your vet should be able to sell you to make it easier to give Diggie his medicaiton. I surely hope this helps you in giving Digger his medicaiton. And remember that cats will often feed off of our energy, so try to keep a level head and be firm with him, then cuddle him and praise him every time he takes his medication well. I also find it helpful to use a large soft blanket to help hold my cats still when I want to give them their medication. This also prevents you from getting scratched. Best of luck to you and take care.

Tapeworms are relatively straight forward to treat, so sorry you are having such a hard time. However you should do the following: 1) Give tapeworm medicine - Praziquantel (you may have to visit your vet for this if not available over the counter). Typically you only need 1 dose. 2) Get Boo-butiful on a good monthly flea preventative. My top recommendation is Revolution topical or Advantage Multi. Tapeworms come from your pet either ingesting a flea or eating another pets poop with "live" tapeworms in it. I hope this helps you get rid of your fur baby's pesty friends!

Yes, there are topicals you can use: Profender and Revolution are two that come to mind straight away. ( https://www.allivet.com/p-3497-profender-for-cats.aspx ) ( https://www.allivet.com/p-1902-revolution-for-cats.aspx )

This may cause her to drool profusely. Additionally, if she spits it out, she may not get the full dose needed for protection. Consider using a Pill Pocket or a pill popper to get the medication into her.