Reward Cat After Pill

Be sure cat's nails are trimmed. Put on a light jacket (not your best one). Set the cat on a stool or something higher. Love and pet the cat; talk gently.

Wrap your arm around the cat lengthwise, so he can't back away. With the same hand, grasp head gently with one hand. Pinch jaw with a finger on each side to force mouth open (requires very little pressure).

With your free hand, toss pill down throat as far as possible. Release jaw and stroke throat with fingers to encourage swallowing.

If cat starts looking anxiously left and right, he's probably looking for a place to spit it out. Put your hand in front of his mouth to discourage this and to catch pill if necessary.

If he licks his lips, he swallowed. Feed a meal or a treat. Even a really dumb cat will soon realize that when the pill is gone, the food arrives.

If this fails completely, wrap cat in a bath towel in a way that completely disables all four legs quickly (not as easy as it sounds). Open cat's mouth, insert pill, wait for swallowing, unwrap towel and feed. I had to resort to this with one cat. Within three days, all I had to do was show him the towel and he became very cooperative. LOL

By shoe from NW PA