Dangerous To Give Pills?

I'm gonna be giving Andapsin (sucralfate) to my cat for 20 days twice a day. Its 1/3 of the pill each time and they're quite big. I've recently read about the possible dangers of giving pills to cats since it can stuck somewhere in their throats and cause a wound, so it was recommended to squirt some water together with the pill into the cat's mouth. But there's also danger of it going to it's lungs and now I'm terrified of giving pills to him. This Andapsin treatment is something that was prescribed to him against vomiting back in winter which I totally missed out on because I misread and thought it was diarrhea treatment. Right now he vomits only maybe once a week or less but I think going through those 20 days of Andapsin might be good for him as it's also preventive. But how about swallowing those pills and is it really dangerous for cats?

I have been giving my cat a pill once every 3 days for over a year. I use "Pill Masker". After you wrap the pill ypu could dip it on water if you wanted but I don't. Never a problem except occasionally he spits it out. I use this technique but I don't wrap him:

After a year he doesn't fight it so much.

Best of luck, hope your baby gets better.

Here's the info on why dry pilling can be harmful: Pilling Cats and Dogs Safely

A Human would never swallow pills down dry. One would always take it with a glass of water or other liquid to help the pill move down the throat into the stomach.
Pets are no different. A pill needs to be either followed up with some food (unless the medicine needs to be given on an empty stomach) or water or by using any number of tricks to get the pill down easily such as Pill Pockets.

A pill won't end up in the lungs unless a pet somehow coughs while swallowing the pill. When swallowing, the trachea is closed off by muscles to keep food and liquids from going into the lungs. Coughing allows the trachea to open. Aspiration of a water chaser is possible, though. Instead of water, you can offer a bit of food to help the pill go into the stomach.

Compounding medicine is an alternative to pills. Many medicines can be compounded into forms like chew treats, transdermal gels, pastes, and liquids. For long term medicines, compounding is ideal to make giving the medicine easier. For a very short course of medicine, it's probably not worth the expense unless the cat is impossible to pill.

It’s true that pills can get stuck in the esophagus. If that happens, they will eventually dissolve and go down to the stomach. The problem is only with a few medications that can irritate the esophageal tissue and cause ulcers. (They don’t cause a problem once they get to the stomach.) Doxycycline is one, I don’t know about sucralfate; you should ask your vet to be sure.

When you flush meds down with water, you want to use several milliliters in a syringe and squirt it into the cat’s cheek. That way it’s less likely to go down the trachea. If it does, it’s just water; it will be coughed up and unlikely to cause a problem.

How does the sucralfate taste? Is there any chance you could give it in food? I had a cat who would eat just about anything in tuna (I had to crush it first); others are more picky. You could try hiding the pill in a bit of cheese (might have to break it into pieces first). If it tastes really bad, you could put it in a gelatin capsule (though that might defeat the purpose in the case of sucralfate).

I have given pills to many cats over 30 years and I have yet to have a major problem. So I’m sure you can do it, too. If you have any more questions, please ask.

Thank you for your answers.
I don't have a syringe so I made a little hole on a bottle cap, filled up the bottle and squeezed it, the stream was thin and not too strong. You guys think its gonna be ok? The pills are supposed to be given an hour before food so I can't hide it in food.
I try not throw the pill into his throat and rather just place in his mouth and then close it and blow on his nose so that he swallows himself. Then I open his mouth again and squirt some water in there. Will that be ok?

I gave pills to my Burt for years. I fried up some cut up bacon, used a tiny piece of Pill Pockets for cats to 'cement' the pill to a small piece of bacon, and he gobbled it right up. Cats don't chew very well when they eat, especially bacon. You could give a piece without the pill first to get him used to the texture, flavor, and hold another piece in front of him when you put down the doctored piece. It makes them hurry and not notice the pill. I have also mashed them into pieces of cheese that works well too. You could break the third of the pill into a little smaller piece too to make them not so noticable. I had a cat that was absolutely impossible to pill once, even the vet couldn't do it. I had to get liquid forms of medication, hoist his front legs off the ground by the loose skin on the back of his neck,which quieted him immediately, and put the medication in the side of his mouth with a dropper. Believe me, it was the ONLY way to give meds without bleeding profusely from the struggle, he even defeated THREE grown men trying to hold him!

di and bob
My cat doesn't have a problem with taking a pill, its just that I only now found out about the dangers of swallowing a dry pill. I hope that I'm doing it correctly with a tiny hole on a water battle cap and squeezing some water into his mouth.
The pills I'm giving cannot be given with food, only on empty stomach

I would recommend you go to the pharmacy and get a syringe. They might not even charge you for it. Mine give them away when needed for medication. I would hesitate to squirt water into your cats mouth with a water bottle, unless you don't mind a big mess on your hands. The water should be squirted in small amounts into the cheek (side of the mouth), leaving time for your cat to swallow after every little squirt. Using a water bottle might cause too much to squirt in and it would be very uncomfortable for your cat to have it's cheeks smushed up to accommodate the bottle cap size so that the water even goes in the mouth and not right back out again, essentially squirting her in the face. You never want to give cat water from the front of the mouth and squirt back, as that is how aspiration can/will occur.

Although you can't give the pill with food, what about providing kitty with tuna water from a can of tuna. One can of tuna water diluted a bit would last a few pill doses. Just refrigerate what you don't use. When it comes time to pill again, take the portion of tuna water you need out and let it warm to room temperature. My cats always drank tuna water without incident, it was a huge treat for them. And then you won't have to worry about syringing her.

Jem you were right, the syringe was for free at the pharmacy, just got it! I'm a bit afraid giving even tuna water, the medicine is against gastritis, so best if it comes with only a bit of water I think...

Musiaka said:

... This Andapsin treatment is something that was prescribed to him against vomiting back in winter which I totally missed out on because I misread and thought it was diarrhea treatment. Right now he vomits only maybe once a week or less but I think going through those 20 days of Andapsin might be good for him as it's also preventive. ...

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Hi Musiaka ! I would just doublecheck again with your vet on how best to give this medicine, since it was prescribed last winter. I don't have experience with the brand name Andapsin as a type of sucralfate (you're in Sweden, right?), but I did give Carafate/ sucralfate to my last cat in 2005 for some stomach ulcers and I learned that doing an oral suspension in water, using a syringe, was the best way to give her the sucralfate.
(I mention it in this older thread,
When Do You Know It's Time? )

If sucralfate is not dissolved, it really cannot do its job in making that protective coating for the stomach lining or other GI linings. Crushing it can help it dissolve a bit better if no water is used, but that is hard to get the cat to "take" the pill in that form (especially since sucralfate has to be given on an empty stomach in order to work -- you cannot really sprinkle it on food as a result). I always usually put the pill dosage in a certain ml amount of water, got it dissolved by stirring or slightly shaking it, then gently syringed it into my previous kitty's mouth. It did help her a lot, and the ulcers got better!

But I am not a vet and also have no idea how andapsin is meant to be given or how it works (versus the carafate I used) so do call your vet! That's what I'd recommend, just to be sure!

I was trying to give you an alternative method. Just make sure teh syringe, etc. is squeezed into the cheek, it is easy to aspirate water into the lungs when water is forced into the mouth.

what a mess. I talked to the vet on phone and she said its good to dissolve the pill and spray it with the syringe, but it makes it so difficult! One thing, a lot of the pill gets stuck in the syringe, other thing - Musiaka is acting crazy and not wanting to take it (way worse than with a pill...), he is spitting out a lot and salivating, must be disgusting taste for him. And it got eeeverywhere. I don't know how to do it (

Maybe I should stick to putting the pill into his mouth and then spraying some water after he swallows? :/

And now he also threw up... Which he didn't do the whole week.

Musiaka said:

And now he also threw up... Which he didn't do the whole week.

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I think if a cat tastes any terrible tasting medicine, there’s a good chance he’ll throw it back up. If dissolving in water isnt working go back to pilling him as before and giving a small amount of water after.

daftcat75 yes, I will go back to doing that... He seemed to think the taste was horrible trying to move his head away with all his might and later on salivating all over the place, and then throwing up that orange tinted liquid (since he also had to be with empty stomach for a while)

Poor baby! That medicine must be nasty. Yes, definitely go back to giving the pill in one piece, then following it with water from a syringe.

A little bit of a Pill Pocket or something to hide the pill wouldn't hurt. You just don't want a tummy of food when the medicine is given. Ask the vet first, though.

I don't know, something just isn't right. When I was giving Pepcid there were no such problems, but with this one he caughes now also, the pill itself is so dissolvable, it starts crumbling at first contact with anything wet, so maybe the powder pieces gets stuck in his throat and he caughes. There are no capsules for Andapsin and even if there weren't would probably be too huge for him with no way of diving. And the vet said no food at all together with it, has to be a completely empty stomach for the pill to coat everything there.
Feeling out of options at this point

The first time I gave the pill was the least problematic - it was before I read I should spray water into his throat and I did that way after giving the pill. The second time was dissolved into water - horrible. Today was pill and water right after and it doesn't seem to be good either - some caughing and visible irritation in his throat (the type of wheezing/caughing happens also when he swallows a whole grass piece)