Treats similar to pill pockets

[njg55]

I am always on the lookout for easy ways to sneak medicine into a cat. I bought some Pill Pockets the other day; I couldn't find any in the cat products section of the store, so I got them from the dog section. When I opened the bag, all three of my cats came running. I planned to give them each a treat even though only one treat would contain the pill so that everyone would be happy and no one would snatch away the medicated treat. However, after one sniff, not one of the cats would touch the treats (I ended up letting the dog have them). I then put the small tablet in a gel cap, and covered it with Fancy Feast, which I normally don't feed my cats. Luckily, the cat snarfed it down, but that probably won't always work. Are there other soft treats in which I could enclose a pill? Everything seems to be dry and crunchy.

 

[epona]

I use EasyPill cat putty, Jakey LOVES it, he pesters me if his daily pill treat is even a bit late.
I am in the UK btw.

 

[AbbysMom]

I use meow mix irresistibles. They are a bit harder to “mold” than the pill pockets, but she’ll eat them.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I have had good success with Tomlyn Pill Masker - it is bacon flavored, which my cat loves. Because you can form it around any pill, I use just enough to do so. I also sometimes coat the pill masker/pill in FortiFlora, as I have found the pill masker can 'stick' to the dish/plate.

Vitakraft has a 'Meaty Morsels' that is supposed to be able to be formed around pills, And, Vetoquinol has a paste to do the same. I bought both as back ups in case the Tomlyn Pill Masker 'wears out its welcome'. I had to order all of these online - not normally sold in stores around me.

 

[carebearbaby1]

Mini marshmallows usually work pretty well

 

[Mac and Cats]

I used these for a bit until my cat bit into one and wouldn't touch them ever again. All our cats went nuts for them. We still give them to the kitten as regular treats. If you do get them, just make sure you refrigerate them after opening. I made the mistake of not doing that and they went moldy in a couple days.

 

[mxphs]

Just a question regarding these, won't the cat just end up biting into the pill pocket resulting in an explosion of bitter crunched up pill? I have gabapentin capsules and am looking into these pill pockets but just a bit confused because he'd bite into the treat/capsule and then he'd get a really gross surprise. Or is that not how it tends to go? Do they swallow them whole?

 

[Mac and Cats]

Just a question regarding these, won't the cat just end up biting into the pill pocket resulting in an explosion of bitter crunched up pill? I have gabapentin capsules and am looking into these pill pockets but just a bit confused because he'd bite into the treat/capsule and then he'd get a really gross surprise. Or is that not how it tends to go? Do they swallow them whole?

I'm not sure if you're responding to my post or not, but I would not recommend using them for gabapentin capsules. That's what I was doing when our lady was very mad at me for tricking her after she bit into one. Now she won't willingly eat pill pockets or the churu treats I was giving her. She absolutely bit into it. What I do now is I wrap a very thin layer of pill pocket over the capsule and pop it down her throat. She also takes thyroid meds and I do the same with those. After popping it down her throat, I make sure she eats something afterwards to make sure it doesn't get stuck in her throat. Sometimes this is a tube treat or the Delectable liquid treats or sometimes it is wet food. I only recently saw some information on how harmful it can be to make them swallow pills without having them eat or drink anything afterwards. Some people suggest putting water down their throat after, but I think if I can get them to eat/drink something afterwards that is better and less traumatic.

 

[FeebysOwner]

mxphs - My cat wants to 'chew' everything, including pate foods! So, in order to prevent her from chewing so much I cover the pill with as little as possible of the pill masker or pockets. I don't know the size of your gabapentin, but capsules might not be the way to go. You might do better with a pill that you could even split with a pill cutter, making the portions even smaller.

I have never tried a technique that some use with capsules - there is a video about it, but I will need to look for it unless someone else beats me to it!

EDIT: I think I found it.

 

[daftcat75]

Betty will happily take anything I can pack into a capsule, dip in Hills A/D, and drop on the carpet for her, much like the cat in the video above.

 

[Mac and Cats]

Betty will happily take anything I can pack into a capsule, dip in Hills A/D, and drop on the carpet for her, much like the cat in the video above.

You're lucky! I wish that our cats were that easy! Although, they have gotten use to me pilling them. So, I am also mostly lucky.

 

[daftcat75]

You're lucky! I wish that our cats were that easy! Although, they have gotten use to me pilling them. So, I am also mostly lucky.

It took a lot of practice and a lot of lick and flicks to determine just the right amount of A/D to put on the capsule (a lot less than I would expect.) One of her pills is dried cat poop from healthy donor cats—it’s a fecal microbiome transplant pill. I’ve seen the look of disgust and betrayal on her face when she bit into that one. That must have been instructive. She doesn’t bite her capsules anymore. I am blessed though. She’s up to five capsules in the morning, one at lunch, and four at night. She doesn’t always eat at meds time because those are the margins of her meds effective period. But she always shows up for meds. Never an argument about that anymore. And usually, when the meds kick in, she’s all over her food. So that’s not a worry anymore either.