Training to Accept Pills, The Feline Purrspective

Cats have a reputation of being difficult to work with, particularly when it comes to giving medications. Some cats will take medication using treats but what about those cats who don’t care about treats?

Did you know that the right touch can relax your cat? Is it easier to medicate a relaxed cat?

the right touch can relax your cat

Recently, I watched an older cat – we’ll call her Bella – while the owner was away. Bella is an older female cat with diabetes, high blood pressure, and chronic rhinitis. She needs two insulin injections a day, oral blood pressure medication, oral allergy pills and nose drops. The owner gave the oral medications in capsules using a pill gun.

Giving the injections did not present an issue but oral medications were challenging. Bella has a reduced sense of smell due to her congestion so pills in treats were not appealing to her. The standard way of giving a pill by tilting her head back and trying to drop/slide the pill down resulted in Bella struggling and scratching me as she tried to get her paws up to keep that pill from going into her mouth. It took several tries to get the capsules into her.

Having been a veterinary technician in a cat hospital for over 10 years, my first thoughts were that I would need to towel wrap Bella to control her paws and then give the medication. I even briefly considered an old cat bag (no, no, no…) that I had used once or twice in the past.

Then, it struck me – if I could get Bella to relax and be calm, giving the medication should be much easier. I had been working with my cats trying to teach them to identify a state of calmness and it had helped my youngest cat manage arousal. Miso would get so aroused from petting that he would bite! Now I give him a verbal cue to be calm, coupled occasionally with some shoulder and back massage (see below), and it works!

what kind of Touch is relaxing?

Cats of the same social group greet each other by touching noses or rubbing against each other; some also twine their tails together while rubbing against each other. Some affiliated cats groom each other. These touches release pheromones which are thought to activate the “feel-good” neurotransmitters, oxytocin and dopamine (Reference 1).

Studies conducted at the California Institute of Technology on mice found that there are specific neurons that respond to stroking. These neurons can be activated by gentle but firm stroking (Reference 2). Deeper compressive touches like those used in massage therapy are also found to be calming (Reference 3). Both types of touch can relax your cat.

With cats, I start with some long, firm strokes of the upper spine, stopping at the end of the rib cage. I follow with gentle circular motions on the shoulders, then firm compressive touch of the muscles along the upper spine (for more detail, see “Touch can Relax Your Cat and Reduce Anxiety” ).

success – the right touch can relax your cat!

Using this massage, Bella willingly laid down on her side. I was able to trim front nails and give medication with the pill gun. I followed each procedure with some more touch/massage.

In the following pilling trials, I added Churu paste on the pill gun tip to help lube the capsules for easier swallowing. Again, I started with massage before offering the capsules and ended with massage after giving the capsules.

After a few trials with the Churu being used as lubricant, Bella wanted more of the treat and we progressed to having her lick the treat off the pill gun, then sliding the pill gun in from the side as she swallowed the capsule. As before, I sandwiched procedures between sessions of touch/massage.

The net result was a cat that would come over and lay down for her capsules after three trials – no fighting, no defensive front paws. So, much easier.

When I had take care of Bella in the past, I had tried to use brushing as a reward. Using the right touch to relax her before medicating, was much more effective.

The right touch can relax your cat. Teaching your cat to relax on a mat or blanket has so many benefits. It can make giving medications, trimming claws or even shaving mats so much easier. And it also gives you and your cat time to relax together.

references

Michael Gliksberg, Gil Levkowitz, Smells Familiar: Pheromone-Induced Neurotransmitter Switching Mediates Social Discrimination, Neuron,Volume 95, Issue 6, 2017, Pages 1229-1231, ISSN 0896-6273,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2017.08.044.
Vrontou, S., Wong, A., Rau, K. et al. Genetic identification of C fibres that detect massage-like stroking of hairy skin in vivo. Nature 493, 669–673 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11810
Leah J. Elias, Ishmail Abdus-Saboor, Bridging skin, brain, and behavior to understand pleasurable social touch,Current Opinion in Neurobiology, Volume 73, 2022, 102527,ISSN 0959-4388, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2022.102527.
Bradshaw, J. and Ellis, S. The Trainable Cat, pp 78-82, ©2016 Basic Books, New York.

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The easiest way to avoid the drama of giving your cat pills is to train your cat to accept medication. Establishing a daily “treat time” can be fun and rewarding for your cat. The idea here is to get your cat accustomed to accepting “fake pills” – treats that are wrapped in pill pockets, cheese, or liverwurst. When your cat needs medication, she is already used to accepting treat-wrapped things.

Getting Ready

choose the place and the time – try to go to the same place every day around the same time.
cats don’t tell time, so pay attention the household routine – maybe treat time should be after dinner time or before bed time.
Have everything ready when giving the “pill”. Have a chair or stool nearby to park treats and “prepared” pills on. If you are giving a capsule, have some butter to lubricate the capsule.

You may want to train your cat to a particular mat or blanket that is used just for treat time!

Method 1 – Starting from Scratch

Lure your cat onto the mat or blanket using treats or a toy.
Once on the mat, reward with several treats and head rubs.
Work up to having your cat accept a “blank” pill in the stream of treats.
The next step is make a “fake” pill – break a treat into small pieces. Wrap one of these pieces in the pill treat, cheese, or liverwurst.
Put the doctored treat in the stream of the treats.

Method 2 – Using Previously Trained Behaviors

If you have trained your cat to target and sit, it is easier to train your cat to accept medication.

Using your target stick (or chopstick or laser pointer), direct your cat to the “pilling” spot and reward her with a treat.
Ask your cat to sit and again offer a treat.
Offer your cat the “blank” pill followed by a treat
Work up to offering the fake pill.
End session with the all done signal and another treat.

Method 3 – Train Your cat to Accept Medication Using a Pet Piller

I find the piller particularly useful when you are faced with giving a capsule.

Start by offering a treat on the piller – you can start with having your cat lick some baby food or pureed treat off the piller. This will get him used to having the piller in and around his mouth.
Offer hard treats using the piller; work up to using the plunger to put the treat in your cat’s mouth.
Accustom your cat to getting the treats off the piller with you behind him.
Give a stream of treats with the “fake” pill in it.
End the session with a reward and the all done signal.

Something to consider: If the medication you need to give is bitter, putting it in a capsule lubricated with some butter or petroleum jelly avoids risking your cat biting into a bitter pill.

It is a good idea to have your cat get used to you being behind him when offering the treat on the piller. This gives you more control when offering the pill and kitty will be more focused on the treat than on you giving the pill.

The Right Touch Can Relax Your Cat