Hide-and-seek is fun, but not when your pet insists on playing it each time he sees you prepare his daily medications. If you have difficulty administering pills to your dog or cat who receives long-term medications, empty gel capsules may come to the rescue as your Knight in Gelatin Armor.

Many medications such as Tramadol and Doxycycline are very bitter-tasting, so Fido may clench his teeth to avoid having to take his pills, causing quite a hassle. *Cue the drooling!* Gel caps are flavorless and mask the taste of the medication they hold. Simply pull apart the cap and body of the gelatin capsule, insert your medication, and put the two ends together again. Flavored treats such as Greenies™ Pill Pockets, which mold around your pet’s medications, are also useful. However, if your pet does not like these flavored products or if you are trying to reduce your pet’s calorie intake for weight loss purposes, gel caps make a better choice. Gel caps are also helpful if your pet has to swallow several different tablets that are cut in halves or quarters. The small slivers of the cut tablets can be easily inserted inside a single gel cap for single administration. For instance, your cat with heart disease likely receives furosemide (Lasix®), enalapril, and aspirin, which can all easily be placed in a single capsule for less stressful medicating. No more guessing if Fluffy swallowed all of her multiple tiny pill pieces.

Empty gel caps can be purchased in a variety of sizes, from size 5 (being the smallest at 11 mm in length) to size 000 (being the largest at 26 mm long). Sizes 5-3 are typically acceptable for cats, sizes 3-0 for small dogs, and sizes 0-000 for larger dogs. Vegetarian formulations of the capsules are also available if you prefer not to use natural animal-derived gelatin. Empty gel caps can be purchased from a variety of providers, including your local human pharmacy and online. For instance, Amazon.com currently features a bag of 1000 count size 2 empty gel caps for only $13.95 (just a little over a penny per capsule).

Additional tips: 

• Not all tablets should be cut into pieces depending on their chemical composition, so ask your veterinarian if your pet’s medications can be broken into smaller pieces if needed to fit inside a gel cap.
• Following the administration of any tablet or capsule to a cat, you should slowly administer your kitty 3 mL of water by mouth to wash down the medication to prevent it from lodging in the esophagus.

Do yourself and your pet a favor by considering the ease of gel caps for daily medicating needs.

– Maranda Elswick, DVM