We have a cat with a growth on his Thyroid. and our options are pills for the rest of his life, or radiation therapy, or surgery.

The cheapest and best longterm option is the radiation, which is 95% successful. The operation is more expensive, and dicey at best. The pill are more expensive, taken over a two-year period, and that cat would be impossible to dose on a regular basis. Totally intolerant of ANY messing about.

Our vet's method of dosing: Cat at working height, pill in thumb and forefinger, grasp the cat's skull from above, hand over ears and eyes, twist the skull up, open lower jaw with second fingernail of the 'pill' hand on the front teeth, drop the pill into throat and push to the back of the throat with forefinger, allow jaw to close, but maintaining head position, stroke throat and neck until the cat licks its nose. The cat can get you with its dewclaws, so a holder may be neccessary.
I've also dosed a stray I couldn't get near by making a pill parcel of schnitzel meat and cotton thread. Food, medicine and roughage all in one.