Any advice on giving an easily scared and deaf cat tablets?

I'm house/pet sitting for my auntie and her cat (Ceefer) needs daily tablets. She's always been scared of people and will only really let my auntie near her. This has gotten worse since she recently became deaf. I was lightly mauled by her today and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how I could make this process a bit easier.

I've got 3 cats of my own so I'm used to the usual fight a cat can put up when taking a tablet but she gets so scared I can hardly hold her. She eats around it if it's hidden in food and I've tried putting a small towel over front paws.

Any suggestions would be really helpful as I'm not looking forward to tomorrow's tablet, thanks!