Questions tagged [medicines]
Regards concerns about pet medication, including prescribed, over-the-counter and homeopathic treatments.
209
questions
42
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8answers
6k views
How do I give a cat a pill?
The problem of pilling a cat is well-understood, but I've found its solution to be evasive. I understand that in principle I should be able to open the cat's mouth, toss a pill in (or use my finger ...
29
votes
7answers
4k views
I can't afford vet treatment, what are my options?
My pet is sick/injured, and I am afraid the vet bill for treatment will be more than I can afford.
How can I access free/low cost sources of veterinary assistance?
This a general question per the ...
21
votes
3answers
2k views
Can I use human medicine on dogs?
Sometimes our doctor advises us to use to use human medicines for our dogs. For example, when my sister's Labrador was small, the doctor advised us to administer children's syrup for stomach disorder. ...
18
votes
7answers
41k views
How do I help my cat tolerate a bad-tasting liquid medicine?
My cat is currently on Atopica, which comes as a liquid. Apparently this medicine tastes awful, based on his reaction to it. Mixing it into food or tuna juice does not help; he rejects the entire ...
17
votes
3answers
315 views
What will help an aging dog with arthritis?
I've got a black lab going on 12 yrs. She seems to enjoy her walks and can still run, but in the mornings she seems particularly stiff and can sometimes stumble or walk with a limp. She's having a ...
11
votes
3answers
170 views
Alternative seasonal allergy treatments for dogs
I have a 12-year-old pug who suffers from seasonal allergies, mostly skin issues.
Every September and May (sometimes extending into October and June), he ends up scratching himself to death. Once it ...
11
votes
2answers
163 views
How can I medicate my big, strong cat when I can't get down on the floor?
Stardust hiding in the closet. 18 pounds, 14 years old, very strong. I am 71 and have bad knees. I know what to do to give her pills and liquids but can't get down on the floor without pain. She ...
10
votes
6answers
6k views
How do I give a cat *with a cone* liquid medication, by myself?
My cat just got spayed. She has a head cone on. She has fresh sutures on her belly. She is a fighter, and she is clearly mad about this whole thing. I have to give her 1cc of antibiotics (amoxicillin) ...
9
votes
5answers
5k views
Is there a way to safely tranquilize my cat, so he does not remember a vet visit?
Are there different safe forms of cat sedation for vet exam/visit and travel?
My cat is 13 and has not been to a vet or held by any human in 11 years. We found him (just a baby) crying in a bush, took ...
9
votes
2answers
2k views
Semi-feral cat broke a tooth. Should I give her aspirin?
There is a semi-feral cat that lives, by all indications happily, in my yard. I feed her mainly dry food and sometimes treats. Today I went to get the food bowl and there was blood on the rim and then ...
9
votes
2answers
4k views
How do I give my cat her medication without scaring her?
I have a 4 month old cat / kitten that comes from a shelter.
She is afraid of both my girlfriend and me and still hides in corners after 2 weeks of being here.
She needs eyedrops and medications, ...
9
votes
5answers
39k views
Canine insulin injection -- what am I doing wrong?
My dog was recently diagnosed with diabetes, so I have been giving her twice-daily insulin injections for the past 10 days. I've watched my vet do it, I've watched dozens of YouTube videos, and I've ...
9
votes
4answers
10k views
How important is the insulin injection spot on a dog?
As I explained in this question, my dog is newly diagnosed with diabetes, and I'm having problems giving her the daily insulin injections without causing her pain and stress.
I initially gave the ...
9
votes
2answers
14k views
How should I schedule application of flea preventative against bathing?
I apply a flea / tick / mosquito preventative (SimpleGuard) to the back of my dog on the first of every month. I have to assume bathing my dog will affect the effectiveness of any applied ...
9
votes
2answers
1k views
Does L-Lysine supplementation help cats with feline herpes?
My cat has chronic congestion and sneezing (aka feline viral rhinopneumonitis (FVR) or feline herpesvirus type 1 (FHV-1)). During a recent flareup (the congestion worsened so that he stopped eating) ...
8
votes
5answers
26k views
How do I give my cat oral (liquid) medicine?
So, long story shortish, I recently ended up as the reluctant owner of a slightly used cat. He's 3 or 4 years old, and did have an owner at some point, but ran away, ended up in a cat shelter, where ...
8
votes
2answers
17k views
How long do subcutaneous fluids (lactated ringers) keep?
I had a cat with kidney disease who I treated with subcutaneous fluids (latated ringers) for the last few years of his life. I had bought a new case of one-liter bags not long before he died. I hope ...
8
votes
2answers
1k views
Where on a cat should one inject insulin?
I've taken care of two diabetic cats (for different friends). One told me to inject the insulin in the fleshy part of a rear leg; the other told me to inject in or near the scruff of the neck (the ...
8
votes
4answers
14k views
How to give aspirin to a rabbit?
I have an 11 year old rabbit that seems to be in discomfort from arthritis and age related issues. He lives with a younger rabbit, and to keep the old rabbit in the area that is appropriate for a ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
Is Cerenia (maropitant) safe for my cat?
My veterinarian prescribed my cat Cerenia, a drug to help with vomiting (antiemetic). However, the instructions included with the medicine say that it is "for oral use with dogs only."
Is it ...
7
votes
2answers
535 views
Can a new cat owner, with no experience handling animals, be expected to successfully restrain a cat using a towel?
I need to give my cat ear medicine because he previously had ear mites (before adoption, he was a stray), and his eye medicine because he has herpes induced conjunctivitis, which isn't serious yet, ...
7
votes
3answers
3k views
Cat Crohn's Disease - What can he eat?
My cat has Crohn's disease, which basically means he throws up from almost anything. The only treatment we currently have is giving him daily doses of steroids and antiallergenic food, but this just ...
7
votes
2answers
250 views
My elderly cat is an expert at not taking pills
So, I have an elderly cat (14-year-old Russian blue). As he is getting advanced in years he is having more and more medical problems and needs to take a course of pills once a year or so for one thing ...
7
votes
1answer
5k views
Emergency treatment for puppy with a punctured lung
If a puppy has a punctured lung, is there anything I can do to keep it alive until we reach the vet?
Because external injuries can be treated by taking the puppy to doctor, but when adult dogs make a ...
7
votes
3answers
10k views
Does medicating an entire tank harm healthy fish?
I have a female guppy, that's been through a lot of stress over the past year. She's moved from my friend's overcrowded, unclear green algae tank to mine, has had babies 4 times, has had internal ...
7
votes
2answers
3k views
Is there a way to repair apple snail shell damage?
My snails have damage on their shells. I think they had a calcium deficiency, and ate each other's shells to make up for it. I've changed their diet, and things seem to be getting better. Now I'm ...
7
votes
2answers
192 views
How can I treat mosquito allergy in cats?
I have two cats who have an allergy to mosquitoes. It creates scab-like sores on their noses and ears that bleed easily.
The vet gave me this stuff called Ovitrol to put on their heads with a cotton ...
7
votes
1answer
149 views
Dog behavioural changes on gabapentin
Has anyone got dogs taking gabapentin, particularly for back pain, who have noticed any behavioural changes? My 12 year old Canaan dog has been on gabapentin for a few months now for spondylitis (...
6
votes
8answers
8k views
Is there a safe dose of vitamin D to give a cat?
I know that too much vitamin D (fat soluble) can cause toxicity in cats, but how much is too much?
The reason I asked this is - When I open my vitamin D bottle, because I take it, my kitty goes "...
6
votes
5answers
3k views
I'm having trouble giving my cat liquid meds with a syringe
Somebody said it was fine to put the liquid on the fur around the cat's mouth and she will lick it off. I don't think that's ok. Our vet tried to mix with the medicine with canned food.
I just want ...
6
votes
2answers
91 views
Can my FeLV-immune cat help FeLV research?
Three years ago, I saved a cat and her six kittens from basically a crack den. A few months later, one kitten very suddenly got ill and died. Her sister got ill afterwards, but that vet found FeLV and ...
6
votes
2answers
13k views
Can I use expired subcutaneous fluids (lactated ringers) on my cat?
I use lactated ringers to deliver fluids subcutaneously on my cat with kidney disease. I noticed today that one of the bags' expiration date has already passed.
Is it safe to use? What are the risks/...
6
votes
1answer
56 views
What OTC vitamins or supplements that people take are toxic to cats?
Over the counter (OTC) vitamins and supplements are taken by a lot of people. Of the ones commonly available, which are toxic to cats in standard human doses?
For the sake of this question, assume the ...
6
votes
1answer
2k views
How to treat a torn iguana toe nail?
Today when I picked up my iguana I noticed that his nail is almost off his toe but still attached, and there's blood on it, and the toe might be broken because I noticed that he keeps his hands off ...
6
votes
1answer
18k views
How accurate does the 30 day span when applying revolution flea treatment need to be?
We treat our house rabbits with Revolution flea and tick treatment the directions say to reapply every 30 days.
Life happens and sometime exactly 30 days just does not work, If you use "monthly" ...
5
votes
2answers
238 views
Discharge from single nostril on feline
One of my cat's nostrils runs constantly. The discharge often hardens and blocks it, but is not causing her to sneeze or cough. She is 15 years old and we've lived in the same place for a few years ...
5
votes
2answers
314 views
My cat will get mad at me for hours after getting medicine. How do I keep our relationship happy?
My senior cat has a chronic illness and needs to take a liquid medicine for the rest of her life to keep her healthy. While she's still largely happy and energetic now, if she doesn't get this ...
5
votes
3answers
3k views
Should I get my baby cottontail rabbit who is extremely domesticated neutered?
I know it is very risky to get a rabbit neutered. My baby is wild but acts very domesticated. He has his own bedroom and it is right next to my bedroom. He gets loads of attention and lots of ...
5
votes
1answer
464 views
Using pill capsules to give cat Atopica?
I've read about people using empty pill capsules to give cats Atopica. Our cat needs to take .35ml of it. Just wondering what size pill capsules people are using?
5
votes
1answer
121 views
Should oral or subcutaneous medications be given first?
I have a pet who has been prescribed twice daily oral medications and twice daily subcutaneous (sub-Q) fluids (40cc). He kind of likes (or at least does not hate) the taste of the medications.
...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
How to do an 8-hour road trip with a husky puppy?
I will be travelling with a female Siberian Husky puppy in about a month from now, and by then my pup would've been 21/2 months old. I'm a bit uncertain on how I'm going to do this; I've crawled the ...
4
votes
4answers
2k views
Can I give my cat human medicine?
Is it safe for me to use human medicine on my cat?
Are there occasions where it is OK to give my cat human medications?
4
votes
7answers
3k views
How to feed oral medication?
My (8 month old) puppy is currently on antibiotics (amoxicillin), specifically 250mg Noroclav twice daily. I've tried:
putting it in her food (she just eats around it);
crushing it into powder and ...
4
votes
1answer
661 views
How can I prevent cutting my dog when clipping his nails?
After reading Is styptic powder OK to use after it gets damp? , I wondered why people would use such a product. For some animals there may be health conditions that would cause nails to bleed when ...
4
votes
2answers
137 views
What to do with a constipated cat?
My cat is constipated and it's giving her hard time in the litter box. Her stomach is hard, but not at an exaggerating point. She had this issue before when she was a little kitten so I used to give ...
4
votes
2answers
5k views
Does Revolution kill ticks?
We have been using Revolution on our house rabbits for years, and I always assumed it killed ticks as well. Recently, someone told me it is not effective against ticks.
I know it effective against a ...
4
votes
2answers
207 views
How to treat a 20 year old cat with pancreatitis?
The vet said my 20 year old cat has pancreatitis and possibly parasites. Would you give her an antibiotic? How would you treat her?
ALT. (sgpt). 112
BUN. 51
Precision psl. 42
Lymphocytes. 954
...
4
votes
2answers
93 views
Ear infection remedies
I just adopted a 3 year old pitbull. We took it to the vet and they said it has an ear infection, but I assume the ear infection is probably deeper in the ear as I cannot see it in the visible areas. ...
4
votes
2answers
935 views
How do I apply ear medicine to my dog's ears?
Our dog is a little breed (boston terrier), 12 weeks old.
She has been diagnosed with ear infection, and prescribed an ear medicine, witch has to be applied directly in the ear, twice a day.
First ...
4
votes
1answer
3k views
Should I treat inflamed gums with benadryl?
His gums are very red and inflamed, especially in front.. The pic doesn't do it justice. He hasn't had any diet changes lately (we changed his food about 2 weeks ago) and TO MY KNOWLEDGE he didn't ...
