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Common Meds Pet Owners May Encounter

29 11:55:20

Common Meds Pet Owners May Encounter






     Caring for a pet can be one of life抯 most rewarding experiences. If you put in the right amount of love, care and affection, then your pet will surely return it twofold. More often than not, you will get a lot more than you put in.

Pets are great. They are there when you come home. They are not judgmental. They will always listen and they can抰 exactly talk back. But caring for your pet also requires a whole lot of effort on your part.

Your pet is not a person, but that doesn抰 mean they don抰 need plenty of attention. You have to make sure you keep them on a healthy diet, get them plenty of exercise, and don抰 leave them cooped up in the house all day.

Even if you do everything right, however, your pet can still get sick. Nothing can make a pet owner feel worse than seeing their beloved pet in pain. Luckily, veterinary science has advanced to the point where, in many cases, there is a cure for what ails your hurting animal. Here are a few examples of common medications that you may encounter when your pet is sick.

Bones and Joints

Just like human beings, your pets can experience problems in their bones and their joints. Part of the reason for many joint problems with pets is over-bLeeing. A purebred dog might look beautiful, but oftentimes a mutt from the pound will be healthier. They will certainly be more grateful.

But even pound puppies have joint problems sometimes. Still, the best way to treat joint problems is to prevent them from happening in the first place. Cosequin DS is a supplement that has been proven in controlled studies to help maintain joint health.

Cosequin is made from a combination of chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine, and manganese ascorbate. It is available in chewable form for either cats or dogs.

But if your pet already suffers from joint problems due to osteoarthritis or pain following surgery, they may need to be prescribed an anti-inflammatory drug. Rimadyl is a common non-steroid pill that will reduce pain and inflammation for dogs.

Talk to your vet if you see your pet limping or if they appear to be unusually stiff. They could be experiencing the wear and tear on their joints that causes osteoarthritis. Pills like Rimadyl won抰 cure the problem, but they will help your pet deal with the pain. Talk to your vet before putting your pet on any prescription or supplement regiment.

Heartworm

If you are concerned about your pet contracting heartworm disease, then you should first and foremost take them in for a test at your vet. After that, your vet may prescribe a preventative heartworm pill.

Heartguard Plus is an anti-parasite drug that destroys heartworm larvae in the tissue stage. It will also control ascarids and hookworms. This medicine is chewable and can be given with or without food. You might have to break the pills up a little bit and sneak them into treats for it to work effectively.

For cats, there are also heartworm medications, and they even come in topical form. Advantage Multi Topical Solution for Cats will help to prevent heartworm disease and also helps to prevent flea infestations, ear mites, and intestinal parasites.

To apply this solution you just rub it in between your cat抯 shoulder blades every thirty days or so. Your cat should be older than eight weeks before you start treating them with this solution. There are versions of this drug for dogs as well. Make sure that you use the cat version on cats and the dog version on dogs. This is very, very important to remember. You don抰 want to make things worse. Talk to your vet to see if there are any other considerations to bear in mind.

Other Medications

Of course, there is a whole world of other potential medications your pet could be put on. Many pets in this day and age suffer from separation anxiety. Clomipramine is a pill that can help to chill your pet out if they are spending all day fretting around the house when you are gone.

But if you are going to put your pet on anti-anxiety medication, it should also be in combination with other, more proactive steps. Your pet may be freaking out all day because she is lonely. Consider hiring a dog-walker to come in and take her out for even just a half hour while you are at work. Combined with a prescription like Clomipramine, this could drastically improve your animal抯 mental health.

Worrying for a sick pet can be almost as bad as worrying for a sick child. It is important that when you first see signs of sickness in your pet that you take them to the vet as soon as possible. When you get there, ask lots of questions and make sure you listen to all the suggestions the vet has to offer. Then you will be well on your way to having a happy and healthy animal in your life once again.