It may be humorous to think of a pet overreacting to human medication, but be careful how you store your over-the-counter medicines and especially your prescriptions. If your best friend ingests one of your pills, the outcome could become tragic before you even realize what the problem might be.
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I saw a posting on FaceBook this week – a chart listing over-the-counter medications you can give your dog – things like antihistamine, or cough syrup. It listed dosages based on your pet’s weight.
Sounds like a great idea, right? When you’re too busy to take your pet to the vet’s office, just give your pet a little of what you yourself use to treat common ailments.
The chart I saw also contained a warning that you should always ask your veterinarian before giving any human medications to your pet. Some people-meds are safe for dogs, but not for cats. Some are safe for most dogs, but some breeds are more sensitive to certain medications. So what can you give your pet?
Generally you can give a dog small amounts of buffered aspirin to help with pain. But never give your cat aspirin, and don’t give any pet acetaminophen or ibuprofen, which could prove fatal.
Both dogs and cats can take glucosamine chondroitin to help with aching joints, but again, be careful of the dosage.
Most antihistamines are safe for dogs, as long as they don’t contain other ingredients like pain relievers or decongestants which can harm your pet.
If your dog has a cough, you can give it a little cough syrup; again, make sure it does not contain any decongestants or anything else that might pose a threat.
Although cats and dogs may seem to be very similar to us, and may suffer many of the same problems or ailments, their bodies often don’t react to medications the same way ours do. Cats in particular metabolize things differently from us because they lack the necessary proteins to process some of the chemical compounds we commonly use for ourselves.
So, charts can be handy, but check with your veterinarian before treating your pet with any unprescribed medication. A quick phone call could protect your furry friend from the effects of a drug that could do more harm than good, when you’re speaking of pets.
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