Have you ever been given a prescription for your pet only to find out that to get the correct dose, you need to cut a tablet the size of a pea into 16 different pieces? Or have you ever tried giving your pet medication only to have them get all freaked out and try to scratch and bite you and then when you finally get the medication down them, they hide for weeks?
These are just two of many scenarios where prescription compounding can be helpful. With compounding, you are able to get more accurate dosing and also get a form of the medication that makes “med time” less stressful for you and your pet. As we all know, if they don’t take their medication, it doesn’t do them much good. We can even add your pet’s favorite flavor to most dosage forms.
Does your pet take more than one medication? In most cases, we can combine their meds so you only have to give one dose. Sounds too good to be true, but it’s not! I like to compare prescription compounding to baking. Instead of using flour, sugar, eggs, and oil, I use drug powders, gels, and solutions to create my culinary masterpieces.
Just like making a decadent dessert, I start with a recipe that has been specially formulated for your pet’s prescription and also that caters to your pet’s specific tastes. If they prefer a chewy treat, we have gummies. If they like a crunchier biscuit-like treat, there is the Medi-Bite™. If they really have no preference, we can make capsules. Do they like to have their ears rubbed? Try a transdermal gel where the medication soaks in through the skin. Do you want a dosage form that is easy to administer or small enough to hide in some other food? Try an oral liquid or an Animelt™. We even have sterile ophthalmic drops for treating dry eye.
No matter what form you or your pet chooses, you can feel confident that you are getting the best product in the industry. To back this statement up, Drs. Foster and Smith is proud to announce that their compounding lab recently became the first and only veterinary specific compounding lab to be accredited by the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board (PCAB).
What does this mean? It means that our compounding service has met all of the requirements set forth by PCAB so we are held to the same standards, rules, and regulations as a human compounding pharmacy. In a nutshell, no skimping or cutting corners for our furry, feathery, or scaly friends.
Learn More About Prescription Compounding:
How to Order: Please call (800-381-7329, M-F 9-5 CST), or email our pharmacy to discuss your compounding options on the next prescription for your pet or horse. Click here to learn how to get your prescription on file.
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In the past I’ve had to give pills to both cats and dogs. The compounding option sure would make it A LOT easier!!! Great info, especially for people who struggle to give their pet meds every day. I didn’t realize Drs. Foster & Smith was such a full-blown pet pharmacy – you guys are awesome.
This is interesting, but I would imagine that the costs would be pretty astronomical compared to getting my cat’s heart medication at my local ‘people’ pharmacy and using Greenie’s pill pockets.
Thank you Heather for mentioning that. Compounding is more expensive than using manufactured pills and pill pockets and our compounding staff always looks for the most economical way for you to treat your pet. However, unlike many other compounding pharmacies, we are very conscious of this fact and strive to provide medication at a cost which the pet owner can afford. If you compare our prices with those of some of our competitors, you will find that we usually are much more affordable. That doesn’t mean that we have a “cheaper” product. We believe that if you can obtain your pet’s medication at a reasonable cost, that will give you more money for vet visits which are very important for the health of your pet. If you have a particular medication that you would be interested in having compounded, please feel free to give our pharmacy a call and speak with one of our technicians for a price quote. We do not require that you have a prescription on file with us to obtain a price quote. I think that you would be very surprised.
Remember, we offer free shipping on all dog/cat pharmacy and healthcare items.
In my experience giving a cat a pill on a daily basis is more difficult than giving a cat a shot. I’ve had to do both with my cats and the cat was more accepting of the shot and with a shot you know they got the medicine – you never know if the pill was really swallowed. The transdermal gel would be the best idea but it’s not available for all medicines.
My vet prescribed a liquid medication (had to get it at the people pharmacy, as there was no veterinary formula) for LF, but he HATED it. It was mint flavored. I know that because I always ended up wearing quite a bit of it as I tried to get some down him.
I had Drs. Foster & Smith make up a chicken (his favorite food) flavor compounded liquid, and he STILL hated it. After about four months of fighting with him, we decided it wasn’t worth the stress to him (or me for that matter, as I was the one getting bitten and scratched). We gave up on that particular mdicine and just went with the pills, which were still a fight (see my comment on the cat hyperthyroidism post), but not as bad as the liquid. I know it works for lots of other cats, but not LF. If I have another medicine-hating cat that needs a daily dose of anything, I will definitely give compounding another try.
Yes it is very important that you look after your pet/s ,they need just as much attention as a human.I give my pet dogs all the med and pills that they need to keep healthy and fit.