Pet Meds???

[naughtoj]

Can you buy pet medications online without a prescription?? My sister was telling me this and I figured it sure would be a lot easier when my cat gets her gooey eye a couple of times per year.

Plus, now that I am caring for a cat with a severe URI going on, there is a risk my housecat will get it. They are in seperate rooms, but he sure is sick, sneezing and snorting away! I have been washing my hands before contact, but not my clothes and I just read online that that was a big mistake! I wish he were friendlier, he just isn't! You can tell he HATES the high life. I sure hope he gets better soon. He is eating like he was absolutely starving to death, but he still looks like he is at deaths door. I will be so happy when he gets better, but I hope it is soon. With school and all I can't really sit next to him around the clock. My heart sinks though when I think I will have to let him out again into the neighborhood where he is just likely to get the same thing over again. I wish my kitty was more compatible with others!!x(

 

[swimnfit]

Hi Janice!

Just speaking from limited experience here...but I believe certain meds you can buy without a prescription. I know I buy Advantix online without one, but I've tried to buy antibiotics without success. However, I believe the rule (at least in CA) is that the vet can give a prescription and you are under no obligation to buy it from them. At my vet's office there is a sign expressly stating such policy. So, I guess I would ask your vet. Check the prices and see if it saves you money. Plus, if you go to the websites to buy, it will tell you if a script is necessary. PetMeds come to mind...their commercials are all over the TV!

Good Luck. Let us know how kitty is doing.

Nicole

 

[bestoutwest]

Janice,

You do need a prescription to purchase most meds online. Topical meds like Advantage and Frontline, I believe can be purchased without an Rx. What usually happens is that when you order the meds online, PetMeds (or whatever company you choose) will fax a prescription authorization to the vet, who then must sign it and fax it back. We have a few clients that use online pharmacies for heartworm meds, etc., but for the most part, we dispense antibiotics and things, because we want them started right away. Also, most veterinarians won't authorize a prescription without a valid client/patient/doctor relationship, which requires at least a once-a-year exam (at least that's our policy).

Anyway, HTH and hope the kitty is feeling better soon!!

 

[naughtoj]

Thanks for the info!

Edie....it is frustrating sometimes because it can be so difficult to get my cat to the vet. Oftentimes, I know that "gooey eye" when I see it and know what the protocol is going to be. But then, when I ask my vet if I can just get a prescription, they act like there is no way to accomodate me without actually seeing my pet. I don't understand why I have to keep bringing the animal in if it is a repeated infection/condition and I am a regular at my vet's office????

And I mean, it is soooooo difficult to move these cats around, to even get them in carriers!!x(

Oh well. The one I am taking care of now is starting to perk enough out of his sickness that he is now wailing to get out. Hard to keep an outdoor cat in...

 

[kathryn]

Janice,
I'm glad to see that your waif kitty is away from death's door!

He may not show it, but I'm sure he would appreciate what you're doing if he understood better.

As for prescription pet meds without a prescription. I'm not sure about that. But I do know that there are some farm supply stores where you can get animal meds that are often under prescription, but that they sell without the prescription.

(Did you by chance get Tuxedo cat neutered? I'm sure those cajones of his are motivating that howling to get out. Isn't he spraying the heck out of the room you have him in? Unneutered males are so unpleasant, even if they don't mean to be!)

 

[naughtoj]

No Kathryn. They wouldn't give him his vaccines either. They said he was too sick to have anything else done right now. I would love to keep him in until he is well enough to get his you know whats cut off but he is likely to become unmanageable. And........I am still trying to keep him a secret from Goober, my inside cat (she KNOWS something is up!) Not to mention, washing my hands before I go in, before I pet her, after I pet the outside cat we think has ear mites....oh lordie...how I get myself into these messes I'll never know.......

But.......I think I am going to invest in a trap and then get him sometime after I let him out, cuz I think I also have to fix the other one that is outside, he's got gazongas too. I suppose, by some miracle, he would grow to really love this confinement in one week and want to stay in (wouldn't that be a hoot!!) I slept in the office with him lastnight and he seemed a bit more calm because of that! My husband is LOVIN' IT!!!!;-)

 

[bestoutwest]

Janice,

I know it can be frustrating dealing with veterinary offices!! Believe me, we get frustrated clients every day!! If your cat's problem is the same and is always treated the same, if you were a client of mine, I would Rx meds as long as I had seen the kitty in the past year. Sometimes eye problems can be much more serious than originally thought, so I think this is why many veterinarians won't prescribe meds without seeing them. Sorry for your frustrations, but they probably think they are truly doing the right thing for the kitty! (I rarely bring my own cats to the office! I usually just take meds and vaccines home to them!! I realize this is cheating, but I also realize how difficult it is get cats to the office!)

Glad to hear the other kitty is feeling better!