The Advantages Of Chewable Medicines For Your Pets
As a pet owner, you want to provide your pet with the best possible life: happy, healthy, and comfortable. This includes administering the appropriate medications as directed by your veterinarian, particularly when they are ill or in pain.
In some cases, medication may only be required for a limited time. However, our pets may suffer from chronic medical conditions and require daily medications.
If your dog or cat does not take medication well, or if you are uncomfortable administering it, this daily task can be stressful for both of you. Chewable medications can be extremely useful in this situation.
All About Chewable Medications for Dogs and Cats
Chewable medications may be an alternative to film-coated tablets and liquids. While chewable medications cannot treat or manage all medical conditions, they can help administer medications to some pets. This is because chewable medications are packaged in the form of a treat.
Some benefits of chewable medications include:
Ease of administration - Many pets will gladly accept a treat, which is what some pets believe a chewable medication is. When a medication is easier to administer, you can be confident that your pet is receiving the full dose each time and that no doses will be missed.
Less time-consuming for you - You will save time by not having to manually pill your pet or hide medication in food. You can quickly and easily confirm that your pet has taken the medication. Even better, you don't have to waste time trying to re-pill them if they won't take a standard tablet.
Saving money - You don't need to buy special treats or extra food to conceal pills anymore. You won't have to worry about your pet developing an aversion to a particular food or treat. If your pet tastes the medication in a food or treat and then refuses to eat it again, you may need to switch to a different diet or treat.
Less stress - This is simple: when your pet is eager to take their medication, it reduces stress throughout the day for both you and them.
Improving your bond - When you make medicating your pet a pleasant experience, you strengthen your bond with him or her. It also allows you to resume your regular activities more quickly, which is something everyone wants.
Better compliance - When your pet eagerly takes their medication, you are more likely to administer it as directed. That translates into a healthier, happier pet, as well as a happier vet and you in the long run.
Challenges with Traditional Medication Administration
For some pet owners, the fear of injuring their pet if they have to force medication into their pet's mouth is extremely stressful. Other owners want to avoid severing their bond with their pet at all costs.
Administering conventional tablets can be time-consuming and challenging. You may have to conceal or disguise the medication in various foods or treats. You may have a cat or dog who is an expert at spitting out the pill or eating everything but the pill! Some pets will not spit out the medicine right in front of you - You might find it in another location later. You may also need to repeat this process frequently if your pet receives one medication multiple times per day or is taking multiple medications at the same time.
Liquid medications present unique challenges because they cannot be hidden in a treat or easily disguised in a capsule or slurry. Some pets will drool and spit out some of the medication, so you won't know if they got the entire dose. As a result, much of the liquid medication is wasted, and your pet may be undermedicated. This is a major issue because not properly medicating your pet makes it take longer to relieve their symptoms and treat their underlying health condition.
Conventional tablets prescribed by veterinarians pose additional challenges for some pet owners. In fact, a survey of dog owners who had to give daily skin allergy medication revealed:
65% previously had trouble giving their pet a tablet1.
25% felt stressed or unhappy about the difficulties they were experiencing with conventional therapies when giving tablet medication1.
30% of pet owners built extra time into their day, or interrupted their daily routine, in order to administer the tablet1.
These types of challenges may cause some owners to be less compliant with their veterinarian's medication recommendations for their pet. Their pet may miss a few doses or not receive the medication at all because it is too stressful. Then these pets do not receive the medical care recommended by their veterinarian. Finally, something as simple as the form a medication takes can have a significant impact on your pet's health.
Ask your veterinarian if the medication they recommend for your pet is available in a chewable form. Consider this especially if your pet has a chronic or long-term health condition that requires regular medication. If your dog or cat enjoys chewable medication, you can make administering medications more enjoyable for both your pet and yourself. That's a huge win for both of you!
