This week we have discussed how your pets could be accidentally poisoned and how to prevent each. Today I am discussing the dangers of human & pet medications.
It is pretty nice to live in the year 2019. We have a million types of health shakes and vitamins to help us stay balanced and energized, enabling us to be the healthiest version of ourselves. We also get to thank modern medicine for having so many medications that cure nearly all of our ailments and medicine to prevent a lot of them. But while we are making ourselves healthy, we have to be careful that we’re not putting our pets at risk.
My Dachshund Lexi LOVES to eat, as do all doxies, and when something hits the floor or smells like it’s going to taste amazing, it’s in her mouth immediately! What to do when I need to take my migraine medication or my nightly vitamins or make a healthy shake to supplement my daily food intake?
Health Shakes
I always do theses in our kitchen, but it follows me wherever I go once the shake is made. Sometimes I sit where we don’t have a side table, but I can’t leave it on the floor, or else it is Lexi’s shake. Sometimes we don’t even think about this, but health shakes are loaded with vitamins and sometimes other chemicals (depending on the one you’re drinking) that are highly toxic to pets. Their livers and kidneys cannot break down these safely and can be detrimental to their health or even cause death.
Be very careful and make sure that you do not leave an open shake unattended on the floor or counter (if you have a cat). It might be knocked over and consumed by your cat or dog. Not saying to quit drinking your shakes, but just making you aware that something as simple as a health shake could be toxic and cause accidental poisoning in your pets.
Human & Pet Medications
Have a morning or nightly vitamin ritual? We do, and I make sure to store all of our medicine in the same place up high. Just as if you’re childproofing your home. We take all of our vitamins and occasional Migraine pill or ibuprofen in the bathroom with the door closed if I drop one. I have a chance to grab it without any dog faces nearby.
If you have company coming over, be sure that you kindly remind them that your pets LOVE to eat anything they find on the ground, so if they have vitamins or RXs to please be careful. While they’re there, make sure their door is always closed and after they’ve left, do a good sweep of the floor and counters even before you clean the room. That way, if you have a cat that likes to knock things off of the counter or nightstand or curious dogs that like to eat anything they find, you’ll be one step ahead.
The first time I encountered a need to do the bedroom sweep was about 6 years ago. We had friends stay for the weekend with us, and our previous place had carpet. After they left, Lexi saw rooting in the carpet and found the first of 3 pills that were nice and comfy pills nestled in the carpet. Thankfully I was there when I was, or we may not have been celebrating her 18th birthday last week. Since then, I have been on high alert to sweep the areas our guests stay in to prevent any accidental poisonings.
Just as important as it is to keep pets away from human medications, it’s is important to keep pets away from pet meds. With Emee turning 11 and Lexi being 18, we have a small collection of medications for them stored in the fridge or their “Dog Drawer” in the kitchen. We make sure that we give them their medications away from each other because, again, Lexi loves to eat and ALWAYS wants what she thinks tastes good, which is usually Emee’s prednisone or flavored antibiotics.
It may seem like a challenge, but all it is, I am just developing a nice routine or habit, and it will be safer for your pets and give you peace of mind. It is important as pet owners to simply be aware that something we might consume daily could be hazardous for our sweet pets. Again, I am not a veterinarian. If you have any concerns, please call one as soon as you see signs of poisoning or get some professional information on pet medication overdosing or human medication poisoning.
Any ideas or tips on how you manage your medications that keep your pets safe you’d like to share? Feel free to send us an email at SavePets@TracisPaws.com, and we may add it to our blog!