Always keep medications safely out of reach and never administer a medication to a pet without first consulting your veterinarian. The following are some tips from Pet Poison Helpline to help prevent pets from getting into over-the-counter or prescription medication:
- Never leave loose pills in a plastic zip-type storage bag – the bags are too easy to chew into. Make sure visiting house guests do the same, keeping their medications high up or out of reach.
- If you place your medication in a weekly pill container, make sure to store the container in a cabinet out of reach of your pets. Unfortunately, if they get a hold of it, some pets might consider the pill container a plastic chew toy.
- Never store your medications near your pet’s medications – Pet Poison Helpline frequently receives calls from concerned pet owners who inadvertently give their own medication to their pet.
- Hang up your purse. Inquisitive pets will explore the contents of your bag and simply placing your purse up and out of reach can help to avoid exposure to any potentially dangerous medication(s).
It is also important to note that while a medication may be safe for children, it may not be safe for animals. Pets metabolize medications very differently from people. Even seemingly benign over-the-counter or herbal medications may cause serious poisoning in pets. If your pet has ingested a human over-the-counter or prescription medication, please call your veterinarian or Pet Poison Helpline’s 24-hour animal poison control center at 800-213-6680 immediately.
Pet Poison Helpline is the only animal poison control with board-certified internal medicine specialists, emergency critical care specialists, and human pharmacologists on staff. With expert staff in both animal and human medicine, Pet Poison Helpline provides a unique advantage since more than 50% of all pet poisonings involve human drugs.
Veterinarians: Learn more about treating pet poison victims
Pet Poison Helpline has many critical resources on pet poisonings, some of which we've worked with Wedgewood Pharmacy to compile for you in one eBook. Download the eBook from the Resources for Veterinarians section of WedgewoodPetRx. Additionally, you can attend webinars for CE credit. Register for the next online presentation at PetPoisonHelpline.com. Pet Poison Helpline will be guest blogging here for a few weeks to share with you this important information on treating pet poisonings.
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Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC
Associate Director of Veterinary Services
Pet Poison Helpline |
About Justine Lee, DVM:
Dr. Justine Lee is a board-certified emergency critical care veterinary specialist, and is currently the Associate Director of Veterinary Services for Pet Poison Helpline. For the previous five years, she was on faculty as an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Lee graduated from Virginia Tech with a BS in Animal Sciences, and then obtained her veterinary degree at Cornell University. She pursued her internship at Angell Memorial Animal Hospital, which is affiliated with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA). In addition, she has also completed an emergency fellowship and residency at the University of Pennsylvania. Currently, she is 1 of approximately 450 board-certified veterinary specialists world wide in emergency and critical care, and is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (DACVECC).
Dr. Lee has been published in numerous veterinary journals, including the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association, the Journal of Veterinary Emergency Critical Care, and the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. She is also the author of two humorous pet reference books entitled “It’s a Dog’s Life... but It’s Your Carpet” and “It’s a Cat’s World... You Just Live In It.” Dr. Lee lectures throughout the world on emergency and critical care, and recently was honored with the North American Veterinary Conference Small Animal Speaker of the Year award for 2011.
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