When Your Pet Won’t Take Their Medication: How Our Pharmacy Can Help

There are a lot of cats hiding under couches right now, and a lot of dogs doing laps around the kitchen table while someone follows them with a syringe. If that’s your house, you’re not doing anything wrong. Getting medication into a pet is hard, and it gets harder once they’ve decided they want nothing to do with it.

At Blend Labs Rx, a veterinary compounding pharmacy in New York, a big part of what we do is help veterinarians and pet parents solve exactly this problem. Here’s why it happens and what your options are when hiding the pill in food isn’t cutting it.

Why pets refuse medication

With cats, it usually comes down to one bad experience. One dose goes badly, they spit and struggle, and they bolt. From then on, they connect the syringe in your hand with that moment. You pick it up, and they’re gone.

Dogs usually give you more chances. A food-motivated dog who spits out a pill will often take it on the next try if it’s wrapped in something they love. George, the golden retriever in our video, would take just about anything wrapped in cold peanut butter.

Cats hold a grudge. That’s why prevention matters so much. Once a pet links medication with a bad experience, every dose turns into a negotiation, and that’s stressful for both of you when all you want is to help them feel better.

Hiding pills in food is a fine place to start

Most pet parents start by hiding the pill in food, and for plenty of pets that works. There are a few catches, though: xylitol in some peanut butters, foods like grapes and onions that don’t belong anywhere near pets, and sodium in treats for pets on restricted diets. We break all of that down in what to check before hiding a pill in food.

When food stops working, or your pet can’t have the foods that would hide the pill, call our pharmacy team and ask whether the medication can be prepared a different way. We will coordinate with your veterinarian if a new prescription is needed.

What is a compounded medication?

A compounded medication is prepared for an individual patient based on a veterinarian’s prescription. Instead of a standard tablet, a pharmacist can prepare the medication in a form that suits your pet. That might mean a different flavor, a different concentration, or a different way of giving it altogether.

Your veterinarian decides whether a compounded medication is right for your pet and which form makes sense. Compounded medications are not FDA-approved, and FDA does not review their safety, effectiveness or quality before marketing, which is one more reason that decision belongs with your vet.

Forms your veterinarian can prescribe

Not every medication can be made into every form. Your vet and pharmacist will work out what’s possible for your pet’s specific prescription.

Flavored liquid

Many medications can be prepared as a flavored liquid, called a suspension. Your pet gets the same prescribed dose in a flavor they may be more willing to take.

Concentrated liquid for a smaller amount

A quarter teaspoon doesn’t sound like much. To a small cat, it’s a mouthful. Depending on the medication, a compounding pharmacist may be able to concentrate it so the same prescribed dose fits into a much smaller volume, sometimes just a few drops.

This isn’t only a small pet issue. Some Great Danes are picky enough that the less liquid you have to get into them, the better.

Flavored chew or flavored tablet

Some medications can be made into a flavored chew or flavored tablet. For a food-motivated dog, that can make medication time look a lot more like treat time.

Capsule

For pets who will take a capsule, putting the medication inside one keeps it from sitting on the tongue. A small capsule is also easier to tuck into a bite of food than a crumbly tablet.

Transdermal gel (for some cats)

For certain medications, and only when your veterinarian decides it’s appropriate, the medication can be prepared as a gel that’s applied to the skin on the inside of your cat’s ear instead of given by mouth. This isn’t an option for every medication, so it’s a conversation to have with your vet. If your cat is prescribed one, your veterinarian or pharmacist will show you how to apply it.

Flavor matters more than people expect

Pets have opinions about flavor, and they aren’t always the ones you’d guess. Which flavoring options are available depends on the medication, so ask your pharmacist what’s possible for your pet’s prescription.

Tell our pharmacy team about any known allergies or food sensitivities before the medication is prepared. The whole idea is to find something your pet will take, dose after dose.

Questions our pharmacy team can answer

If medication time has turned into a standoff at your house, call us. A few questions worth asking:

• Can this medication be given with food, and can it be split or crushed?
• Is a flavored liquid, chew, capsule, or transdermal version an option for this medication?
• Could the dose be concentrated into a smaller amount?
• Which flavor would make sense for my pet?

Frequently asked questions

What is a compounded medication for pets?

It’s a medication prepared for an individual pet based on a veterinarian’s prescription, in a form that suits that pet, such as a flavored liquid, a chew, or a capsule. Compounded medications are not FDA-approved, and your veterinarian decides whether one is appropriate.

Do I need a prescription for a compounded pet medication?

Yes. A compounding pharmacy prepares the medication based on a prescription from your veterinarian.

Can my pet’s medication be flavored?

Many medications can be prepared with flavoring. Call our pharmacy team and we can tell you whether that’s an option for your pet’s prescription.

Can my cat’s medication be applied to the ear instead of given by mouth?

For some medications, yes. A transdermal version isn’t available or appropriate for every medication. Ask our pharmacy team whether it can be prepared, and your veterinarian whether it suits your cat.

Why is my cat so hard to give medicine to?

Many cats refuse medication after a single stressful experience and learn to associate the syringe or pill with it. Talk to our pharmacy team about whether a different form or flavor can be prepared.