The cat's antibiotics need a refill. Again. And again...
July 12, 2010 8:17 AM   Subscribe

I'm looking to buy my cat's antibiotics online. As it's originally a human med, online people pharmacies might work. Googling gives tons of crap, obviously.

My beloved rescue Kilo is on a long-term antibiotic strategy. Up until now, her vet was a short drive away and getting her medicine every couple weeks wasn't a problem. Now that I've moved, it's much harder to get there during the week while they're still open, so I'm looking for alternatives. My vet can't sell me more than a bottle at a time; they never have that much in stock. I'm not really interested in finding a closer vet - my current one is awesome, even if she is miles away now.

I'm looking for the standard cure-all antibiotic azithromycin (the 100mg/5ml suspension). Preferably the generic (Sandoz), my vet sells it for 1/3 of the price of the name brand (Zithromax), when they can get it in.

I'm definitely savvy in all things internet, but for some reason, buying meds online kinda squicks me out - this is the health and well being of my cat were talking about here. Is it really safe? Does anyone have any recommendations for pharmacies - either pet or human? Would a human vet even work (how do people get around the whole needing-a-prescription thing?) Preferably Canadian, as that's where I am, but I'm open to alternatives.

I'm just looking to get my cat her meds without driving clear across town every other weekend! I'd do just about anything for my cat, but there has got to be an easier way.
posted by cgg to Pets & Animals (9 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
If you were in the UK I'd recommend Chemist Direct as a reputable vendor.

They do provide International shipping, but I don't know how good value it would offer you compared with more local sourcing.

Good luck.
posted by Simon_ at 8:36 AM on July 12, 2010


I had a dog who was prescribed seizure medications. The vet had a regular old prescription pad and wrote us a prescription that we brought to a normal human pharmacy like any other medication. The label on the bottle said "Sparkey" Smith with our address.

Call your vet and ask if they would write out a prescription, then call your local pharmacy and ask if they take prescriptions for animals. If you were getting the meds online you would need a prescription anyway.
posted by amethysts at 8:40 AM on July 12, 2010


The big US online retailer -- should take the squick factor down, anyway - is PetMeds.com

Perfectly legitimate.
posted by fourcheesemac at 8:41 AM on July 12, 2010


My dog takes prescription heart meds, which we get at the WalMart pharmacy. Due to silly HIPPA laws, they have to have a birthdate on file for every prescription, even a canine. Not having any idea when he was really born (rescue dog) I told them 1/1/2000 on the because I figured it would be easy to remember for refills.
posted by COD at 8:48 AM on July 12, 2010


I've used Drugstore.com in the US (unfortunately, the don't ship outside of the US). You input the prescription info and then mail in the script. You should also see if your vet is willing to mail you the prescription each month, so you can just take it to your closest pharmacy. My dog is on a human medicine (in a very very low dose), and I just take it to Duane Reade (the local NYC pharmacy).

Havn't used CanadaDrugs.com, but it seems like drugstore.com.

Either way (not sure of Canadian laws, but in the US...), you're going to need a paper prescription or your vet will need to call in the script to your local pharmacy.
posted by melissasaurus at 8:48 AM on July 12, 2010


When I had to give my rabbit regular antibiotic injections, I ordered it from an online veterinary supply and had no trouble at all. I think they called the vet to make sure that it was a legit order. I can't find the name of the one I used, now, but I wanted to add another data point that it's not squicky.

The "fill it at a human pharmacy" works too, my sister-in-law just did that for her dog.

Also, I am not sure if you know this from how you phrased your question, but just so you know: Sandoz is a drug manufacturer, not the name of a particular medication.
posted by cabingirl at 8:48 AM on July 12, 2010


Yeah, you can definitely have your vet just phone or fax in the prescription for the generic to your local pharmacy. One of my cats has asthma and the vet phones in the inhaler script to my regular pharmacy, where I'm able to fill it with no problems (though the pharmacists and techs find the whole thing rather amusing, as they don't see the "inhalers for cats" thing too frequently). If you can get a prescription with multiple refills you should be golden.
posted by mireille at 9:01 AM on July 12, 2010


I have filled my pet's meds at the human pharmacy many a time, including some I had to go get from the compounding pharmacy at the hospital. It was not at all weird; the compounding pharmacy had a whole shelf (of "ready prescriptions") of nothing but pet meds. This is definitely an option to ask your vet about!

Also, the pharmacists at the human pharmacy always want to talk about your pet's name. :)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:14 AM on July 12, 2010


My vet can't sell me more than a bottle at a time; they never have that much in stock.

This is pretty ridiculous. You sure they wouldn't order some especially for you?
posted by smackfu at 9:46 AM on July 12, 2010


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