From time to time, pets and humans alike become ill and need treatment.  Animal prescription drugs are sometimes similar and sometimes different than the medications that humans take.  Furthermore, some human medications can be very dangerous for our four legged friends which is why you should only give veterinarian recommended pet drugs to animals.  Nowadays, a pet pharmacy will likely carry as many drugs as you would find in a regular drug store, and many of these will be recognizable to you.  In fact, humans and animals often suffer from the same diseases and in these cases we use pet medications that are very similar or the same as human medications.

Lyme disease, mental health conditions, and various bacterial infections are just a few examples where human and pet medications are usually the same.  Commonly, antibiotics are the same regardless of the species of animal using them. This is because most bacterial infections across animals are caused by the same species of bacterial.  Nevertheless, even when pet meds are the same as human meds, the doses are not.  Typically, humans weigh more than our pets (since cats and dogs are the most common house pets) which means we would require a larger dose.

Contrarily, some pet drugs are not suitable for humans and vice versa.  Heartworm is a common condition affecting pet health but each species of animal will be treated with different animal prescription drugs.  For example, you cannot treat heartworm in a cat with pet drugs designed for dogs.  In addition, some pet meds can actually be dangerous for humans and they should not be shared.

So, while many human and animal prescription drugs are interchangeable, this is not always true.  Add to that the fact that doses for pets and humans will not be the same and we run the risk of causing illness when we give our pets human drugs.  As such, it is always recommended that you follow your veterinarians advice very explicitly when you administer drugs to your pet.