When a beloved pet is unwell, finding a medication they will actually take can be a huge challenge. While a human can swallow a tablet, an unhappy cat, a fussy dog, or a unique exotic pet may require a different approach. This is where veterinary compounding shines, offering custom solutions to ensure your furry, scaly, or feathered family member gets the treatment they need.
At National Custom Compounding, we understand that pets are family, and we work closely with veterinarians to create medications tailored to the individual needs of animals of all shapes and sizes.
In this article, we’ll explore:
- What is Veterinary Compounding?
- Customised Dosage Forms for Pets
- The Compounding Triad: Finding the Perfect Fit
- How to Get a Compounded Medication for Your Pet
What is Veterinary Compounding?
Veterinary compounding involves a specialist compounding pharmacist preparing a bespoke medication for an animal patient based on a veterinarian’s prescription. This is often necessary when:
- The required dosage strength isn’t commercially available.
- The medication is only available in a form the animal won’t tolerate (e.g., a tablet for a cat).
- The animal has an allergy to a non-active ingredient in the commercial product.
- The medication needs to be made into a more palatable form.
The goal is to make the medication administration as stress-free and effective as possible for both the pet and the owner.
Customised Dosage Forms for Pets
One of the main benefits of compounding is the ability to change the dosage form to better suit the animal’s species and preference. Some of the most common and effective compounded options include:
- Flavoured liquids and suspensions: Ideal for animals who refuse tablets or need a very specific, small dose. We can use flavouring agents that appeal to pets, such as fish, tuna, or beef, making the medicine taste more like a treat than a chore.
- Chewable treats: A highly popular option, these products are made into an easy-to-administer, palatable treat form that can often be given directly or hidden in food.
- Transdermal gels: For pets that are especially difficult to medicate orally, transdermal gels are a fantastic, less invasive option. The active ingredient is incorporated into a cream or gel that is rubbed onto a hairless area, such as the inner ear, allowing the medicine to absorb through the skin and into the bloodstream.
Compounding also allows for medications to be prepared in appropriate strengths for large animals, small animals, and everything in between, including exotic pets that have unique dosing needs.
The Compounding Triad: Finding the Perfect Fit
Creating the ideal compounded medicine involves balancing three key factors:
- The medicine: What is the best dosage form for the specific medication itself? Some active ingredients are stable in a liquid, while others are not.
- The animal: What is the most suitable dosage form for the species? A liquid might be great for a dog, but a transdermal gel may be necessary for a cat.
- The active ingredients: Can the ingredients tolerate the chosen dosage form and flavouring without losing potency or stability?
By considering this “triangle” of factors, compounding pharmacists can formulate a product that is both effective and easy to administer, ensuring the pet receives the full benefit of the treatment.
How to Get a Compounded Medication for Your Pet
Compounded veterinary medicines are typically available by prescription only. To start the process, you’ll need to:
- Talk to your vet about the difficulties you are having with your pet’s current medication.
- Your vet will then write a prescription for the compounded product, specifying the required strength and dosage form.
- Vets often work with compounding pharmacies they trust to ensure the medicine meets the highest standards of safety and efficacy for their patients.
By collaborating with a compounding pharmacy, your vet can access custom solutions to look after your pets thoroughly, making sure they are treated like the valued family members they are.
Video Transcript
Hi there. We at National Custom Compounding love doing really funky and unique things. Um, and this definitely includes compounding for animals. So the question today is what are commonly compounded options for veterinary medications? The cool thing about animals is that there’s a very wide range of them in all shapes and sizes, and they all take drugs via different delivery systems or through different routes. So where a tablet might be the easiest option for a human, it may not be the easiest option for something like a cat. Um, like yourselves, we’ve got a dog at home. You certainly look after them to the highest extent because they’re part of the family. So at National Custom Compounding, we appreciate the the importance of looking after pets thoroughly. So to talk today about some common options, um, we’ll mainly talk about dosage forms. And it comes down to things like what is the best type of dosage form for that particular medicine? What’s the most suitable dosage form for the species or animal receiving it? Um, and then what will the active ingredients tolerate? So there’s a bit of a triangle of those things in combination. And we want to try and make sure that it satisfies all three points. So some really common options. Um, flavored liquids. Cat and dogs. Um, guinea pig. Those types of things really enjoy a well flavored liquid. We can do things like fish. We can do things like tuna. Um, so not your average human flavoring agents, but it will work in situations of trying to get it into your, uh, unwell dog’s mouth. Other things can be chewable treats. So you could make a product in a compounding pharmacy like ours that will allow you to easily, um, get it into your animal’s mouth. So chewable treats is a great option. Um, there are also products like transdermal gels. So situations like some animals, you can put a active ingredient into a cream, and that cream will rub into places like their inner ear and then absorb the medicine through their whole body. So it makes it a little bit less invasive. Um, and because of the the bespoke nature of compounding pharmacies, we can make things for large animals, small animals, and everything in between. Um, so the main takeaway that I’d love you to keep in mind is that medicines can be made for anybody or any animal. Compounding pharmacies like ours are really well placed to make a unique, specific medicine for that patient at that time. Um, and most medicines are on prescription. So to get the ball rolling, you will need to talk to your vet. And vets like yours will know of compounding pharmacies like ours that they they trust and already work together with to make sure that the medicines made to the best of the the needs of the pet. I hope this helps and have a great day.
