As a pet owner, you want to give your pet the best life possible — happy, healthy, and comfortable. This includes giving them the proper medications as directed by your veterinarian, especially when they’re sick or in pain.

In some cases, medication may only be needed for a short time. However, sometimes our pets suffer from chronic medical issues and need daily medications.

If your dog or cat doesn’t take medication well, or you don’t feel comfortable giving it, this daily task can cause considerable stress for you both. That’s where chewable medications can be a lifesaver.

All About Chewable Medications for Dogs and Cats

Chewable medications can be an alternative to some film-coated tablets and liquids. While not all medical conditions can be treated and managed with chewable medications, they can make administering medications to some pets easier. That’s because chewable medications are made in the form of a treat.

Some benefits of chewable medications include:

• Ease of administration. Many pets will readily take a treat, which is what some pets think a chewable medication is. When a medication is easier to administer, you know your pet is getting its full dose every time and you don’t risk missing a dose of their medication.
• Less time-consuming for you. You’ll save time not having to pill your pet manually or hide the medication in food. You can quickly and easily confirm that your pet took the medication. Even better, you don’t have to spend time trying to re-pill them if they don't readily take a conventional tablet.
• Saving money. You don’t have to purchase special treats or extra food to hide pills in anymore. You also won’t have to worry about your pet creating an aversion to a food or treat. If they taste the medication in a food or treat and then refuse to eat them again, you may have to transition your pet to a new diet or treat.
• Less stress. This one is simple – there’s less stress throughout the day for your pet and you when they are eager to take their medication.
• Improving your bond. You reinforce the bond with your pet when you turn medicating your pet into a positive experience. It also gets you back to your regular activities faster – who wouldn’t want that?
• Better compliance. When your pet eagerly takes their medication, it makes you more likely to give the medication as directed. That means a healthier, happier pet, and that your vet and you are happier in the long run, too.

Challenges with Traditional Medication Administration

For some pet owners, the fear of hurting their pet if they have to force the medication into their pet’s mouth is very stressful. Other owners want to avoid damaging the bond with their pet at all costs.

Administering conventional tablets can be time consuming and difficult. You may have to hide or mask the medication in different foods or treats. You may have a cat or dog that is a master at spitting out the pill or eating everything except the pill! Some pets won’t spit the medication out right there in front you – you may find it in another area later. Additionally, you may even need to repeat this process frequently if your pet receives one medication multiple times a day or the pet is on many medications at the same time.

Liquid medications pose specific challenges because they can’t be hidden in a treat or easily masked in a capsule or slurry. Some pets will drool and spit out some of the medication, so you don’t know if they received the full dose. As a result, a lot of the liquid medication can be wasted and your pet can be undermedicated. This is a big problem – not properly medicating your pet means it takes longer to relieve their signs and treat their underlying health condition.

Conventional tablets prescribed by veterinarians present even more challenges for certain pet owners. In fact, a survey of dog owners who had to give daily skin allergy medication showed:

• 65% previously had trouble giving their pet a tablet¹.
• 25% felt stressed or unhappy about the difficulties they were experiencing with conventional therapies when giving tablet medication¹.

• 30% of pet owners built extra time into their day, or interrupted their daily routine, in order to administer the tablet¹.

These kinds of challenges can lead some owners to be less compliant with a veterinarian’s medication recommendations for their pet. Their pet may miss a few doses or not receive the medication altogether because giving the medication is too stressful. Then these pets don’t get the medical care recommended by their veterinarian. Ultimately, this is how something as simple as the form a medication comes in can have a huge impact on your pet’s health.

Ask your veterinarian if there’s a chewable version of the medication that they recommend for your pet. You’ll especially want to consider this if your pet has a chronic or long-term health issue where you’ll need to medicate them regularly. If your dog or cat likes the chewable medication, then you can make administering medications more pleasant for your pet and you. That’s a big win for both of you!