Bad Combinations of Pet Medications and Food

by Linnea on 12/06/13

Human doctors and pharmacists are great at telling patients about possible drug interactions and what to avoid while taking a certain prescription.  These cautions, for some reason, are often overlooked at veterinary hospitals.  Often times people will fill their pet's prescription at the local pharmacy instead of the veterinarian because it's cheaper, but pharmacists are not familiar with animal medicine and you may not be cautioned about possible interactions.

Because we usually have to hide our pet's medications in super savory treats, there is a high concern with interactions.  Here is a list of some bad combinations:

-Doxycycline/Tetracycline:  Do not use dairy products like cheese when using tetracycline antibiotics.  This includes the very popular doxycycline, which is almost always prescribed with upper respiratory infections like kennel cough.  The calcium in dairy products can prevent the body from absorbing the medication.  Cheese is a popular pill popper, but any high calcium food should be avoided with these antibiotics.

-Thyroid medications:  Should never be taken with a meal because the food absorption tends to inhibit the absorption of the medication.  It is best to give thyroid meds 1 hour before a meal, or 3 hours after.  This is especially true if your pet is on a higher fiber diet.

-Enalapril: ACE inhibitors cause the body to retain potassium so it is best to avoid high potassium foods.  This shouldn't be that much of an issue unless your pet has a taste for bananas or other high potassium foods.  You also want to avoid high sodium foods, so no hiding that enalapril in some salami!

-Cyclosporine: Many are not familiar with this drug, but it is an immunosuppressant for pet's that have severe allergies.  If your pet needs to go on fluconazole or phenobarbital, these can affect the removal of cyclosporine from the body.

These are just some possible interactions with more popular drugs used for pets.  Anytime your pet is prescribed a medication, ask your Vet about possible side effects so you can continue your pet's treatment with peace of mind.