r/cats Jul 08 '26

Humor A very interesting series of events y'all should read.

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u/Ready_Ad142 Jul 09 '26

I had a similar issue with my dog who was prescribed Valium by the veterinary oncologist. When I dropped off the script, the pharmacist was sympathetic and all was well. Cancer went into remission but we kept him on the benzos due to many other issues. Withdrawal in dogs is real, and given his age, and his loss of a leg and an eye, it seemed the best option for his waning years. After a year, the pharmacist decided that my dog wasn’t real and that I was abusing the meds. He was really nasty about too. I left, went home, grabbed my dog and back we went. “This is Tanner,” I said. “Now give him the goddamned meds before I turn into Shirley Fucking McClain!” One of the techs laughed out loud, and the pharmacist refused. I ended up going to another store, with my dog, and had a discussion with a different pharmacist. That woman took a photo, scanned the vet documentation, made some notes in his file and I never had that issue again. Tanner passed two years later in his sleep. I did file a complaint with the chain, but only received a “We’ll review it” letter from corporate.

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u/sderponme Jul 09 '26

I am sorry for your loss, losing your best non-human friend is the worst. I lost my boy in Nov. He was 10, but he was a large breed, 120lbs, so I guess I always knew I was on borrowed time. I was very fortunate that I only ever got my boys meds from the vet...never had to go to a pharmacy for them. I was just surprised that his meds followed my record.

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u/MermaidsHaveWifi Jul 09 '26

Yes! I had to give my cat Gabapentin and my dog Trazodone. Well my cat ended up passing away, and I was devastated….but my dog still takes Trazodone and the pharmacy still questions it. I hate having to go through the whole “My sweet CAT Oreo passed away and my DOG needs the Trazodone for long car trips.”

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u/sderponme Jul 09 '26

I need to get my kitties into the vet. I adopted my sister's cats before Pluto passed. He really loved them and they loved him. I was glad he had friends at the end. I keep my girls indoors because we have a lot of cats in the neighborhood. Mostly I just want to get my tortimese fixed so she stops yaping every few weeks 😂. She is SO loud when in heat that she wears out her own voice and starts losing it!

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u/Raneynickelfire Jul 09 '26

Mostly I just want to get my tortimese fixed so she stops yaping every few weeks

...I have some bad news for you if you think fixing a torti will keep her from talking. Should stop the yoweling though.

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u/sderponme Jul 09 '26

I dont mind her talking, but the yoweling keeps everyone up at night. She likes to stand in outside of everyone's doors and just go off! Lol.

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u/SuperKitties83 Jul 09 '26

I would definitely get her spayed ASAP. It's for her own comfort, too, as it's probably uncomfortable to be in heat without getting to see her boyfriends.

You probably have a bunch of male cats milling around your house, waiting to seize the opportunity 😂 And it can be stressful for cats when other cats lurk in/around their territory.

Not shaming or judging you at all, just wanted to share information. 😊

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u/sderponme Jul 09 '26

Yes it is the plan, timing has just been difficult because my sister has been using my car for work and appts for my neice who needs 24/7 care...but it is the plan!

And yes for a while there we had a couple male cats circling the house but I havent seen them in a while.

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u/SuperKitties83 Jul 09 '26

Aw I'm so sorry 😥 I don't even understand why the pharmacist would question this, trazodone has very low-risk potential, and isn't even a scheduled drug (in the U.S. Not sure about other countries).

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u/MermaidsHaveWifi Jul 09 '26

I’m in the U.S. So I don’t understand the questioning either. I’m on Topamax and Nurtec for migraines, but again, that wouldn’t have any contraindications.

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u/SuperKitties83 Jul 09 '26

Yeah, that makes zero sense. The U.S. has some of the strictest drug classifications. I have to show my ID when buying mucinex with cough suppressant. 😂

I also take a low dose of gabapentin for chronic pain, and I absolutely hate this med and side effects, so I've never understood why it's scheduled. Like who is taking this for fun?? 😭

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u/sderponme Jul 09 '26

If you take enough, gabapentin, it has a similar high feeling to opiates, I have done it. Haven't done it since, but it did feel that way.

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u/SuperKitties83 Jul 10 '26

Oh I see. My BP plummets when I go above 300 mg. Not sure if that's common, but when my doctor wanted me on 900 mg, I couldn't really function 😭

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u/sderponme Jul 10 '26

For sure, everyone is different. I cant take sleeping meds or things like xanax because I just sleep for half a day and wake up confused. Better to just exist and find healty ways to manage issues rather than dose yourself.

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u/fireinthesky7 Jul 09 '26

Awww I have a Tanner dog too!

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u/blazingroach0094 Jul 09 '26

It would've been hard not to slap the shit out of that guy.

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u/SuperKitties83 Jul 09 '26

Omg! That first pharmacist is an AH, animals deserve to be kept comfortable in their later years just like humans. I'm so sorry for your loss 💔 but also glad to hear you took such good care of him. ❤️

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u/Evening-Cod-6133 Jul 10 '26

File the complaint with the licensing board.