A vet might prescribe some medications for your pet in case of a medical condition. The prescribed medications help manage, treat, and cure the problem that your pet is facing. Although there are medications specifically available for pets in the market, many medications that are prescribed for pets are the same ones prescribed for people.

Some of the most commonly used pet meds are:

• Antibiotics
  Microbes such as bacteria and yeast are killed with the help of antibiotics. These are also used to treat infections. Antibiotics, however, do not kill viruses, but they are prescribed when an animal is suffering from a secondary bacterial infection that may be the result of illness due to a viral infection. Some of the medicines prescribed for pets are penicillin, trimethoprim-sulfa, cephalexin, and enrofloxacin.
• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories
  These are common medicines given in order to reduce pain, inflammation, swelling, etc. Some of the medicines that fall under this category are carprofen, deracoxib, firocoxib, and meloxicam.
• Opioid pain relievers
  These can serve as potent pain killers as they are basically derived from morphine. Medicines like oxycodone, hydromorphone, butorphanol, meperidine, and fentanyl are prescribed as opioid pain relievers. These medicines, however, are addictive in nature and should be controlled.
• Steroids
  Steroids come with many uses; they can be potent anti-inflammatories and are also used to reduce allergic reactions. High doses of steroids are also used to help suppress the immune system. Some examples of steroids are prednisone and dexamethasone.
• Antiparasitics
  As the name suggests, these help repel, prevent or kill internal or external parasites, such as intestinal worms, fleas, ticks, heartworms, and intestinal protozoans.
• Behavior-modifying drugs and sedatives
  These drugs are basically used when your pet is anxious, especially when your pet needs help to reduce anxiety associated with various behavioral issues. These are usually used when pets need to be prepared for anesthesia or to reduce pet movement during delicate procedures. Medications like diazepam, xylazine, midazolam, and acepromazine can be stated as examples of behavior-modifying drugs.
• Hormones used to treat specific conditions
  Examples of medications that fall under this category are insulin. This type of medication is used to treat diabetes, methimazole, or levothyroxine to treat the abnormal levels of the thyroid hormone and also heart medications which include digoxin, atenolol, and pimobendan.
• Chemotherapeutics
  These are medications that are used to treat pets who are suffering from cancer and tumors. Some of the examples of chemotherapeutic medications include cisplatin, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, etc.

As pet owners, you need to keep in mind that medications interact quite differently and in case your pet is on two different drugs at the same time, it may lead to complications. Therefore, it is important to keep your vet well informed of the drugs that you are administering to your pet.