Licensed pharmacies quote a cash price on your vet’s prescription
Most pet medicines are human drugs that any pharmacy can fill. Upload the prescription, pharmacies respond with their own price, and you pay the one you choose.
- Free for pet owners
- Licensed pharmacies only
- You pay the pharmacy, not us
How it works for a pet prescription
- 1
Your vet writes the prescription
Ask for a written or electronic prescription instead of buying from the clinic. Where you fill it is your choice.
- 2
Upload it
A photo or PDF of the vet’s prescription. It names your pet and the species; if a pharmacist needs the weight, they will ask.
- 3
Pharmacies respond
Licensed pharmacies, including compounders and those stocking veterinary products, quote their own cash price.
- 4
Choose and pay the pharmacy
Pick the quote that suits you and pay the pharmacy at the counter or on delivery. Nothing is paid on this site.
Not sure your pet’s medicine can be filled at a pharmacy? See which pet medicines a regular pharmacy can fill.
Four things that are different for pets
The medicine is often the same as for people. The safety rules are not, and these are the ones that catch owners out most often.
Xylitol in human liquids
The sweetener in many human liquid medicines is poisonous to dogs. Ask the pharmacist to check any liquid, or ask the vet for tablets or a xylitol-free compounded version.
Cats and painkillers
Cats cannot have acetaminophen (Tylenol) at all, and most anti-inflammatories are unsafe for them beyond a single vet-given dose. Never give a cat a human painkiller.
Two kinds of insulin syringe
Veterinary insulins are U-40 and human insulins are U-100. The syringes differ, and the wrong one gives the wrong dose.
Doses follow weight and species
Some drugs need far higher doses per kilogram in dogs than in people, and others far lower in cats. Never adjust a dose without the vet.
Pet medication guides
All guides- GabapentinPharmacy can fillDogs, Cats
Gabapentin is one of the most prescribed medicines in small-animal practice, for chronic pain, nerve pain, seizures and, in cats, for anxiety before vet visits. It is a human generic, so a vet’s prescription can be filled at an ordinary pharmacy, with one important caution about the liquid.
- TrazodonePharmacy can fillDogs, Cats
Trazodone is a human antidepressant that veterinarians prescribe to calm dogs: after surgery when rest is needed, for thunderstorms and fireworks, for vet visits and grooming, and alongside behavior therapy for anxiety. It is a cheap generic that any pharmacy can fill.
- MeloxicamPharmacy can fillDogs, Cats
Meloxicam is the most prescribed anti-inflammatory for arthritis and post-surgical pain in dogs. The veterinary liquid is dosed by weight; human meloxicam tablets contain the same drug and are sometimes used for larger dogs. In cats its use is tightly restricted because repeated doses can damage the kidneys.
- Insulin for diabetic petsPharmacy can fillDogs, Cats
Diabetic dogs and cats are treated with insulin injections twice a day. Two veterinary insulins are approved, and several human insulins are used routinely under a vet’s direction; which one, and from where, makes a large difference to what an owner pays.
- Amoxicillin-clavulanatePharmacy can fillDogs, Cats
Amoxicillin-clavulanate is the most prescribed antibiotic in small-animal practice, for skin, urinary, dental and wound infections. Clavamox is the veterinary version; the human tablets are the same combination and a pharmacy can fill a vet’s prescription for them at matching strengths.
- MethimazolePharmacy can fillCats
Methimazole controls an overactive thyroid in cats, one of the commonest diseases of older cats. Felimazole is the veterinary tablet; the human generic is the same drug and a pharmacy can fill a vet’s prescription for it. Compounders also make a transdermal gel applied to the ear for cats that will not take tablets.
Questions pet owners ask
Anything else? Each medication guide covers the drug, the safety points for animals and how to pay less.
Can a regular pharmacy fill a prescription from my vet?
Yes, for any drug it stocks. Most medicines vets prescribe, from antibiotics to insulin to anxiety and thyroid medicines, are human drugs, and a licensed pharmacy dispenses them on a vet’s prescription exactly as it would for a person. Veterinary-only products such as Apoquel, Cerenia or carprofen are dispensed by vets and by pharmacies that stock veterinary products; each guide on this site says which applies.
Can I ask my vet for a written prescription?
Yes. Veterinarians provide a prescription on request so that you can have it filled elsewhere; some clinics charge a small fee for writing it. Rules on what must be provided vary by state, but asking is always reasonable, and the choice of where to fill it is yours.
Is a human pharmacy safe for my pet’s medicine?
The pharmacist dispenses what the vet wrote, and good pharmacists check that the dose makes sense for the species and weight. The risks come from products, not pharmacies: human liquids sweetened with xylitol are deadly to dogs, cats cannot have most NSAIDs or acetaminophen, and veterinary insulin needs its own syringes. Every guide here lists the points for that drug, and your vet remains the authority on the dose.
What about compounded medicines?
Compounding pharmacies make strengths and forms that are not sold ready-made: a tiny capsule for a cat, a flavoured liquid, a transdermal gel. They are useful and legal when a vet prescribes them for an individual animal, and they can quote through Script Unlock like any other pharmacy. Compounded products are not FDA-approved and quality varies between compounders, so ask the pharmacy about its accreditation.
Does Script Unlock charge pet owners?
No. Pharmacies pay to use the marketplace. We publish no prices, savings figures or pharmacy counts; the quotes you receive are the only numbers that apply to your pet.
Have your vet’s prescription?
Upload it and see what licensed pharmacies will charge. It is free for pet owners.