To Vicky:
 
I'm not a vet, but I'd like to comment on pain meds in animals in general.
 
When humans have a broken leg, we *know* it's broken, we take pain meds for
our discomfort, and we know enough not to run a marathon.  Animals don't
know that.  If you give them pain meds, they think they're ok and they try
to act normal and do normal things.
 
Not giving animals pain meds helps them to stay off the leg because they
feel the pain and know enough not to run and jump.
 
This may one of the biggest reasons vets don't routinely give pain
medication to animals.  So, now you can all take back what you've said in
the past about your vet being so mean and not prescribing any pain meds for
your ferrets, dogs, cats, etc.
 
One more thing - human drugs can be dangerous for animals - how many of you
know that Tylenol is very dangerous for cats?  Please don't ever give your
animals an over-the-counter medication without first consulting your
veterinarian.
 
Debbie Riccio
WNYFLFA
Rochester, NY
[Posted in FML issue 1590]