Amazon now sells prescription pet pills

Amazon is expanding its prescription medication business to include your pooches and pussycats. Through its Vetsource partnership announced on Thursday, Amazon says that “hundreds of prescription pet medications” will now be available for US customers to purchase via Amazon’s storefront, including treatments for fleas, ticks, and chronic conditions.

Prescription pet drugs can be found by searching for the required medication in Amazon’s search bar and inputting your prescribing veterinarian’s information during checkout. The Vetsource online pet pharmacy service will then dispense and deliver medications purchased through Amazon, with shipping expected to take between two to six days.

Vetsource will contact your veterinarian for approval for first-time orders, but Amazon says that refills can then “usually be processed without additional veterinarian contact” if your account has an active prescription on file. All of the pet medications provided on Amazon are FDA approved, and the company says that the selection of drugs available will be expanded over time.

The selling point here, much like when Amazon first launched its human-focused online pharmacy service in 2020, is convenience. Being able to order flea, worming, and other essential pet care prescriptions alongside everyday shopping items is convenient for everyone, but especially people who have mobility issues or live in rural areas and would otherwise have to make their way to a vet’s office or pharmacy location. It also puts Amazon more in line with competing online pharmacy services like Walmart, which launched its own service for pet medications in 2019.