Was the flea treatment this month or last month? Which tablets did the vet give after the check-up, and when do they run out? If you write each medicine down when it's given, with the date it's due again, the answer is always one look away. This guide covers what's worth writing down, then how to keep it with Care Cat, our plants and pets app for iPhone, in its Pets mode.
What to write down for each medicine
A useful medicine record is short:
- What it is: the name exactly as it's on the label or the packet.
- When it was given: the real date, even if that was a while ago.
- Who prescribed it: the vet or clinic, so you know who to ask.
- What the label or your vet says: copy it word for word. Don't shorten it into your own rule.
- When it's due again: the date your vet gave you, if there is one.
What your pet should take, how much and how often is your vet's call, and the label's. If anything on it is unclear, ask your vet. Care Cat doesn't give health or medicine advice; it keeps what you write and the dates you set.
Add your pet
In Care Cat, pick Pets on the first screen. Tap Add your first pet, or + (Add pet) once you have one. A name is all it takes. The Notes field ("Food, medicines, habits") is a good place for the standing details, like where the medicines are kept. Tap Add.
Write down each medicine
- Open your pet's page and tap + (Add record).
- Set the Kind to Medicine. The other kinds are Vaccine, Vet visit and Other.
- Type the name as it's on the label. The field suggests "Name, like Flea treatment", but the words are yours.
- Set the Date it was given. Past dates are fine, so you can add what was given before you had the app.
- Add the vet in Vet or clinic (optional). Vets you've typed before show up as buttons to tap.
- Turn on Due again if your vet gave you a next date, and set it. The 1 month, 6 months, 1 year and 3 years buttons count from the record's date. They're shortcuts, not advice: use the date your vet gave you.
- Add notes. For a medicine, the field says "Your notes, as on the label or from your vet". Copy what the label says.
- Tap Save.
Each record keeps one due-again date. Care Cat isn't a timer for doses during the day; it keeps the date something is next due.
See what's coming up
Pets' Home opens on Coming up: anything due in the next 30 days, or already late, for every pet. Each line says "Due in 12 days", "Due tomorrow" or "3 days late". When nothing is due, it says Nothing due in the next 30 days.
When you've given it again, tap the ✓. That writes a new record for today, with the same vet, and sets the next due date the same distance ahead as last time. On the pet's page, the Due section has the same ✓, or you can swipe a line and tap Done today. Got the date wrong? Tap the new record to change it.
Get a reminder the morning it's due
Care Cat sends one notification on mornings when something's due, for all your pets together, and nothing on the other days. It's on to start with. To change the hour or turn it off, open Settings and use Morning reminder and At. The app asks for permission the first time something is due, not when you first open it.
Look back at what was given
Every record is on the pet's page under Records, newest first, with its date, vet, due date and notes. Tap one to correct it, or to delete it.
With Care Cat Pro, an optional one-time purchase, you can also add photos of a certificate or the vet's invoice to a record, and make a pet's Full history PDF from the ⋯ menu, to print or share with a new vet or a kennel.
Going away?
The pet-sitter sheet prints each pet's notes exactly as you wrote them, and lists anything due while you're away with a box to tick. Tap Sitter sheet on Pets' Home, then Print or Share.
What it costs
Pets, vaccines, vet visits, medicines, due dates, morning reminders and the sitter sheet are free, with no limit on pets or records, no ads and no account. Care Cat Pro adds document photos, the full history PDF and your own lines on the sitter sheet. More on the Care Cat page.
Every pet, record and photo is kept on your device and in your own backups unless you share it.
Quick answers
Does Care Cat tell me how much to give?
No. It keeps what you write. Follow the label and ask your vet.
Can it remind me several times a day?
No. It sends one notification on mornings when something's due.
Can I keep medicines for more than one pet?
Yes. There's no limit on pets or records, and Coming up shows every pet in one list.
What if a medicine has no next date?
Leave Due again off. The record stays on the pet's page as a note of when it was given.
Try Care Cat
Care Cat is coming soon: free, no ads, no sign-up → iyio.com/apps/care-cat