A comparative study evaluating the esophageal transit time of eight healthy cats when pilled with the FlavoRx pill glide versus pill delivery treats

Once-a-day oral treatment with phenobarbital in cats with presumptive idiopathic epilepsy

OBJECTIVES

Phenobarbital (PB) q12h is the most common treatment recommendation for cats with recurrent epileptic seizures. Medicating cats may be challenging and result in decreased quality of life for both cat and owner. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate treatment with oral PB q24h in cats with presumptive idiopathic epilepsy.

METHODS

Nine cats with presumptive idiopathic epilepsy, receiving oral PB q24h, were included in a retrospective descriptive study.

RESULTS

Seizure remission was achieved in 88% (8/9) of the cats and good seizure control in 12% (1/9) of the cats, treated with a mean dose of oral PB of 2.6 mg/kg q24h (range 1.4-3.8 mg/kg). No cats required an increase of their PB frequency at any time during a mean follow-up period of 3.5 years (range 1.1-8.0 years). No cats displayed side effects or issues with compliance at the last recorded follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Once-a-day administration of PB for feline epilepsy was safe and resulted in satisfactory seizure control for the nine cats included in this study. The results of this study justify exploring this topic further in larger prospective studies.

Antimicrobial use Guidelines for Treatment of Respiratory Tract Disease in Dogs and Cats: Antimicrobial Guidelines Working Group of the International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases

Respiratory tract disease can be associated with primary or secondary bacterial infections in dogs and cats and is a common reason for use and potential misuse, improper use, and overuse of antimicrobials. There is a lack of comprehensive treatment guidelines such as those that are available for human medicine. Accordingly, the International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases convened a Working Group of clinical microbiologists, pharmacologists, and internists to share experiences, examine scientific data, review clinical trials, and develop these guidelines to assist veterinarians in making antimicrobial treatment choices for use in the management of bacterial respiratory diseases in dogs and cats.

Difficulties in administration of oral medication formulations to pet cats: an e-survey of cat owners

The purpose here was to determine the problems cat owners encounter in medicating their cats with orally administered drugs at home. The study was carried out as an open e-questionnaire survey addressed to cat owners in which the authors focused on the oral administration route. A total of 46 completed questionnaires were included in the survey. In the study, 46 cats received 67 orally administered drugs. Approximately half of the drugs were registered for use in cats by the European Medicines Agency (54 per cent), and there were also off-label drugs registered for human (36 per cent) and canine medication (7.4 per cent) and an ex tempore drug (3.0 per cent). The owners were unable to give the doses as prescribed for their cats for one-fourth of the medications (16/67). Drugs that were registered for feline medication were significantly more palatable than drugs registered for other species (odds ratio (OR) 4.9), and liquid formulations were significantly more palatable than solid formulations (OR 4.8). However, most of the owners (22/38) preferred a solid dosage form, while few (4/38) chose a liquid formulation. The results indicate that there is still a need for more palatable and easily administered oral drugs for cats.

AAFP and ISFM feline-friendly handling guidelines

BACKGROUND

The number of pet cats is increasing in most countries, often outnumbering pet dogs, yet cats receive less veterinary care than their canine counterparts.(1) Clients state the difficulty of getting the cat into a carrier at home, driving to the clinic, and dealing with the fearful cat at the veterinary clinic as reasons for fewer visits.(2) Educating and preparing the client and the veterinary team with regard to respectful feline handling is necessary in order to avoid stress and accomplish the goal of good health care. Without such preparation, feline stress may escalate into fear or fear-associated aggression. The resulting stress may alter results of the physical examination and laboratory tests, leading to incorrect diagnoses (eg, diabetes mellitus) and unnecessary treatments.(3-5) Without compassionate and respectful handling by the veterinary team, clients may feel the team lacks skills and compassion, or does not understand cats. Injury may occur to the cat, client and/or veterinary team.(6) Clients who want to avoid stress for their cat may avoid veterinary visits or choose another practice instead.

GOALS

The use of feline-friendly handling techniques should reduce these problems. Handling is most successful when the veterinary team adapts the approach to each individual cat and situation. The goal of these guidelines is to provide useful information for handling cats that can lead to: ✜ Reduced fear and pain for the cat. ✜ Reinforced veterinarian-client-cat bond, trust and confidence, and thus better lifelong medical care for the cat. ✜ Improved efficiency, productivity and job satisfaction for the veterinary team. ✜ Increased client compliance. ✜ Timely reporting and early detection of medical and behavioral concerns. ✜ Fewer injuries to clients and the veterinary team. ✜ Reduced anxiety for the client.