From:
Dr. Bruce Williams
Date: 2001-02-25 11:23:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Rimadyl
> I'm sure they did use Rimadyl... The vet put Rimadyl in the
computer, the
> description is "Rimadyl Inj 20ml" and quantity was 0.16ml. When
Jack's
> infection flared up again, I saw a different vet. She went to get
Rimadyl
> but then came back and said that they didn't have any Rimadyl left
but she
> would give him a different anti-inflammatory (I think), anyway, she
gave him
> "Metacam Inj 0.5% 10ml" and he had 0.2ml of that. Is that drug
safer? I
> must make sure that they don't use Rimadyl again... Just to be on
the safe
> side... Thank you for your reply!
In the U.S., we only have chewable tablets of carprofen (Rimadyl)
available at this time - it may be a country difference as the FDA
conducts fairly extensive testing of all new veterinary
pharmaceuticals.
Rimadyl, like many other non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, may
result in a number of severe side effects, such as ulcer formation,
liver damage, and rarely death. The company that markets Rimadyl
suggests that 8 dogs in 10,000 suffer liver damage, and 2 in 10,000
may die. I am not sure of the veracity of these numbers, and the
company puts a large number of disclaimers on the product, but you
may have similar problems with other non-steroidal antiinflammatories.
Deaths, however, in dogs with chronic arthritis tend to get wide
airplay.
The use of Rimadyl in ferrets, and likely Metacam (meloxicam) is a
significant off-label usage for these drugs. Personally, I tend to
avoid the use of all anti-inflammatories in ferrets, as the
metabolism of these drugs has not been worked out. While it has been
worked out in dogs, ferrets are not even close to dogs. In
infectious disease such as upper respiratory infections, I don't see
a need for anti-fever medications in ferrets.
Without any precise evidence on the benefits of using these drugs in
ferrets, I am afraid that I am hard-pressed to justify the risks
which you may be taking in administering them.
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM
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