From:
Dr. Bruce Williams
Date: 2001-02-25 17:29:00 UTC
Subject: Re: rimadyl
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., Alison Skipper <skipper@b...> wrote:
> For what it's worth, injectable Rimadyl is available in the UK.
(I'm a UK vet). I am well aware of the documented problems with it in
dogs (from canine discussion lists rather than personal experience -
I've never had a problem with it). We use it routinely for pain
relief after neutering in dogs, cats, and rabbits (and I have used it
for pain relief in one or two ferret spays, too,
> including one of my own). I work in a mainly exotic practice,
where we see large numbers of rabbits with chronic dental disease,
and we generally use Rimadyl as a first-line painkiller in these
animals. While I would in every way defer to Dr William's far
greater knowledge and experience of ferret medicine, I have to say
that my experience of Rimadyl has generally been favourable
> and that I would certainly continue to use it, on the evidence so
far, in healthy ferrets, though I might be more wary in sick ones.
Since we have no drugs except Baytril and isofluorane licenced for
use in ferrets in the UK at the moment (no, no vaccines either),
every drug choice has to be a matter of personal judgement anyway.
Our other main choice for pain relief in exotics would
> be meloxicam, which has the advantage of being in a liquid
formulation and so can be accurately given to very small animals; but
I don't think meloxicam is available in the US, is it?
Dear Dr. Skipper -
Yes, it does not appear that Rimadyl injectable is available in the
U.S., nor meloxicam - we tend to go slowly when approving new drugs,
and I don't thin that the well-publicized cases of hepatic
dysfunction with the chewable tablets is helping much with speeding
new formulations of carprofen through the FDA.
thank you for bringing me up to speed on the use of these two. Now I
believe that the use of this drug in the earlier post was as an
antipyretic (I am assuming as the ferret complaint was a respiratory
tract infection.) Are you currently using it for antipyretic
purposes or just for post-op pain relief?
I must admit that I am probably from the old school - my training was
that post-op pain relief was employed primarily following orthopedic
procedures, but I don't generally consider it after routine abdominal
procedures in ferrets. Is this a common practice in the UK to
prescribe post-op pain relief after spays?
Regarding trolls - all trollish activity is headed off at the pass.
We are in the process of setting up a model list in which ferret
owners as well as ferret vets can discuss medical advances in an
understanding forum. It is my hope that many more vets will join
this list (invitations are certainly going out), and that we will
have some very valuable discussions between vets as well as between
vets and owners.
While we can certainly head off any negativity on this list, I
encourage you and others on the list to also report any inappropriate
email posted directly to you as a result of any conversations on this
list. It too will be dealt with, perhaps by banning the perpetrators
from the list.
Thanks for signing on, and I hope that you will comment often -
you'll keep me in line, I hope!
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM
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