26 Sept 2022
Sustained release implant contains gonadotrophin-releasing hormone superagonist deslorelin and is approved for use in cats from three months.
Vet Times
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Image from Virbac’s promotion of Suprelorin 4.7mg after it was licensed for use in male cats from three months.
Virbac’s Suprelorin 4.7mg implants are now licensed and available as an alternative to surgical castration for male cats.
Suprelorin 4.7mg is a sustained release implant containing deslorelin – a gonadotrophin-releasing hormone superagonist – which has been European Medicines Agency and VMD approved for use in male cats from three months of age.
It provides temporary infertility and suppression of urine odour, and of sexual behaviours such as libido, vocalisation, urine marking and aggressiveness in intact male cats, and traditionally lasts for 12 months.
Testosterone levels are said to drop within two weeks of implantation for most cats, followed by reduced testicular volume and reduced size of penile spines from four to eight weeks after implantation.
Sexual behaviours begin to decrease a a week after treatment, starting with reduced vocalisation, reduction in libido, urine odour, urine marking and aggressiveness from four weeks. Induction of infertility is from within six weeks.
Neil Mottram, technical product manager at Virbac, said: “The ability to use Suprelorin in male cats provides an opportunity for practices to offer a choice when it comes to neutering, and to tailor their recommendations to meet the individual needs of both the cat and the client.
“Suprelorin provides an ideal solution for cats where the client wants the benefit of surgery without the permanent loss of fertility, where there is an anaesthetic risk in high-value kittens or where there is benefit to allow enough time between neutering, vaccination and homing to minimise stress.”
The implant is inserted subcutaneously under the loose skin on the back between the lower neck and lumbar area, and can be implanted in a quick procedure that does not require hospitalisation or anaesthesia.
It has also received a licensed claim in prepubertal female dogs for the induction of temporary infertility to delay the first oestrus and heat signs, and to prevent pregnancy at a young age in intact and healthy sexually immature female dogs. The implant should be administered between 12 and 16 weeks of age.
For more information on Suprelorin, speak to a Virbac territory manager, while support on use is available by telephoning 01359 243243.
