Some info for those of you who have pets on unlicensed "human"drugs press by vets for use

[bunglycat]

Thanks Sharon , thats really informative.

[Canterbury_cats (Sharon)]

Sorry the late reply. Bella is on a tablet called Plavix which is a anti clotting drug.. Cats with heart conditions are suspestible to such things and this drug helps the platlettes in blood to become less sticky and this do not clot so much.. The same applies to Asprin however, it is VERY EASY to overdose a cat on asprin esp one that is so lightweight as my Bella (never a big cat).... Asprin ihas been found not to be so effective and does take much longer to dissove in the system.. I was told for Bella she would need a childs dose only 1 tablet a wk... However, this would vary depending on her weight which is pretty constant.. However, if she decided not to take the tablet or you forget to give it too her then it could lead to overdose.. However, asprin was an alternative.. Plavix in tests has proved to be much safer and much more reliable... But if i had failed to find a way to dose her with it (Gel capsules) then we would of had to goto the asprin route. 

Bella has an irregular heart beat, she has had this for four yrs and had been on the usualy duretic drugs that are prescribed for heart conditions Fortekor and Frusimide, which she takes no problem, both on low doses, but both are licenced for animal use and are thus much easier to dose and palatable... The new tablet Plavix (or the generic version)is really a precaution as she is a senior moggie and although has done extremely well (the cardio vet was amazed at her general good condition)..
You will find in most cases that animals with heart condition the heart does enlarge to compensate for the extra work.. All in all the heart is a marvelous organ and in Bella case seems to be doing okay.. but only because four yrs ago it was caught in time and the meds have no doubt about it prolonged her life and given her a good quality of life... I am thankful that in the case of heart condition there are alot of meds out there that has developed in conjunction with human medicine. After all the heart has the same function in all animals and druges seems to work cross species...

I hope this post does help someone out there as it drove me up the wall with all the investigation.. She is insured, but insurance companies can pull the plug on polcies if they want!

[Fire Fox]

That is worth knowing, Sharon! I'd encourage every Purrs member to ask their vet to prescribe by drug name and not the trade name - this has been the rule in the NHS for many years, and allows the pharmacy to supply whichever brand or generic is cheapest. I think it would also help slaves, as many will not know that Fortekor is the same as Benzacare so might miss a thread of interest. Don't forget Boots has a lot greater buying power than your average vet - it may be vets have to use a different supplier for human meds - the difference is not entirely down to mark up.

[bunglycat]

It was really curiousity to what the drug itself was and what the heart condition is.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Very helpful post Sharon 

[Mark]

AFAIK, vets can only prescribe a human drug if there isn't an animal version of something available (I think they call it cascading) - However, there is a cheaper generic version, called Benazecare. The good thing is, the tablets are much smaller. They are 5mg so a cat dose is 1/2 tablet. Clapton was on them for a year or so. I know different vets charge different prices, but my vet charged £22 for 28 tablets (56 days worth)

http://www.petmeds.co.uk/p-4455-benazecare-5mg-flavoured-tablet.aspx?=googleshopping&CAWELAID=451074132&

[bunglycat]

Hi Sharon,
Just wondered what the tablet is as Smartie is on Fortekur for his heart problem as his is enlarged .

[Canterbury_cats (Sharon)]

I just thought i would post encase this helps any Purrs peep save a whole heap of money..

My Bella is on a tablet that is only licenced for "human" use but you agree to use it on cats/dogs then the vets will prescribe it.. In Bellas case she is on a heart tablet that has been found to be very effective and as there are no animal licenced drugs that are as good i was given a prescritpion for  her a month or so ago.. Eight tablets (she has a quarter day) cost me 36.00!!!!!

When i had to get some new tablets i went back to my own vet who quoted me 56.00 for the same tablets/quantity.. This included a pres fee of 4.00 or so.. Considering she is on other tablets that are through the vet a months dose of tablets in total would cost me (with all the tablets she takes) over 80.00 per month!!!

So you can imagine that i decided to do abit of investigation.... As these are human tablets you can not get them on line through vet UK etc... I went to my local Boots who told me that if i got a vet prescription the tablets would cost be 15.00 plus  i would have to pay the vets the prescription charge of 4.00... But still a huge saving... However, the lady i spoke to told me that only recently the same drug had now been available in a generic form (not the origianl licence manufacture) and these tablets would total 5.00!! for the eight... (a months supply)..

So i got the vets to write me a prescritpion for the generic form and got charged a fee for the prescritpion took that to the chemist and got charged 5.00 for the same tablets that the vets would charge me well over 40.00 quid for... and if i went back to the original brand tablets it was 50.00!!!

You can imagine how much mark up the vets put on drugs but this is just daylight robbery!! So anyone who has a animal on drugs that are not animal licenced but are giving to animals on vets advice (and there are a few) pls do consider doing some homework and you could save yourself a fortune!!!!

When i went back to the vet that originally prescribed the tablets to me for Bella, i was telling him about this new generic drug for the same drug and he was not aware of it.. So do not assume your vets are up to date with their drug knowledge speak to a chemist or pharmacy and see what they say... seeing as this is a very expensive human drug anyhows... anything to reduce the ongoing cost would be something to consider...