# The pill, Implants etc for queens UK



## David C (Sep 6, 2010)

Do any of you use or have used any form of pill or implants to stop your girls from calling for a few months and if so what have you used and what was the cost roughly. 

The only reason im asking about the cost is ive been qouted £300 for an implant and the vet wouldn't tell me what it was called.......( not our usual vet and she doesn't do them )


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## gskinner123 (Mar 10, 2010)

I used to use Ovarid sparingly and infrequently but I am not sure it is available now.

On two occasions my girls had a Delvosterone injection which did what it was supposed to do. The cost was well under £50 (each cat) which included a consultation/general health check.

I haven't and probably would never use an implant.


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## David C (Sep 6, 2010)

gskinner123 said:


> I used to use Ovarid sparingly and infrequently but I am not sure it is available now.
> 
> On two occasions my girls had a Delvosterone injection which did what it was supposed to do. The cost was well under £50 (each cat) which included a consultation/general health check.
> 
> .


I don't think ovarid is available now.....
When did you give the Delvosterone injection, do you have to wait until after a call has finished and how long did it stop them calling for?


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## gskinner123 (Mar 10, 2010)

Vet said it was best administered when the girl was out of call so that's what we did. Bearing in mind both were given late winter/early spring when they should have started calling soon thereafter.

One girl, it only kept her out of call for around 5 months but the other for almost a year which is longer than expected.

Both were allowed a couple of calls before mating. One girl went onto have a litter with no problems. The other girl failed to become pregnant again but I strongly suspect there may have been an issue unrelated to the Delvosterone.


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## David C (Sep 6, 2010)

A couple of our girls call for 8 days hard every 16 days or so. One had kittens 9 weeks ago and started calling again when the kittens were 6 weeks old for 8 days and is now 4 days into another call, Luckily the kittens are now 9 weeks and don't need to feed from her because she is only interested in calling but it would be good for her if we could stop her calling like this for a few months because she also isn't interested that much in her food either


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## gskinner123 (Mar 10, 2010)

David, I don't know what breed you have but for my BSH that would be a normal pattern - out of call for two weeks, in call for 7-10 days. My girls will also invariably be back in call from as soon as 4/6 weeks after giving birth.

I don't worry about them losing weight (I am yet to see one of my girls looking concerningly thin) and I think it's a fairly normal state of affairs for cats - so long as not in the extreme.

My only big concern is the noise. I am fairly immune to it but living in a small terraced cottage, I have neighbours to consider.


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## Rufus15 (Dec 4, 2015)

Ovarid can be purchased in France but it's vital to ensure the correct dose - it can ruin a girl's breeding ability especially if she's a maiden

Suprelorin is available in the UK but again poses a very real risk for maidens of never calling again. If she's had a litter previously then it can be used safely, but inject into the flank as opposed to the scruff, so it can be removed when you choose rather than leaving it to wear out (it lasts 18-24 months). It can be purchased from the vet but it is expensive, I was quoted £175

Melatonin is the safest thing for a maiden, but has to be ordered in from the US. It lasts around 4-6 months.

All contraception should be administered out of call for the best results


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## David C (Sep 6, 2010)

gskinner123 said:


> David, I don't know what breed you have but for my BSH that would be a normal pattern - out of call for two weeks, in call for 7-10 days. My girls will also invariably be back in call from as soon as 4/6 weeks after giving birth.
> 
> I don't worry about them losing weight (I am yet to see one of my girls looking concerningly thin) and I think it's a fairly normal state of affairs for cats - so long as not in the extreme.
> 
> My only big concern is the noise. I am fairly immune to it but living in a small terraced cortege, I have neighbours to consider.


Also BSH here, TBH having the kittens and feeding them hasn't taken much out of her and she still looks in good condition, It was just the fact her not eating much again now she's screaming the house down lol. The noise doesn't bother us either we just switch off to it and during the night we just put them in the kitchen when they are calling because we can't hear them in there and neither can the neighbours. I just wanted to give her a good rest between this and her next litter so thought it might be best to give her something to stop it..


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## gskinner123 (Mar 10, 2010)

I think it's a difficult call - excuse the pun! I was never the least bit happy, on the odd occasion that I gave my girls Ovarid and used Delvosterone.

Overall, breeders that I know who try to manage their girls' calling (for any number of reasons) have more breeding/fertility/ovarian cyst/pyometra problems than those who take a more natural approach wherever possible.


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## David C (Sep 6, 2010)

I think i'll leave it be then.


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## QOTN (Jan 3, 2014)

When I was breeding, I never interfered with my girls' calling but among Siamese and Oriental breeders I knew who used Delvesterone some of their girls never called again and some failed to get pregnant. That was when Ovarid was still available and they used to give a quarter of a tablet at the first sign of calling and it used to knock the girls off call. I never knew anybody who gave the prescribed dose.


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

I use acupressure, my breed calls very young and frequently so it helps get them to an appropriate age or hold them off when they’ve got babies.
The only implant I’d consider is Melatonin.


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## lillytheunicorn (Nov 17, 2012)

I used Superlorin on Sheep after she had kittens and TBH it was a disaster, we had it implanted in her thigh and it was removed after 3 months, she then didn’t call for another 4 months after. She was then mated when she called and had a phantom pregnancy. I have now let her have a good few calls and she has been mated so will see if she gets pregnant this time. 
I do have many friends who regularly use Superlorin on their girls and gave success with it. 

Baby blue was a nightmare calling for 8-10 days with a 2 day break, our vet desperately tried to get ovarid or perlutex but couldn’t. She wouldn’t give her the delvosterone injection because of the short break between calls.


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## gskinner123 (Mar 10, 2010)

Rufus15 said:


> Ovarid can be purchased in France but it's vital to ensure the correct dose


Could you please provide an example source or any other information? I know the Burmese Cat Club had an initiative to try to prompt the manufacturer, via the veterinary profession, to re-launch a 5mg tablet and I think many breeders would be interested in a possible safe/legitimate source.


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## Rufus15 (Dec 4, 2015)

gskinner123 said:


> Could you please provide an example source or any other information? I know the Burmese Cat Club had an initiative to try to prompt the manufacturer, via the veterinary profession, to re-launch a 5mg tablet and I think many breeders would be interested in a possible safe/legitimate source.


This is the link I was given by a breeder from Scotland, she uses it with her cats. I was given it through the Birth and Breeding group on facebook, which most breeders have access to, the link was provided on a post of mine.

It has already been stated ovarid will not be brought back to the UK, due to a lack of market for it. Not enough was being bought to justify the costs.


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## gskinner123 (Mar 10, 2010)

Thank you, Rufus. I see it says 'withdrawal in store' but unsure what that indicates as the translation of a lot of the info on the page is 'interesting'!

I actually feel it was one of our best and safest options for preventing oestrus - when used cautiously and correctly. The marketability of the product aside, I think it had developed a bad connotation with some of the veterinary profession in relation to how some breeders were using it. My previous vet flatly refused to prescribe it (for oestrus control) even when it was still available. I am not convinced my current vet would provide a prescription for it (as per the French site). Last time I had a discussion with him (about Delvosterone) he was very anti Ovarid type tablets for cats but equally advised against injectibles or implants, though he wouldn't refuse either of the latter.


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## Rufus15 (Dec 4, 2015)

The melatonin implant is far, far safer. Its natural and much more gentle. Its used on ferrets in the UK but not licenced for cats here, yet it is licenced the world over. UK vet medicine at its finest again. 

Suprelorin is better for boys than for girls, and naturally is readily available in the UK. You couldn't write it!


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## lillytheunicorn (Nov 17, 2012)

My vet is very anti ovarid due to liver disease as well as diabetes in cats and would prefer me to use melatonin. However she has tried to source it for me as she says that sensibly used it has its place but was to be used short term and with the minimal dosage required.


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## gskinner123 (Mar 10, 2010)

I very much agree with vets' concerns about Ovarid particularly in relation to diabetes. I do wonder however whether these are really only valid concerns when using it (for example for the control of miliary eczema) where it is given in far larger doses, frequently and over a much longer time period. My vet seemed quite surprised at how low a dosage is required to prevent oestrus.


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## Houseofcats (Aug 29, 2021)

Rufus15 said:


> Ovarid can be purchased in France but it's vital to ensure the correct dose - it can ruin a girl's breeding ability especially if she's a maiden
> 
> Suprelorin is available in the UK but again poses a very real risk for maidens of never calling again. If she's had a litter previously then it can be used safely, but inject into the flank as opposed to the scruff, so it can be removed when you choose rather than leaving it to wear out (it lasts 18-24 months). It can be purchased from the vet but it is expensive, I was quoted £175
> 
> ...


Hi Rufus, I have heard such differing views about ovarid. To surpress heat I've heard the correct dose is 1/2 a 5mg tablet once a week or a 5mg tablet once a fortnight, is this right? Also do you know how it affects a maiden's breeding ability biologically speaking? Many thanks


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

Houseofcats said:


> Hi Rufus, I have heard such differing views about ovarid. To surpress heat I've heard the correct dose is 1/2 a 5mg tablet once a week or a 5mg tablet once a fortnight, is this right? Also do you know how it affects a maiden's breeding ability biologically speaking? Many thanks


This thread is a couple of years old and Rufus is no longer a member.
I see you have also posted on another old thread with the same topic so I'm closing this one


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