Adherence to veterinary recommendations for ectoparasiticides purchased by cat owners in the USA
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(2020) 13:541 Lavan et al. Parasites Vectors https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020-04415-5
Open Access
SHORT REPORT
Adherence to veterinary recommendations for ectoparasiticides purchased by cat owners in the USA Robert Lavan1* , Rob Armstrong2, Dorothy Normile2 and Wendy Vaala2
Abstract Background: Safe and effective flea and tick treatment options for cats are important in companion animal practice because of feline ectoparasite infestation prevalence and the potential for parasitic disease transmission. Retrospective cat owner purchasing transactions at United States of America (USA) veterinary clinics were obtained for three topical feline flea and tick ectoparasiticides. One medication, fluralaner, had a 12-week redosing interval, while two other medications (fipronil/s-methoprene/pyriproxyfen; imidacloprid/pyriproxyfen) were approved for monthly redosing. The annual number of doses purchased by cat owners was determined for each of the three medications and then compared between medications. The objective was to evaluate whether 12-week retreatment intervals resulted in a different duration of coverage compared to monthly treatments for ectoparasiticide products. Methods: Study results were obtained by analyzing the transactional records from a commercial database derived from veterinary practice management software. The study database consisted of cat owner purchasing records from January 2017 through June 2019 from 671 veterinary practices representing 41,630 cats. Results: Cat owners purchased an average of 1.5 doses of fluralaner per year which, based on a 12-week redosing interval, provides 4.2 months of treatment coverage. Cat owners who used monthly flea and tick medications respectively purchased 3.6 months (fipronil/s-methoprene/pyriproxyfen combination) and 2.8 months (imidacloprid/ pyriproxyfen) annually of each of the two medications. Average yearly cat owner purchases of fluralaner provide a significantly longer duration of coverage than for cat owners purchasing fipronil/s-methoprene/pyriproxyfen (17% more) or imidacloprid/pyriproxyfen (50% more). Conclusions: Cat owners who obtained a flea and tick treatment with a 12-week redosing interval (fluralaner) protected their cats for up to 17% or 50% longer duration each year, respectively, compared to the duration of protection obtained by cat owners who used a medication re-dosed monthly. Cat owners should increase their duration of flea and tick coverage to come closer to achieving veterinary recommendations. Keywords: Adherence, Bravecto, Cat, Ectoparasiticide, Flea, Isoxazolines, Tick
Background In primary care veterinary practice, flea and tick control is an essential component of the preventive healthcare *Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Center for Observational and Real‑World Evidence, Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
strategy for cats. This is because of the high prevalence of flea infestation, the year-round risk of ticks, the risk of flea allerg
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