Having brought a fluffy ball into your home, you need to be prepared for the fact that by the age of 8 months the cat will begin to ask to see a cat. A pet that has gone on a spree can really fray the owner’s nerves. Constant screaming, aggression, cat tagging and puddles of cats will drive anyone crazy. Therefore, the question arises about choosing a way to get rid of these “charms of life.” An alternative to sterilization is injections of the drug Depo-Provera for cats.
Initially, Depo-Provera (Latin name Depo-Provera) is an antitumor drug. It suppresses testosterone production in men and also causes anovulation in women (when the ovaries do not produce an egg). It is now popular for reducing sex drive in cats. At the moment it is considered more gentle than analogues. Used in a number of catteries of elite cat breeds.
Depo-Provera for cats began to be used recently, originally it was a drug for people
About injections for cats instead of sterilization
Many owners have a negative attitude towards castration, considering it completely inhumane, and are thinking about its alternative - injections for cats to stop them from walking. This method has its pros and cons.
Advantages of injections:
- the animal does not undergo surgical intervention, because sterilizing a cat is a serious surgical operation;
- there is no need to use anesthesia, which causes a heavy blow to the cat’s body, especially to the heart and kidneys;
- the pet retains its reproductive function and its reproductive organs remain;
- Not all cats can be spayed for health reasons. In this case, hormonal drugs are the only possible solution.
But there are also serious drawbacks.
- By postponing estrus, the drugs greatly disrupt the hormonal levels of cats.
- The instructions for using any hormonal drug that reduces sexual desire in pets list many negative consequences. This does not mean that they will definitely arise. Especially if the injections are performed by a veterinarian in strict accordance with the instructions. If you constantly monitor your cat’s health status and undergo regular examinations at the veterinary clinic, then side effects can be avoided altogether.
- Another drawback is that injections must be done constantly. The opinion that you gave an injection to a cat while out for a walk, and that’s it, it will last a lifetime, is wrong. Injections will have to be given until the animal gets old and the sexual desire fades away naturally.
- The owner needs to be prepared that injections are expensive.
The consequences of a cat walking can be anything: peeled wallpaper, puddles around the apartment
For your information! On the Internet you can find Depoprov, the instructions for cats are similar, but this is a mistake.
The drug is patented as Depo-Provera and has no other names.
Castration for medical reasons
Prostate cancer is one of the medical conditions for which castration surgery is permissible. In many cases, tumor development occurs under the influence of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone. The growth of normal and pathogenic cells occurs due to these hormones. Therefore, treatment of prostate cancer is possible due to a decrease in testosterone levels in the body. Read more about testosterone preparations in the pharmacy here.
When testicles are surgically removed, testosterone concentrations are reduced by 80-85%. During the operation, general, local and epidural anesthesia are used. During epidural anesthesia, an injection with an anesthetic is given into the spinal cord area through the spine.
The decision to use a specific type of anesthesia is made only by the attending doctor together with the patient and anesthesiologist. Fortunately, many cases of prostate cancer can be treated with enucleation. In this case, only the testicular parenchyma is removed.
Preparation and performance of surgical castration
Surgery (vasectomy) is only possible if there is complete confidence that the patient has cancer.
A biopsy procedure is performed to confirm. In addition, the patient must pass additional tests and undergo examination:
- General blood and urine tests.
- Blood chemistry. It allows you to determine what concentration of bilirubin, urea, creatinine and total protein is contained in the patient’s blood. The normal level of creatinine in the blood of men can be found in this article.
- Blood test for all types of hepatitis, syphilis, HIV and AIDS.
- Fluorographic image and electrocardiogram.
- If necessary, the patient receives a referral for consultation with other doctors.
If the patient is taking medications that affect the blood clotting process, he should stop taking them. Additional instructions on this matter must be clarified by the attending physician.
During the entire preoperative period before the operation, the patient is under the close supervision of his doctor. Only a doctor can take into account all the individual characteristics and needs of the patient and offer the best treatment and recovery options. Surgical sterilization is a fairly simple operation.
It goes like this:
The patient undergoes anesthesia and preparatory measures.- The surgeon then makes an incision in the skin and subcutaneous tissue of the scrotum.
- The testicle and spermatic cord are released into the prepared incision. The ligament descending the testicle is sutured, ligated and cut.
- Next, a small segment of the vas deferens is cut and ligated. As a result, the integrity of the channels connecting the testicles and penis occurs.
- After this procedure, the patient will no longer be able to have children.
There is a type of surgical castration in which it is possible to preserve the protein membrane of the testicles. In this case, a more cosmetic result is observed. If there are no complications, the patient can go home immediately after the operation.
Indications for use of the suspension
Drops for cats from partying, tablets, anti-sex
The use of Depo-Provera suspension is indicated in the following cases:
- if it is not possible for medical reasons to sterilize the cat, but you need to regularly suppress ovulation (for example, with diseases of the genitourinary system, heart, kidneys and liver);
- if you need to preserve your pet’s reproductive function in order to skip a heat once;
- if the cat has had her fallopian tubes tied, but is still in heat;
- in the treatment of certain oncological diseases as part of complex therapy. But this treatment method has not yet been sufficiently tested and requires constant monitoring by a veterinarian.
Not only a veterinarian can give an injection to a cat
special instructions
Before prescribing Depo-Provera, the patient should be thoroughly examined.
If signs and/or symptoms of thromboembolism occur, the risk-benefit ratio should be assessed before continuing use of the drug.
If the Itsenko-Cushing symptom complex (moon face, fluid retention, decreased glucose tolerance, increased blood pressure) appears while taking the drug in high doses, the dose should be reduced if possible and the patient's condition should be carefully monitored.
Use of the drug in high doses may cause weight gain and fluid retention
Therefore, caution should be exercised when treating patients who may be adversely affected by weight gain or fluid retention.
Patients with a history of treatment for depression should be carefully monitored. During therapy with Depo-Provera, some patients complain of depression similar to premenstrual depression.
When conducting a cytological or histological examination of the endometrium or cervix, it is necessary to notify the histologist about the therapy being carried out.
The drug should be used with caution in the postpartum period due to the increased risk of heavy and prolonged uterine bleeding. It is believed that the use of Depo-Provera may increase the risk of developing osteoporosis.
It is believed that the use of Depo-Provera may increase the risk of developing osteoporosis.
You should stop using the drug if there is a sudden partial or complete loss of vision, or if you develop bulging eyes, double vision, or migraine attacks. If the examination reveals damage to the fiber vessels or swelling of the optic nerve nipple, Depo-Provera should also not be used.
If jaundice develops, you must stop using the drug.
The use of the drug may affect the results of the following laboratory tests: determination of gonadotropin levels (downward); determination of blood plasma levels of progesterone, cortisol, estrogens (towards a decrease); determination of the level of pregnanediol in urine (downward); determination of testosterone levels in blood plasma (towards a decrease); determination of the level of specific globulin that binds sex hormones (towards a decrease); performing a sugar load test (glucose tolerance test); metapyrone test; can change the results of the test for prothrombin (factor II) and blood clotting factors VII, VIII, IX, X (increasing); increases the value of liver function indicators.
Composition and features of the drug
The main active ingredient of Depo-Provera is medroxyprogesterone acetate (a synthesized progestin hormone).
Duphalac for cats: dosage for constipation
The excipients are:
- water for injections;
- polyethylene glycol;
- sodium chloride;
- polysorbate;
- methylparaben;
- propylparaben.
Medroxyprogesterone stops the maturation of the egg, and therefore ovulation does not occur. Synthesized gestagen is more effective than natural one in preventing the onset of estrus.
Important! If ovulation has already begun, it is no longer useful to introduce hormones; you will have to wait.
How to give the drug to cats
Canephron for cats: dosage, instructions for use
The instructions for Depo-Provera assume that the owner can administer the drug independently. But this is not recommended; the pet will need to be monitored by a veterinarian for some time after the injection.
Where to give injections
The dosage of Depo-Provera for cats is as follows:
- 1 ml of the drug for a cat whose weight does not exceed 5 kg;
- 2 ml for a cat weighing more than 5 kg. In this case, the dosage is approximate. The exact dose of the drug must be determined by a veterinarian.
Note! Depo-Provera is used only during the period between estrus.
If it is impossible to visit a veterinary clinic when administering an injection, you must follow the following procedure:
- Part the fur and treat the skin with an antiseptic.
- Draw the drug into a syringe and shake. The syringe is used disposable. If there are several pets, then the injection is administered to each with a personal syringe.
- It can be administered intramuscularly (into the thigh) and subcutaneously (into the fold of the withers).
- Ideally, after this medical procedure, it is better for the cat to lie down.
How to properly hold your cat during an injection
How the cat feels after the injection
Immediately after the injection, the cat may be lethargic for some time. In some cases, the animal's appetite may increase sharply. Other side effects are not immediately noticeable. The drug was originally developed for humans. It is not yet possible to fully predict its effect on the cat’s body. Therefore, constant monitoring in a veterinary clinic is required.
However, based on currently available reviews from owners, if the dosage is observed, pets feel satisfactory.
Long-term contraception with Covinan
Sometimes injections are used to obtain a lasting effect. In this case, the drug provides a very low concentration of luteinizing hormone in the animal’s body and, accordingly, sexual rest. Proligestone can accumulate in fat cells and have a long-lasting effect. To do this, you need to regularly inject Covinan for cats. The instructions recommend running them according to the following scheme:
- The first injection should be given after the end of the animal's heat or a month before its expected start.
- The injection must be repeated after three months.
- The next Covinan injection is in 4 months.
- All further treatment consists of regular injections every 5 months.
It happens that while using the drug, the cat still shows signs of estrus. In this case, you need to immediately give an emergency injection. After this, further injections continue according to the scheme, but the first one must be done a month earlier.
Contraindications and complications
Depo-Provera does not apply:
- when the heat has already begun;
- if there is an individual intolerance to the components;
- for bleeding in the genitourinary system, the etiology of which is unclear;
- for liver diseases (the drug is adsorbed in the liver, so it can aggravate the course of the disease);
- during pregnancy.
Important! The product is not used for neoplasms in the mammary gland.
The injections have many side effects common for the synthesis of hormones, including:
- weight gain due to increased appetite;
- the appearance of malignant tumors. Breast tumors occur especially frequently;
- the occurrence of inflammatory processes in the uterus (pyometra);
- polycystic ovary syndrome;
- disturbances in the activity of the endocrine system;
- apathy;
- allergic reactions;
- diabetes;
- hair loss;
- damage to the central nervous system;
- diarrhea and other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
All side effects have not yet been fully studied.
Side effects
The medicine used as an injection is Covinan, but it is used for cats. According to scientific research, a tumor in response to the administration of such drugs can form in any organ of the animal whose activity is regulated by hormones. As for medications for cats, they can cause the development of diabetes mellitus and impair the functioning of the endocrine system. It is impossible to predict how this or that medicine will affect you, but you will have to be treated for pathologies for the rest of your life.
So, it should be recognized that the simplicity of the method of chemical castration of cats is offset by serious side effects, the onset of which is often difficult to foresee.
Storage, cost and analogues
If the storage rules are followed, the drug is good for 5 years from the date of production.
Keep Depo-Provera in a place protected from children and direct sunlight.
Storage temperature should not exceed 25 °C.
Cost and analogues
One of the undeniable advantages of this hormonal contraceptive is its price - from 97 to 240 rubles. in different pharmacies.
The closest analogue is considered to be Kovinan. It has a similar effect and the same list of contraindications and side effects. However, the frequency of adverse events is higher than that of Depo-Provera.
Cowinan
Treatment of post-castration syndrome
First, the doctor must make sure that this is definitely post-castration syndrome and not another disease. Treatment of post-castration syndrome should be comprehensive. Usually the course begins with taking sedatives and restoratives, vitamins, tranquilizers, and antipsychotics. The patient is prescribed physical therapy, sessions of water procedures and UV radiation.
The treatment period depends on how seriously ill the patient is. In some cases, a course of long-term hormonal therapy is prescribed. It should be remembered that you cannot take medications on your own; only your doctor can prescribe medications.
The duration of the patient’s treatment period depends on his age and general condition of the body and well-being at the moment. One of the unpleasant consequences of castration is osteoporosis. This disease is quite dangerous to health and leads to damage to the integrity of bones.
To treat such an insidious disease, not only medications are recommended, but also traditional medicine.
Some experts are confident that before castration it is necessary to conduct psychotherapeutic preparation of a man for surgery. The patient should be aware of what awaits him after castration. It is very important to see a doctor in a timely manner, because some castrated patients begin to have thoughts of suicide.
Sterilization as an alternative to contraceptives
If the animal is completely healthy, but there is no need to maintain reproductive function, then it is better to choose sterilization or castration. Sterilization in a cat involves tying the fallopian tubes. Castration is the removal of the uterus and ovaries or only the ovaries.
Important! After sterilization, you will need to monitor the pet’s weight and periodically visit the veterinary hospital for a genitourinary check.
The choice of method to reduce sexual activity in a cat depends entirely on the owner. Injections will help preserve reproductive function and avoid surgery under general anesthesia, but they can lead to a lot of undesirable consequences.
*Prices are as of October 2020.
Implant method
The most gentle way to chemically castrate cats is to implant a chip under the skin of the animal at the withers. The chip itself is a small cylinder, about the size of a grain of rice, and the medicine dissolves over time.
The drug in the implant begins to work after about six months, and its effect lasts up to one and a half years. This is the main drawback of the product. Mating a cat within a six-month period after administration of the drug will lead to the appearance of offspring.
