Postponement of puberty in queens treated with deslorelin

Abstract

Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess efficacy of deslorelin, a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist marketed in Europe for the control of male dog reproduction, for the postponement of puberty in queens. Methods Nine prepubertal queens aged 3-9 months were selected for this study; their general and reproductive health was checked through clinical, haematological, vaginal cytology and hormonal tests. Following treatment with a 4.7 mg deslorelin implant, each cat received a monthly clinical examination and blood was collected for hormonal assay every third month. Cats were monitored for 14.1 ± 5.2 (range 7-23) months. Results All cats were in good body condition and normal health prior to treatment. Their health status remained unchanged throughout the study and no significant variation was observed with regard to serum progesterone or oestradiol. Seven days post-treatment, 1/9 queens showed signs of heat, and one other queen showed complete vaginal keratinisation. No other signs of heat were subsequently observed in any other queen. Five queens were lost during the study after 7, 7, 16, 17 and 18 months of observation (during which time they did not show signs of heat). By the end of the study, no sign of puberty was observed in the four remaining queens at 21-36 months of age. Conclusions and relevance A 4.7 mg deslorelin implant was able to suppress the feline pituitary-gonadal axis, leading to postponement of puberty for up to 21-36 months in the four queens that completed the study. Deslorelin can be considered as a safe method to postpone puberty in queens.

Interval between Removal of a 4.7 mg Deslorelin Implant after a 3-, 6-, and 9-Month Treatment and Restoration of Testicular Function in Tomcats

“…For animals with breeding value long-acting GnRH agonists such as deslorelin are becoming increasingly considered by pet owners because of their reversible action [3,4,8]. Apart from the induction of reversible sterility, a number of useful clinical applications of deslorelin implants have been also reported in cats such as postponement of puberty, treatment of reproductive diseases and control of behavioral problems due to sex hormones with these effects being dose dependent when comparing the 4.7 mg and 9.4 mg dosage [12,[17][18][19][25][26][27][28][29].…”

Attitudes and Practices of Australian Veterinary Professionals and Students towards Early Age Desexing of Cats

“…Desexed cats suffer fewer fighting injuries, display less aggression, have reduced incidences of tumours of the reproductive tract, seldom exhibit sexual behaviours such as spraying, and have longer life expectancy [62,63]. Contraceptives and drugs to delay puberty are being trialled where there are ethical or welfare objections to surgery [64,65], but they can be costly are impermanent, and provide few, if any, behavioural or health benefits. However, our study shows that there is no consensus amongst Australian veterinary professionals or students on the ideal age to desex pet cats, with limited, conservative advice available online to clients via practice websites.…”

Contraceptive implants used by cat breeders in France: a study of 140 purebred cats

“…Evidence suggests that progestin-based treatments may increase the risk of occurrence of mammary tumours, [3][4][5][6][7][8][9] fibroadenomatosis, 10,11 cystic endometrial hyperplasia, [12][13][14] pyometra 15 and diabetes mellitus. [16][17][18][19][20] In recent literature, other off-label contraceptive options have been tested, such as subcutaneous (SC) implants containing 4.7 mg gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) superagonist deslorelin (Suprelorin 4.7 mg; Virbac), [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] and 18 mg melatonin (Melovine; Ceva). [41][42][43][44][45] Deslorelin acetate is a decapeptide that differs from GnRH by only two amino acids.…”