The effect of presenting forage in multi-layered haynets and at multiple sites on night time budgets of stabled horses

Abstract

Feline urine spraying inside the home is a common problem behaviour that owners seek advice for from veterinarians. Individual trials relating to a variety of interventions produce variable results, and to date, no consensus on the value of different treatments has emerged. This study therefore aimed to meta-analyse, current data from appropriate published clinical trials that evaluate treatments for feline urine spraying. Inclusion and exclusion criteria for study selection were predefined and methodological quality was assessed by two independent reviewers. Ten studies in nine publications that either evaluated pharmacotherapy or pheromonatherapy (the use of a synthetic analogue of the F3 facial fraction in the cat) were suitable for analysis. There was a significant (P,0.001) association between the use of any intervention and the number of cats that ceased or reduced urine spraying by at least 90%. Analysis by intervention type indicated that fluoxetine, clomipramine and pheromonatherapy may each assist in managing urine spraying beyond a placebo based intervention. This is the first time meta-analytical techniques have been used and reported to evaluate the efficacy of interventions used in veterinary behavioural medicine, and it has established confidence in the value of both conventional treatments (pharmacotherapy) and a more recently developed treatment modality (pheromonatherapy) as an adjunct to the management of this problem. It is suggested that future research into treatment efficacy for this problem uses the benchmark standard of randomised, controlled trials lasting for at least 8 weeks, with the outcome criteria of cessation of feline urine spraying or reduction by at least 90%.

The effects of dose and diet on the pharmacodynamics of omeprazole in the horse

“…However, it has recently been reported that many stabled horses finish an evening meal before midnight [29] and this was observed here wherein the entire meal in the HG/LF group was consistently consumed within 4 h. This effectively resulted in a fast of approximately 10 h prior to the morning administration of the medication. However, it has recently been reported that many stabled horses finish an evening meal before midnight [29] and this was observed here wherein the entire meal in the HG/LF group was consistently consumed within 4 h. This effectively resulted in a fast of approximately 10 h prior to the morning administration of the medication.…”

The effects of dose and diet on the pharmacokinetics of omeprazole in the horse

“…One potential weakness of the study is that the horses in the HG/LF diet were not specifically fasted. However, it has recently been reported that many stabled horses finish an evening meal before midnight (Ellis et al ., ), an effect observed by the authors of the present study wherein the entire meal in the HG/LF group was consistently consumed within 4 h. This effectively resulted in a fast of approximately 10 h prior to the morning administration of the medication. Further, the HG/LF diet was chosen as it is typical of the diet of Australian Thoroughbred racehorses (Southwood et al ., ; Richards et al ., ) and as such the authors propose that it represents the clinical scenario more accurately.…”

Factors affecting the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of omeprazole in the horse

“…However, it has recently been reported that many stabled horses finish an evening meal before midnight [113] and this was observed by the authors of the present study wherein the entire meal in the HG/LF group was consistently consumed within 4 hours. This effectively resulted in a fast of approximately 10 hours prior to the morning administration of the medication.…”