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I have just sent an email to Bayer Animal Health

Jenova

Wise Old Thumper
The company who make baytril. It's about changing the taste of baytril as so many rabbits hate it to the point it causes stress to give it to them.

First of all I've written to make them aware of the problem, in case they don't know. And secondly I've asked what I can do to start the ball rolling on the process to get the taste changed. I'm thinking of getting a petition together where you can indicate if you are a pet owner or vet and what issues this causes.

Things such as hunting for something to hide it in. In my case switching Grim to another antibiotic because the stress of giving baytril was actually making him worse!

What do you think?
 
Well I'd sign your petition my rabbits have all hated it to the point they'd actively avoid being near me several weeks after I'd stopped forcing it upon them I'm not sure if this drug is licensed for buns so Bayer may not take much notice of a petition on behalf of buns Though I'm also sure NO animal would willingly take it, I accidentally got some in my mouth & it's the most vile tasting thing I've ever encountered
 
That would be fantastic if they changed it, or even had a seperate rabbit version that was flavoured differently.
 
:thumb:

Humphrey gets stressed out when I try and give him baydril and he's very people friendly. Must be even more difficult and stress inducing (for rabbits and owners!!) if they're shy as it is.
 
Excellent idea which has my full support.:thumb:

Ever since I joined RU, it has perplexed me why enrofloxacin should be far less effective as an ABx in rabbits than one would expect given its wide spectrum of activity against so many bacterial pathogens affecting rabbits, & that it is a cidal ABx. It should be an ideal ABx for them.

Very sadly much of the research has been done on cats & dogs & its ineffectivity attributed to a failure to distinguish between viral & bacterial disease in these species, but I don't think this applies to rabbits because of the effectiveness of alternative ABX.
http://www.sheltermedicine.com/node/29

I have also noticed "palatability" issues causing stress. It is proven that stress markedly reduces the immune system in rabbits. I have also come to a tentative conclusion that this is the major factor in rabbits.

I think we have all noticed that rabbits are likely to take meloxicam eagerly. My 2 boys had to learn that it helped them, & could do so very quickly after 3 doses, possibly because they felt better so quickly (after about a maximum of an hour) as much as palatibilty.

My zany idea is whether the increased costs of changing the palatability for 1 species (rabbits) could be virtually eliminated by combining Baytril with a popular NSAID for rabbits on the grounds that infections are painful & reduced swelling desirable to increase ABx efficacy further? An alternative would be to produce a form which is stable when mixed with a NSAID, thereby allowing manipulation of the doses of the 2 drugs independantly.

There are a few other considerations about its effectiveness such as whether rabbits metabolise baytril more rapidly than other animals so trough levels fall close to subtherapeutic levels.

I know its very frustrating but our arguement to improve palatability can only be minimum cost to the manufacturers with a large gain in sales =profit.
Of course another point is that owner perception of rabbits as "meriting vet care" together with vet advances in the field is opening a bigger market.

Just throwing out some initial ideas for you which may or may not work. Some of them are for to vets to comment on.
 
Excellent points Judy! :thumb:


Excellent idea which has my full support.:thumb:

Ever since I joined RU, it has perplexed me why enrofloxacin should be far less effective as an ABx in rabbits than one would expect given its wide spectrum of activity against so many bacterial pathogens affecting rabbits, & that it is a cidal ABx. It should be an ideal ABx for them.

Very sadly much of the research has been done on cats & dogs & its ineffectivity attributed to a failure to distinguish between viral & bacterial disease in these species, but I don't think this applies to rabbits because of the effectiveness of alternative ABX.
http://www.sheltermedicine.com/node/29

I have also noticed "palatability" issues causing stress. It is proven that stress markedly reduces the immune system in rabbits. I have also come to a tentative conclusion that this is the major factor in rabbits.

I think we have all noticed that rabbits are likely to take meloxicam eagerly. My 2 boys had to learn that it helped them, & could do so very quickly after 3 doses, possibly because they felt better so quickly (after about a maximum of an hour) as much as palatibilty.

My zany idea is whether the increased costs of changing the palatability for 1 species (rabbits) could be virtually eliminated by combining Baytril with a popular NSAID for rabbits on the grounds that infections are painful & reduced swelling desirable to increase ABx efficacy further? An alternative would be to produce a form which is stable when mixed with a NSAID, thereby allowing manipulation of the doses of the 2 drugs independantly.

There are a few other considerations about its effectiveness such as whether rabbits metabolise baytril more rapidly than other animals so trough levels fall close to subtherapeutic levels.

I know its very frustrating but our arguement to improve palatability can only be minimum cost to the manufacturers with a large gain in sales =profit.
Of course another point is that owner perception of rabbits as "meriting vet care" together with vet advances in the field is opening a bigger market.

Just throwing out some initial ideas for you which may or may not work. Some of them are for to vets to comment on.
 
I totally agree, but I wouldn't make it just about rabbits. The taste has been an issue for all small animals I've had, eg. mice, hamsters and guinea pigs.
 
I've got very vague recollections (possibly wrong) that I was once told that it is liver flavoured, because it is primarily aimed at small carnivores. If that's true...and it might not be of course...it's no wonder they don't like it!
 
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