By DEBORAH WOOD, 2008 Newhouse News Service
(UNDATED) Humans can prevent pregnancy by taking a pill, but the only option for dogs and cats is major surgery. A coalition is working to change that.
Using surgery as the only alternative for birth control for pets is costly in terms of money spent and the time of highly trained professionals that's consumed in the process. Though modern surgical methods are safer than ever, there is always a small risk an animal will die on the operating table.
"Right now, our only tool is surgical sterilization. We've had no other tools in our toolbox," says Joyce Briggs of Portland, Ore., the president of the Alliance for Contraception in Cats & Dogs www.acc-d.org.
But the future might look very different, Briggs says. "We're focused on products that would be a single treatment for permanent sterilization and long-term contraception," she says. Ideally, the product would be a one-time, vaccination-style shot or a small, permanent implant.
The Alliance for Contraception in Cats & Dogs was founded in 2000, and Briggs was hired to run the organization in 2006. She says the goal of the nonprofit is to identify researchers doing cutting-edge work, people willing to pay for the development of new technology and companies that might be able to bring a product to market. It's an unprecedented coalition of humane groups, scientists and large corporations.
It's going to take all of them. Creation of a usable product isn't as easy as you might think.
For instance, take the idea of giving birth control pills to your pet. "Giving daily pills just doesn't work," Briggs says. Human-style birth control pills merely prevent pregnancy -- they aren't intended to end reproductive behavior.
"A lot of the reason that cats and dogs may get into a shelter is behavior. Sexually intact animals can have behaviors that people find annoying," Briggs says. So, to be effective, animal birth control would have to end the entire reproductive cycle.
Researchers are concentrating on drugs that affect the pituitary gland in the brain, so the animal's reproductive system would basically have its "on" signal turned to "off."
Briggs is the first to point out that even when such products hit the market, they won't be perfect. "There are trade-offs. There are benefits and risks with spaying and neutering. Any alternatives probably won't be perfect, either. It will be a matter of comparing benefits and risks."
Some existing technologies are effective, but only for a limited time. Still, those products might play an important part in solving worldwide dog and cat overpopulation, in places where packs of feral dogs spread rabies and where spaying and neutering all the animals just isn't physically possible.
A contraceptive that could be administered with an injection, without general anesthesia, where the animal lives could make animals and people healthier around the world. Even if the product is effective for only three years, that's longer than the life span of feral animals in most parts of the world.
Developments that might work in the Third World also could be helpful dealing with feral cats. Dedicated community organizations put a great deal of resources into spay/neuter clinics for these animals. Imagine how much further those dollars could go if technology allowed the animals to be sterilized with a single injection.
As the technology improves, it could have more uses over time. Animal shelters now routinely spay and neuter animals before they leave the shelter. But the surgery and recovery time keep the animal at a shelter for precious hours -- and often days -- taking up space another animal needs.
Some products in the past brought hope, but only temporarily. For example, products that were effective on wildlife such as deer and elephants didn't work as well on dogs and cats.
One product that has Food and Drug Administration approval hasn't found a permanent home within the pharmaceutical industry. Neutersol, a shot given to male dogs, was on the market from 2003 until 2005, when the patent-holder and distributor severed ties. There had been tentative arrangements for Neutersol to be reintroduced through another company, but the product launch was recently canceled.
"We are so very disappointed by this news," Briggs says. The product will be sold in Mexico under the name Esterilsol.
Several other products look promising. One, Gonazon, has received regulatory approval in the European Union. The silicone implant is effective for at least a year in female dogs, and at least three years in female cats. It could make a big difference in controlling feral cat colonies.
Meanwhile, Briggs' group looks for innovation and new solutions. "The greatest promise may lay in emerging technologies," Briggs says. "There is so much that has never been explored before."
(Deborah Wood is the pet columnist for The Oregonian of Portland, Ore. She is the author of 10 books, and can be contacted at TaoBowwow@aol.com.