Will Felimazole® Replace Methimazole?
You’ve heard about methimazole for the treatment of feline hyperthyroidism. Well now its time you hear about Felimazole®. Will Felimazole® cure feline hyperthyroidism and replace the use of methimazole? Our guess is you probably won’t see too many well informed veterinarians lining up to prescribe this recently approved (May 2009) drug for use in cats, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That is, except for veterinarians in the United Kingdom who will need to use Felimazole® exclusively since it was approved there. The active ingredient in Felimazole® (Dechra Pharmaceuticals) is methimazole. No typo here, that’s right. Felimazole® is the same medication that has been prescribed by veterinarians for decades for the treatment of hyperthyroidism in cats, except we’ve been using it off-label and calling it methimazole. It works by reducing production of T3 and T4. In safety and efficacy studies conducted by the makers of Felimazole® they found the most frequent side effects to be vom
