press release

FAB Easy to Give Awards announced

For the fourth year, the Feline Advisory Bureau (FAB), a charity dedicated to the health and welfare of cats, is rewarding drug companies whose products are easier to give to cats, making life better for vets, owners and feline patients alike, with its Easy to Give Award. Winners can use the FAB ‘Easy to Give’ logo when advertising their winning products.

‘When giving medications is difficult, many owners fail to complete the course and leave cats inadequately treated,’ says Claire Bessant, Chief Executive of FAB. ‘The Easy to Give Awards recognize the commitment made by pharmaceutical companies in making dosing medicines easier.’

The FAB Easy to Give Awards are presented by the FAB feline expert panel, a group of veterinary surgeons who are, or have been, funded at vet schools to specialise in feline medicine by the Feline Advisory Bureau.

The recipients of the FAB Easy to Give Awards 2008 are:

Vidalta (Intervet Schering-Plough Animal Health) is a one-a-day tablet treatment for hyperthyroidism, a common hormonal disease of middle-aged to older cats. Cats suffering from hyperthyroidism need life-long medication to maintain normal thyroxine levels. Until Vidalta, medical treatment usually involved two tablets a day. Vidalta tablets are formulated to release the active ingredient carbimazole, over 24 hours.

Milbemax (Novartis Animal Health) a combined wormer for cats (ie, treats roundworms, hookworms and tapeworms).  After winning an Easy to Give Award in 2005 for its broad spectrum of action combined with small tablet sizes, the manufacturers of Milbemax have gone one step further and improved the palatability of the tablet.

The FAB Easy to Give Awards were presented at the FAB at 50 Golden Cat Award ceremony held at Kensington Roof Gardens, London, on July 9, as part of FAB’s 50th anniversary celebrations.  FAB’s anniversary year is sponsored by Petplan.

Nominations for the FAB Easy to Give Awards for 2009 can be sent to the FAB office at Taeselbury, High Street, Wiltshire SP3 6LD, by telephone 0870 742 2278, or on email fab@fabcats.org.

FAB is a charity dedicated to promoting the health and welfare of cats through improved feline knowledge, to help us all care better for our cats. For more information on the work of FAB go to www.fabcats.org

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Notes to editors

Petplan is the largest provider of animal health insurance in the world. Established more than 30 years ago, it is part of Allianz Insurance, one of the largest general insurers in the UK.  For further information please contact the Petplan Press Office on 020 8580 8140, or 07961 851832 or sophie.parker@allianz.co.uk

For further details contact Karen Bessant, FAB press officer on telephone 01380 827 142, kbessant@aol.com or the FAB office on 0870 742 2278