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As a nation of animal lovers, it is not surprising that three quarters of pet owners put their animal’s health above their own. A sixth of pet owners in the UK also claim to visit the vet more frequently than their GP.

But owning a pet has potential health and wellbeing advantages: of over 2,000 people surveyed, 87 per cent claimed to be happier as a result of having a pet, and just under half (48 per cent) thought that spending time with their pet reduced their stress levels.

The data was revealed by the National Office of Animal Health (NOAH), which represents the animal medicines industry. NOAH conducted the survey to mark the January revamp of its website, and the second year of its ‘I Heart My Pet’ campaign. This encourages owners to seek expert preventative healthcare advice for their animalWhile there are a good deal of positive things to say about the nation’s care of its pets, NOAH points out that “despite our love for our pets, many owners neglect to take preventive healthcare measures such as vaccination and worming”. So, should pharmacy get more involved?

Yes, suggests Johanna Cumbers, retail marketing manager at Merial Animal Health. “Pet healthcare continues to provide an enormous opportunity to pharmacy. Pharmacies are very well placed to advise on veterinary issues such as fleas, ticks and worming.”

Since the legal re-classification of some veterinary products, more pharmacies are viewing pet healthcare as an opportunity to expand their services, enter new consumer segments and potentially increase footfall, says Ms Cumbers

A valuable opportunity

The total UK animal medicines market is worth an estimated £530m. The companion animals sector accounts for 56 per cent of this, and AVM-GSL and NFA-VPS medicines for around 10 per cent.

“The largest players in this market are the flea and tick treatment Frontline Spot On and Bayer’s wormer Drontal,” says Ms Cumber. “The majority of the remainder of the pet category is made up of pet diet/nutrition products such as pet vitamins and skin/hair treatment products including pet shampoos.” In the ectoparasites sector, some 90 per cent of owners treat their pet against fleas and 57 per cent treat for ticks.

The advice from Ceva Animal Health to pharmacy owners is “to concentrate on veterinary-type products. Flea and worming is a key category, followed by leading supplements and treatments including calming products, products for joint care, dental hygiene, digestion, ears and eyes.”

Claire Russell, Logic product manager at Ceva, continues: “The pharmacy team should be aware of basic routine healthcare advice such as the importance of treating pets for worms at least every three months and information on how to treat for fleas. They should also be aware of the benefits of regular dental care, check-ups and general life stage information.”

Fighting infestations and anxiety

One in five cats and one in 10 dogs are infested with fleas at any given time, yet around half of owners do not realise when their pet has an infestation, says Ms Cumber. It is best to use flea and tick treatments throughout the year, as “any gap in treatment – even if only a few weeks – can leave a pet unprotected, leading to a home infestation several months later. Cats and dogs need to be treated regularly for fleas even if they are not showing signs of infestation.”

Treatments such as Frontline Spot On for cats and dogs should be applied regularly to all pets in the household at the same time, because one pet could be a reservoir for the others. Frequent vacuuming and washing pet bedding above 60C will help prevent flea re-infestation.

Pharmacy staff may be less confident in recommending pheromone-based animal calming products, such as Adaptil. This product can comfort and reassure puppies and dogs at times of stress, particularly when encountering new experiences and unknown environments such as a new home, pets and people, says Emma Jackson, Feliway and Adaptil product manager at Ceva. “There are 16 published papers supporting the use of Adaptil, which can also significantly help puppies develop into balanced and well-trained adult dogs if utilised during training/socialisation and puppy classes.” It contains a ‘dog-appeasing pheromone’ that is naturally released by the mother dog to support her bond with, and to comfort and reassure, her puppies.

Suitably qualified persons

A suitably qualified person, or SQP, is “an animal medicines advisor, a legal category of professionally qualified persons who are entitled to prescribe and/or supply certain veterinary medicines under the Veterinary Medicines Regulations,” says the Animal Medicines Training Regulatory Authority. By 2013 it had registered almost 5,700 SQPs, which included people working in veterinary practices, registered pet shop staff, equine product suppliers and country stores.

To qualify as an SQP, a person must undertake relevant training and pass examinations approved by AMTRA at Higher Education Level 4 or higher, and pass a viva (oral exam) conducted by an AMTRA assessor. A modular approach is the most common way to qualify as an SQP, but there is also a route for pharmacy professionals via the Veterinary Pharmacy Education Programme. This is offered by Harper Adams University in collaboration with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. </box>

In addition to the Adaptil diffuser, collar and spray, Adaptil Stress Relief Now tablets are new to the range. These contain “a combination of natural ingredients, GABA, L-theanine, L-tryptophan and B vitamins that act as a fast and temporary relief for stressful events,” says Ms Jackson.

For cats: “Feliway is proven to control the signs of stress in cats such as spraying and scratching, as well as inter-cat tension. There are 13 published papers supporting the use of Feliway for reducing or preventing feline stress and stress-related behavioural and medical problems.

“When a cat feels safe in its environment, it rubs its head against the furniture, walls or the bottom of the curtains, leaving substances called facial pheromones,” says Ms Jackson. “Feliway diffuser and spray is a synthetic copy of this pheromone and is proven to reassure and comfort cats, helping them to cope with changes in their environment.”

Supporting the sector

A number of manufacturers’ websites include useful information for pet owners and for professionals selling the products. Ceva’s Logic and pheromone (Adaptil for dogs and Feliway for cats) ranges carry SQP (see panel) points for CPD purposes, and the company is hoping to provide webinars and roadshows throughout 2014.

A television advertising campaign for Feliway will run from 20 April until 25 May. And an ongoing advertising campaign will highlight the benefits of Ceva’s new Logic range, covering the importance of dental hygiene and senior healthcare.

Merial has created the Pharmacy Pet Healthcare training module series to help pharmacies capitalise on the 500,000 plus visits made by pet owners to pharmacies every day. It will be supporting Frontline Spot On in 2014 with a new £1.3m TV campaign launching this May. A tick awareness consumer campaign was due to launch this month to raise awareness of the increasing prevalence of ticks in the UK and the deadly diseases they carry.

Useful websites

• Ceva: www.adaptil.co.uk
• Ceva: www.feliway.co.uk
• Merial: www.pharmacypethealth.co.uk
• Bayer: www.drontal.com
• National Pet Month (1 April to 5 May 2014): www.nationalpetmonth.org.uk

Ensuring online pet medicines are legitimate

One of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate’s top priorities in 2013-14 has been to combat the sale and purchase of unauthorised animal medicines via the internet. It has been working with the pharmacy regulators to address the problem.

The British Veterinary Association has serious concerns about the availability of medicines over the internet. BVA President Robin Hargreaves comments: “There are many legitimate companies – in the UK often run by vets – providing this service, but without proper regulation it can be difficult for consumers to know how to buy medicines safely and all too easy for counterfeit medicines to be sold or for medicines to be bought without a prescription.” Sourcing medicines from overseas should be avoided, he says.

“We would like to see the VMD-accredited internet retailer scheme become compulsory, so that no one is able to trade without reaching minimum standards. We have also championed anti-fraud measures.”