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The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) has endorsed a new set of guidelines for handling cats in a feline-friendly manner.

Missouri’s controversial anti-puppy mill law, "Proposition B," has been altered by two state senate bills signed into law last week.

The Oregon senate has passed a bill that will allow judges to include pets in domestic violence restraining orders.

by Jared Jacang Maher Feral cats have been the topic of much political debate in Utah this year as a result of two bills that presented very different methods for how to deal with feral animals. HB 210, which would have allowed for the shooting and killing of feral animals, failed to pass through the Utah Senate before the end of the state’s legislative session last month. Meanwhile, a separate bill making it easier for animal welfare organizations to sterilize and return feral cats to the places where they were found passed both houses. SB 57 is awaiting signature by Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert. Though these bills were unrelated, the fact that HB 210 died while SB57 prospered shows greater support for policies that take a more humane approach to controlling feral animal populations, says Best Friends Animal Society spokesman John Polis. Best Friends, a non-profit, sponsors around 40 programs throughout southern Utah that trap, neuter and then release free-roaming cats, which otherwise might be euthanized. The bill allows for ear-tipped cats to be returned immediately to their colonies without being held in a shelter for what is currently a mandatory three-day holding period.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the deadline for comments on how to increase the number of approved veterinary drugs on the market. Meanwhile, pleas for the FDA to not shut down compounding pharmacies continue to flood in, even though the agency says it is not planning any such action. The FDA published a notice in the Federal Register in December, saying it wants to find ways in which it can make more drugs legally available to veterinarians and pet owners. The notice cites the large number of non-FDA-approved animal drugs that are available, and asks for strategies on how to address the issue. The agency has already received close to 200 comments on the notice, and they have extended the comment period from Feb. 18 to April 19, in response to several calls for an extension. Interestingly, many of the scores of comments from pharmacies, veterinarians and other industry personnel are appeals to the FDA to not crack down on compounding pharmacies.

Minnesota and Nebraska are both considering puppy mill bills for the latest legislative session.

A Texas county that has been requiring rabies vaccinations annually now allows veterinarians to decide how often the shots are needed, the Temple Daily Telegram reports.

Comments have started to come in on a request from the  FDA for ways to address unapproved animal drugs.

Three cities consider or pass vicious dogs rules.

Dozens of veterinarians, organizations and companies have weighed in on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) proposal to add the anesthesia induction agent propofol to Schedule IV of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), and many of those are against the change. The DEA proposed adding propofol to schedule IV in an announcement in the Federal Register in October. In its proposal, the DEA cites research that suggests propofol has the potential to be abused, along the lines of other Schedule IV drugs like methohexital and midazolam. "In a survey of academic anesthesiology programs, 18 percent reported diversion or abuse of propofol," the DEA says. "Twenty-eight percent of the reported abusers of propofol had died due to propofol overdose. The individuals who died were affiliated with health care facilities in which there were no pharmacy or security mechanisms to control access to propofol." Hundreds of comments received Since the proposal was published, nearly 300 individuals, companies and organizations such as the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) have submitted comments to the agency voicing their opinions about the plan. (The comment period ended Dec. 27) The AVMA and many veterinarians expressed concern over the proposal, and urged the DEA not to schedule propofol.