Preparations for anesthesia in small domestic animals. Anesthesia for cats: general or local, preparation rules

When a person gets a pet, he takes on a lot of responsibility. If your pet is sick, then you should not put off visiting the veterinarian. By visiting or calling a veterinarian to your home , you can hear that a dog or cat needs anesthesia - intravenous or intramuscular. It reduces the body's sensitivity to pain various influences on tissues and organs. Any of the proposed species does not pose any threat to life.

The reaction of any owner to the word “anesthesia” is always the same and is expressed in fear. This behavior is not without reason, as memories are deposited in the memory scary stories from Soviet times, when anesthesia could lead to kidney failure , heart failure or other disease. This should be considered an established stereotype that should be gotten rid of. Next, we will consider in more detail what anesthesia is like, as well as its consequences.

Types and stages of anesthesia

The following types of anesthesia are distinguished:

Parenteral - intravenous or intramuscular injection medicines;

Inhalation - through the respiratory tract.

Anesthesia is also classified according to the number of drugs administered:

Mononarcosis – one substance is used;

Mixed - two or more drugs are used;

Combined - on different stages operations use different means.

Currently in most veterinary clinics non-inhalation anesthesia is used. Can be used during surgery various drugs, but the most widespread are the following:

Propofol (pofol, diprivan). Used for short operations and minor manipulations. The advantages of this drug: instant hypnotic effect within half an hour and quick awakening. Within an hour the animal is in quite adequate condition.

Domitor (medetomidine, zoletil). An adequate and safe option for anesthesia. Advantages: deep dream, pronounced insensitivity.

Butorphanol. For long-lasting and strong pain relief.

During a long operation, in difficult situations, a combination of drugs is used.

Stages of anesthesia:

First stage (superficial) - restful sleep. Used for minor superficial damage, dislocations and openings purulent wounds;

second stage (pronounced) - the pet is in a relaxed state, the reaction is weak;

The third stage (deep) - the functionality of the body is reduced. Long-term use is not recommended;

The fourth stage (overdose) - weakening heart rate. There is an urgent need to save lives;

Fifth stage (agonal) - anesthesia deepens greatly, breathing stops. Life can only be saved resuscitation .

Before the beginning operations vet obliged to carry out pet examination , take everything you need tests , perform x-ray and ultrasonography .

How harmful is anesthesia for an animal?

At the end of the last century for general anesthesia veterinarians used drugs considered “heavy.” Over time, these drugs were equated to narcotic substances. After the mid-90s in veterinary medicine for general anesthesia began to use “soft” medical supplies. They didn't provide negative influence on the kidneys, liver and internal organs.

To avoid the risk of death of a pet that will be taken out of anesthesia, you should not skimp on medications. When choosing a veterinarian, pay attention to his professionalism and the equipment in his office.

Consequences of anesthesia

The condition of the four-legged patient depends on the type of anesthesia and dose. If intravenous anesthesia was used, the animal may recover within 24 hours. But everyone has their own body and sensitivity to drugs is different. Dogs and cats are allowed to drink after surgery only after five to six hours. Eating is allowed only after ten hours.

After surgery, it is recommended to follow a diet and avoid fatty foods and poorly prepared foods. If the animal's condition is poor and weakened, the food should be chopped. Even after a day, the pet may feel unsatisfactory and experience nausea.

Sterilizing a cat is a complex operation that is performed under anesthesia. After its implementation, a decrease in immunity and various complications are possible. In order for your pet to quickly regain strength, constant monitoring of its health is necessary. For several days after anesthesia, the animal requires care and attention from the owner.

Sterilization of cats

Sterilization is an operation that results in the animal losing its ability to reproduce. This procedure is performed under anesthesia, so it is considered a serious and responsible step. However, sterilization is recommended for the following reasons:

• The number of stray cats is decreasing. If you sterilize street animals, there will be fewer offspring who will have to grow up without warmth and care. Reproduction is controlled in a similar way.
• Estrus in cats is a very common occurrence. To prevent the pet from suffering, the owners take it to a specialist for surgery.
• The problem of finding a home for kittens is being solved, because not all people can afford to have a large number of pets.
• You can safely let your cat out for a walk without fear of attracting the neighbors' cats.
• Sterilization - prevention of mammary gland diseases.

After sterilization, cats recover from anesthesia for a long time. At improper care complications may occur after surgery and inflammatory processes. The pet requires constant observation, regular food intake and comfortable conditions to recuperate.

The cat recovers from anesthesia

Cat owners are concerned about how their pet will recover from anesthesia after sterilization. After surgery, the animal’s behavior may change, which is a normal reaction of the body to medications. A cat, like a cat after castration, should recover quickly if you provide her proper care. But this does not always happen this way, so the owner should be aware of the pet's health status. If the recommendations of the veterinarian are not systematically followed, complications may occur on the operated organs and various inflammations. During this period, the cat requires special attention, because it depends on how quickly and without consequences she recovers from anesthesia.

Cats recover from anesthesia after sterilization in different ways. In some cases, the animal immediately regains consciousness, in others it is required a long period recovery. On the first day the pet will need increased attention and care. The cat's temperature will drop significantly after the operation, so you should try to warm the cat's body using a warm scarf or towel.

It is strictly forbidden to place a sterilized cat on a heating pad. Such actions pose a danger to the pet’s health, as there is a risk of complications.

The time after which a pet recovery from anesthesia depends on the following factors:

• animal weight;
• conditions for the operation;
• drug dose;
• the nature of the behavior and age of the animal;
• the owner's level of knowledge in the field of care.

Typically, the veterinarian reports the pet’s condition immediately after surgery, but recommends picking it up after a few hours. If the procedure was carried out in the morning, the cat can be picked up in the evening. It is better to care for your pet at home so that recovery takes place in a calm, familiar and familiar atmosphere.

Cats usually sleep for up to seven hours after anesthesia. Near days possible staggering and lack of coordination. The pet may refuse to eat and drink.

Features of animal behavior

The behavior of a cat after anesthesia may seem strange: the pet gets up and falls sharply, after waking up it runs at a chaotic jog and hits corners, crashes into walls and knocks down all objects in its path. In the first days after sterilization, the cat may experience the following signs:

• useless and causeless movements of the paws;
• disorientation;
• aggression, various sounds, scratching;
• mood swings;
• involuntary urination, sometimes for yourself;
• pain when swallowing food;
• the eyes are constantly open.

The listed signs are normal. If the owner of a cat has doubts about the state of its health and unexplained behavior, you should seek help from a specialist.

Caring for your pet after surgery

Once the cat has been safely operated on and has fully recovered, it should be taken home. The owner must strictly follow the rules for caring for a cat at home:

• To prevent the animal from intentionally harming itself, it is recommended to wear postoperative bandage or blankets, which you can make yourself or purchase in a store.
• The blanket is put on the cat immediately after sterilization and provides protection to the stitches. The blanket only needs to be removed for processing. surgical wound. It is necessary to ensure that the cat does not try to get rid of it, otherwise there is a possibility of infection.
• You should not put your pet on a sofa, table, or stool, since he is not yet able to control his actions and may fall. You should stay close to the animal at all times to avoid accidents, since cats, not wanting to be left alone, follow their owner with a bandage throughout the apartment.
• It is recommended to lay your pet on its side.
• You can create a secluded place on the floor in the room: put a baby blanket or pillow, and an absorbent diaper on it.
• If the animal's temperature drops, it is necessary to provide a source of heat.
• If the temperature rises, you need to force drink water to prevent dehydration and drying out of the mouth. For this, a pipette or syringe without a needle is useful.

After surgery, the cat sleeps for about one hour, then wakes up briefly and goes back to hibernation. This state lasts up to 7 hours. This is how a cat recovers from anesthesia. It is possible that your pet will feel a little nauseous. In this case, he should not be forced to drink and eat. The pet will get hungry closer to night; you can feed it its usual food. The next day the pet should fully recover. Then you need to treat the seams by dabbing with a swab containing brilliant green. The third day after surgery is the most important. It is on the third day that swelling, fever, and inflammation may begin. This does not always happen, but it is better to play it safe and constantly monitor your pet.

Sterilization is an operation that is available and widespread. And although the process is clearly established, it cannot be done without the attention and care of the owner. A person should be aware of everything that concerns his pet, do not forget to right time treat the seam and consult a veterinarian. It is strictly forbidden to self-medicate or try to use medications. Any actions are taken only with the permission of a specialist. If you follow his recommendations, the animal will quickly recover from anesthesia and restore its activity.

The words of a veterinarian made me think about the problem of general anesthesia. When we were about to perform surgery on the cat, I asked if surgery was dangerous. To which the veterinarian replied that the most dangerous thing is anesthesia, the rest is not so scary.

I was shocked. “And how often do your animals die?” - I asked. The doctor replied that this had never happened in her practice, but she was obliged to warn. Her words calmed me down somewhat. But I studied the issue of general anesthesia in more detail.

General anesthesia is given to eliminate painful sensations and exclude the animal’s attempts to break out and run away.

Rules for the use of general anesthesia

When administering anesthesia, the main thing is to correctly calculate the dose. Here you can’t go wrong one way or the other.

If you give too little anesthesia, the animal may wake up before the operation is completed. If the amount of medicine is excessive, there is a high probability that the animal’s heart will not withstand it.

A healthy heart is very important

What scared me most was that in the case of cats and dogs, it is difficult to determine whether the animal’s heart is normal. Will it even withstand a correctly calculated dose of anesthesia? Unfortunately, in our veterinary clinic The pets were not screened for heart disease before surgery.

Although I later learned that in some clinics you can donate blood and take an X-ray of the heart before surgery, which will allow you to at least roughly determine the degree of risk.

What if you have an allergy?

Unfortunately, unforeseen situations are possible when an animal is allergic to anesthesia drugs. In this case, the probability of death is high.

The experience of my fluffies

I had to give consent to the use of general anesthesia for my pets twice. The first was when the puppy seriously injured its paw and the wound had to be stitched up. The second is when sterilizing a cat.

The puppy recovered from anesthesia quickly and easily. Within a few hours he was calm and friendly.

But with the cat I suffered the whole night. Until the evening she simply looked with frighteningly unseeing eyes. This look made me feel creepy. And then she began to constantly crawl somewhere. At the same time, the cat got tired after a few steps, lay down, and after a couple of minutes got up and crawled again.

She couldn’t move suddenly so that the stitches wouldn’t come apart, so I supported the cat under her belly and crawled with her like that until the morning. Now I remember this situation with laughter. But it was still a great night.

Of course, I want the animals not to get sick. But when it comes to surgical intervention, better to play it safe with everyone possible ways.

Cats and dogs, of course, are not people, but they are creatures very, very close to us.

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How a cat comes out of anesthesia, how a cat comes out of anesthesia.

After the operation, the cat begins to recover from anesthesia. Care during this period must be thorough, in compliance with a certain number of rules. After the operation, under anesthesia, the body temperature will drop slightly and it will be necessary to cover it, possibly using heating pads.

The postoperative period lasts differently. How does a cat recover from anesthesia? The cat recovers after anesthesia for about a day. You need to lay something warm on the floor and put the animal there. It should not be placed on other surfaces, such as a chair or sofa, as the animal may suddenly jump up and fall when recovering from anesthesia, which could result in injury. There should be no draft in the room where the cat is.

A cat's recovery from anesthesia can be difficult. This cat has very poor coordination. She can rise to her paws and then fall. Or walk a few steps and hit the wall. The cat's behavior will be inappropriate. You should carefully pick her up and place her back on her bedding. There should be no hot or sharp objects or wires on the floor in the room around the animal. You should also remove all containers with water from the room. In this state, the cat is absolutely helpless. During the operation, it is advisable to place it on the right side, while lying on the left side the animal will have huge pressure on the heart.

When a cat is given anesthesia, it does not close its eyes. Therefore, during the operation, a special solution is instilled to prevent the mucous membrane from drying out. It is also advisable to close and open the cat’s eyelids yourself every half hour. Drink water very carefully too. First, you should wet the cat's mouth, then you can give it a drop at a time from a pipette. Approximately one tablespoon of water is given every hour. After vomiting stops, the dose can be increased. She doesn't swallow water well, so you have to be careful not to choke.

As stated, behavior during recovery from anesthesia is inadequate. It seems that the animal is sleeping, then it can suddenly jump up and run. It may meow or hiss, scratch its paws on the floor, or crawl. These are all normal manifestations of the effects of anesthesia. The cat is disoriented. If something seems wrong, you should definitely contact the veterinarian who performed the operation.

During the period of anesthesia (the first 24 hours), the animal may experience involuntary urination. It is better if it is located in a room where everything can be easily washed and put away. In addition, there may be vomiting. There should always be a small container nearby. Please note: before nausea, the cat begins to lick intensively.

Food should be given to the cat no earlier than one day after the operation. Be sure to give her water after four or three hours. You can even then give a glucose solution with water every hour. After anesthesia, the first two days the cat will have poor appetite. Food should first be given that is easily digestible. The same as for kittens. Make the mixture liquid. Feed little by little, but often.

There are situations in which it is necessary immediate appeal to the vet:

The cat has a deep faint and does not recover from anesthesia;

The paw pads are cold, the lips and gums are pale;

After two days, the cat did not begin to move and did not fully regain consciousness;

Constant vomiting;

After 48 hours does not control coordination;

Convulsions, allergies (swelling of the pharynx or muzzle).

The terrible word “anesthesia” sometimes frightens loving owners more than the operation itself. Horror stories from the USSR about liver failure, respiratory arrest, etc. are still alive in our memory. Sometimes owners even refuse the operation with the words: “What if the cat doesn’t come to its senses after anesthesia?” To reduce anxiety and avoid negative consequences, you need to find out in advance how long anesthesia lasts in cats, how to help your pet during this period, and for what symptoms you should contact a veterinarian.

Until 1994, “heavy” drugs were used for general anesthesia, later equated to narcotic drugs. Then complications after anesthesia in cats and dogs occurred in one out of ten cases, and this is very high rate. Modern drugs have a gentler effect on the body, do not inhibit liver function and are completely eliminated from the body in a short time. The main thing is not to skimp on your pet’s health, since it is sometimes quite difficult to bring a cat out of anesthesia after using cheap drugs. Fortunately, every year fewer and fewer doctors use outdated drugs, and to face such “savings” in private clinic almost no chance.

What is anesthetic risk?

No matter how experienced the surgeon and anesthesiologist are, there is always the possibility of complications up to fatal outcome. Anesthesia for cats is a serious burden primarily on the cardiovascular and respiratory system. Minimizing anesthetic risks is the task of the veterinarian, who is obliged to individualize the standard regimen taking into account the characteristics of a particular cat. In many cases serious condition cats after anesthesia are a consequence of using drugs “at random”, without studying the condition of the mustachioed patient. To avoid problems, it is important to contact only competent specialists with an excellent reputation.

How to prepare your pet for general anesthesia?

How long does it take for a cat to recover from anesthesia, how quickly will it return to full life and how high the risk of complications is largely depends on the thoroughness of the pet’s preoperative examination.

First of all, you need to visit a therapist who will measure the cat’s pulse, blood pressure and temperature, examine it completely, feel its tummy and examine it. oral cavity. To ensure that the cat does not end up on the surgeon’s table again after anesthesia, an ultrasound examination is performed to identify hidden pathologies. internal organs. It is mandatory to donate blood and urine ( clinical analysis). If possible, it is better to immediately donate blood for biochemistry, since anesthesia for cats is a peculiar trigger sluggish diseases, which this analysis will reveal. It is advisable to conduct an ECHO of the heart or at least visit a cardiologist, since an ordinary therapist does not always have enough qualifications to accurately assess the state of the cardiovascular system.

Read also: "Prasitel" suspension for cats and kittens: instructions for use

How does a cat feel during surgery?

General anesthesia is not only “sleep”, but also total loss sensitivity. Veterinarians use entire regimens using a number of drugs, since the cat sometimes recovers from anesthesia right on the operating table. This is extremely rare case, however, it is vital that at such a moment the cat does not feel pain, but muscle tone was weakened. Therefore, there is no need to worry - during the operation the pet will feel absolutely nothing, even if it temporarily wakes up from its “sleep”.

Hospital or home environment?

Veterinarians recommend leaving pets in the hospital for at least twelve hours. The main advantage: a professional knows how to bring a cat out of anesthesia if complications from the respiratory or cardiovascular systems suddenly arise.

Being under the supervision of doctors, the cat will certainly receive qualified help in time if the need arises. In addition, impressionable owners will protect nervous system from shocks (both yours and the cat’s). Often, a cat’s behavior after anesthesia seems inappropriate, abnormal, painful and requires immediate intervention. Some owners, relying on intuition, begin to “help” the cat without contacting a veterinarian, which leads to disastrous consequences.

How long will the pet “sleep”?

How long anesthesia lasts in cats and how quickly the pet fully recovers depends on many factors. First of all, this is the type of drug and the method of administration into narcotic sleep. Drugs short acting allow you to quickly achieve the condition required for the operation, and in the shortest possible time they cease to affect the body. They are used in cases where simple manipulation is required (castration, removal of tartar, tooth extraction, trimming claws of aggressive animals, etc.). Modern gas anesthesia for cats allows you to monitor the pet’s condition during surgery and during short time bring the mustachioed patient to his senses. As a rule, the pet wakes up in the doctor's office or on the way home. Deeper anesthesia lasts from two to eight hours (largely depends on the dosage and individual reaction organism).

When leaving the clinic, do not forget to ask the veterinarian about how long it will take for the cat to recover from anesthesia if the injected drug is tolerated normally. Since the timing varies significantly, this point should be clarified in order to notice possible complications in time.

First hours

The first day is considered critical postoperative period, during which the owner must monitor the cat's condition. Arriving home, you need to put your pet on the floor in a quiet place, away from heating radiators and drafts. You should not place a sleeping cat on the bed; it may fall and hurt itself.

Typical cat behavior after anesthesia is a cocktail of mixed negative emotions. Gradually coming to its senses, the cat looks deeply unhappy, constantly tries to go somewhere, staggers, has difficulty holding its head up, crashes into walls, and cannot get into the doorway. It’s painful and scary to watch, your heart aches with pity, but it’s important to pull yourself together and realize that all this is the norm. Until muscle tone is restored, you need to hold your pet, not allowing it to wander around the apartment or jump on the furniture: affection, quiet conversations and light stroking will certainly help, unless the pet shows aggression.

Sudden aggression in a cat after anesthesia is also normal. The pet is disoriented, her paws do not obey her, it is difficult to concentrate, calculate the distance, and it is difficult to assess the situation as a whole. The cat is frightened, tries to climb higher or hide deep under the bed, and the owner not only does not allow her privacy, but also constantly climbs with a thermometer, feels her nose, ears, and intrudes in every possible way. How can you not get angry? To reduce emotional pressure, you should close the curtains, ask your family to be quieter and once again not approach the cat, observing its actions from the side.

Food and water

You can feed your pet only when all the external signs narcotic sleep (staggering, convulsive swallowing, uncertain movements, etc.). Sometimes, after anesthesia, a cat does not drink or eat for more than a day, experiencing stress and physical discomfort. There is no need to rush into feeding – a day of fasting will not harm your pet. You should start with semi-liquid light food at room temperature. But you need to give water:

• after waking up, use a pipette to moisten the mucous membranes with a few drops. Every half hour until the cat can hold its head up;

• while stiffness in movements is noticeable, every hour a teaspoon or even less, in small portions per cheek, preferably from a syringe without a needle.

It is important not to leave bowls of water, mugs of tea and other sources of moisture near the cat, since a disturbed swallowing reflex does not allow it to drink normally: the cat may choke or even fall asleep if its face falls into a bowl of water.