Introduction
Indications for sedation
- To reduce stress and anxiety.
- Improve animal welfare.
- Reduce risk of catecholamine-induced dysrhythmias
. - Reduce risk of handling difficult cats.
- To enable a thorough clinical examination.
- To perform diagnostic procedures.
- To perform minor surgical procedures.
- As premedication prior to general anesthesia .
General rules
- Allow adequate time for onset of action of the sedative after administration.
- During this time it is very important to keep the cat in a quiet environment to get maximum sedative effect.
Always monitor a cat that has been sedated. - IV administration generally produces the greatest sedative effect in the shortest time.
- The time to peak sedation is longer after IM or SC administration, but the effect generally lasts longer.
- Depressive effects on the CNS may be additive or synergistic with other agents.
- Cats are particularly sensitive to hypothermia when sedated.
- Weigh animal on scales - do not guess weight.
- Combining sedatives often enhances potency while minimizing side effects.
Sedative agents
- These include:
- Acepromazine.
- Benzodiazepines.
- Opioids.
- Alpha-2 agonists.
- Ketamine.
Sources
Publications
Refereed papers
- Recent references from PubMed .
- Dyson D H (2008) Analgesia and chemical restraint for the emergent veterinary patient. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract 38 , 1329-1352 PubMed .
- Lemke K A (2004) Perioperative use of selective alpha-2 agonists and antagonists in small animals. Can Vet J 45 , 475-480 PubMed .
- Vaha-Vahe T (1989) Clinical evaluation of medetomidine, a novel sedative and analgesic drug for dogs and cats. Acta Vet Scand 30 (3), 267-273.
