Anesthesia
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 03:11:34 PST Subject: FEL-L: Information request - anasthesia
Dear Sir, Dear Madam, I am a student in my fifth year at the Faculte de Medicine Veterinaire, University of Liege in Belgium.
In pharmacology I have to prepare a study on the following subject "Anaesthesia of lions". My search for literature here in the Faculty and in the Zoo of Antwerp have not yet provided me with sufficient information on the subject. Could you please help me?
I am still searching for information - theory and practical experiences - on the comparison of anasthesia for lions in captivity (eg Zoo) and in the wild, in particular: detailed descriptions (protocol) of the applied method and experiences with different substances and administered quantities.
My own search for existing literature and information has not been very successful. Since I have to present the results soon, I would be extremely obliged, if you could answer as soon as possible and send me as far as possible information:
- on the subject
- where to find more information
- on persons and institutions which might be able to help me.
Thank you very much for your help and understanding. Yours Anne Schmidt-Kuentzel
Anne Schmidt-Kuentzel
Rue du bemel 5
1150 bruxelles
belgium
e-mail: schmity23@hotmail.com
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 20:31:23 -0600 Subject: Re: FEL-L: Information request - anasthesia
We have 19 Lions and Over the past six years I personally have anesthetized many of them several times. Under our vets order we use a Ketamine/ rhompum mixture. If you want more info. email me at scott@turpentinecreek.org thanks, scott
Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1998 15:58:14 EST Subject: Re: FEL-L: Product Safety
Another consideration that may or may not be common knowledge, is that some pesticides (dips) don't mix with anesthesiology and will kill your cat. (Acepromazine and Dermaton come to mind.. course I guess you don't use Dermaton on cats anyway....) Isoflurane gas is always the best way to go with regard to general anesthesia, but not all vets use this. And if I remember correctly, (help me out Shirley), don't servals have an odd susceptibility to Acepromazine causing adverse ill effects?
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 21:16:10 -0800 Subject: FEL-L: Re: None
>Vet is the one who requires the squeeze cage so HE doesn't get bit
With small cats it is totally possible to take them down with the isoflourene gas and not use the injectable drugs. It is the same type of gas they use on humans or at least that is what I have been told. If you can get your baby girl into a kennel cab then you just put a large bag over the whole kennel cab and make sure that the opening where you place the gas tube in is secured well to prevent leaking. As soon as she is down you quickly take her off the gas and pull her out of the kennel cab and get a mask back on her quickly. We have done this with cougars even.
The injectable type drugs used for tranquilization are filtered out through the cats liver and kidneys. Cats in general don't drink a lot of water compared to say dogs. This makes is harder for the cats system to filter the injectables out. With the gas you take them off and 10 to 20 minutes later they are up and walking around. I have been told by several Vets that the gas is much safer to use than the injectables.
In a case where you do have to use injectables it is a good idea to also sub Q fluids or even IV fluids to help the cat's system be able to flush out the drugs more quickly. Just some stuff I have picked up over the years from others who shared what they knew with me. Hope some of it makes things better for you baby! Glenda :)
Date: Sat, 06 Feb 1999 08:21:44 -0800 Subject: Re: FEL-L: Re: squeeze cage
> isoflourene gas and not use the injectable drugs
I actually had that done to my bobcat when he was about a year and a half. He had a swelling on his foot, (looked like a bee sting) took him to the vet and the vet didn't want to go near him, so he put his kennel into a bag and held the tube in until the cat went down. Then put the mask on him, to examine him. It did turn out to be a bee sting, which they treated. He was wide awake within 5 minutes of taking the mask off and ready to let everyone know how mad he was! It worked great! (Glenda you think of everything! : )
Date: Sat, 6 Feb 1999 11:20:10 EST Subject: Re: FEL-L: Re: isoflourene
>isoflourene gas and not use the injectable drugs
We do this with our cats from Geoffroys to the cougars and have been very pleased with the results. The last time our vet put our Geoffroy down with injectable telazol, the drug had a rebound affect and the cat was drugged up for a couple of days before it was completely cleared in his system via kidneys. I have also used muzzles and they work well for a nippy cat during an exam. Before I would knock down a handable cat, I would either do the squeeze cage, muzzle, or net. Sherry :)
Date: Wed, 07 Apr 1999 07:28:53 -0500 Subject: FEL-L: Re: felines-l-digest V2 #142 - Anesthetic
I've had 25 years of experiences with different anaesthetics with Geoffroy Cats. I've only lost cats when they were extremely sick already. However, I have seen different effects from different ones.
1. Ketamine - most experience. Use 5-15 mg/lb of cat. Usually no problem going down, but once had a cat get hyper from this. Slow coming out. Cats eyes stay open, so it's not clear to me what they are sensing. They have poor muscle control while coming out.
2. Isofluorane - gas. Only used for small kittens where mask could be fitted over most of kitten. Rapid recovery. Kitten seemed very relaxed while under the influence. (This was done for some ultrasound work, not for surgery.)
3. Telazol - Most recently used. No problems with administering the same dosages as domestic cats. Recovery seems more rapid with fewer side effects.
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1999 13:08:27 EDT Subject: Re: FEL-L: Re: felines-l-digest V2 #142 - Anesthetic
<< Telazol - Most recently used. No problems with
As you know I have one of your Geoffroys. Blackie G. is about ten I think. When we knocked him down for his yearly physical and blood work last year we used for the first time Telazol same dosage as for a domestic. Blackie had problems with it. He cycle rebounded and it took him 3 days to come out of it completely. I wonder if this had to do with his age and liver/ kidney function in an elderly cat? In Chemical Immobilization they recommend not using Telazol in Servals or Tigers. Any thoughts
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1999 14:36:32 EDT Subject: FEL-L: Anesthetics
<< 1. Ketamine - most experience. Use 5-15 mg/lb of cat.
KETAMINE. Indications. Ketamine is a nonbarbituate anesthetic used in cats. It generally is used for chemical restraint or anesthesia of short duration. Additional doses can be given, providing anesthesia for up 6 hours or more. The drug is characterized by rapid onset of action, profound analgesia, maintenance of normal muscle tone and laryngeal reflex, mild cardiac stimulation, and respiratory depression. Recovery is generally smooth if not stimulated by sound or handling during recovery.In cats, ketamine often is combined with acepromazine or midazolam. This combination provides dependable chemical restraint with minimal cardiovascular effects. In addition, ketamine may be combined with atropine to decrease respiratory and salivatory secretions.
Adverse and common side effects. Pain on IM injection. Use of ketamine is associated with increased muscle tone and should not be used as the sole anesthetic for procedures requiring muscle relaxation. Used alone, ketamine may induce seizure activity and should not be used in cats with a history of seizures. At high doses: respiratory depression, vomiting, vocalization, erratic and prolonged recovery, dyspnea, spastic jerking movements, convulsions, muscular tremors, hypertonicity, opisthotonos, and cardiac arrest may occur.
<< 2. Isofluorane - gas. Only used for small kittens where mask could be
see below...
<< 3. Telazol - Most recently used. No problems with administering the
TELAZOL. Indications. The indications for usage of Telazol, (Tiletamine-zolazepam), is as an injectable dissociative anesthetic/tranquilizer useful for sedation and restraint and anesthetic induction or anesthesia of short duration (30 minutes) requiring mild to moderate analgesia.
Adverse and common side effects. The drug is contraindicated in animals with pancreatic disease and those with significant cardiac, pulmonary, or renal disease. Rapid IM injection is painful. Respiration depression may occur at higher doses. Other side effects may include salivation, increased bronchial and tracheal secretions (if atropine is not given before its use, and in this case, the kitten did receive, or is said to have received pre-op atropine), increased heart rate and blood pressure, increased cardiac output and myocardial oxygen consumption, and hypertension or hypotension. Vomiting may occur on recovery, and vocalization, hypertonia, muscular twitching, muscle rigidity, erratic and/or prolonged recovery, cyanosis, cardiac arrest, and pulmonary edema have also been reported.
My best personal advice would be to send the kitten to Pullman for an complete pathology report. They can take a look at the heart, lungs, pancreas and kidneys to see if there were any congenital or disease processes going on unbeknownst to both the owners and veterinarian that may have caused or contributed to an adverse reaction or inability to handle the meds given. If there is no pathophysiological reason for a contraindication to the meds given, then one would have to wonder about the medication administration itself, whether or not it was in correct dosage and appropriate, as well as professional attention to the monitoring of O2 sats while the kitten was anesthetized. Lack of close monitoring of oxygen saturation and vitals have inadvertently lead to more than just a few deaths in the veterinary field.
MEDETOMIDINE. Indications. Medetomidine is an a-2 agonist pre-anesthetic agent with sedative and analgesic properties. When used with barbituates, ketamine, or inhalation anesthetics, it produces safe and reliable sedation (1-2 hours), muscle relaxation, and analgesia. The drug should not be used alone. Medetomidine should only be used in young healthy animals undergoing routine or diagnostic procedures not requiring the muscle relaxation or tracheal intubation. Your friend mentions that Forane (this is the same thing as Isoflurane and considered to be extremely safe) gas and oxygen were used, and would beg the question: how was it administered?
Adverse and common side effects. Paradoxical excitation, prolonged sedation, bradycardia, cyanosis, vomiting, apnea, death from circulatory failure, and recurence of sedation have been reported. Urination during recovery is common, and adrenergic-induced hyperglycemia is seen. The drug should not be used in animals with cardiac, repiratory, renal, or liver disease. Medetomidine should be used in caution with other analgesic or sedative agents. Atropine given at the same time as or after medetomidine may induce bradycardia, heart block, premature ventricular contractions, and sinus tachycardia.
So while Atropine is suggested as a pre-op when used with the Telazol, it is contraindicated (leading to all kinds of cardiac dysfunctions) if given with or after the medetomidine.
Again, there are a number of possibilities that could have contributed to this poor kitten's death. If not a pre-existing condition exacerbated by the meds, it could have been a med reaction itself, whether due to fluke or error.
I do have one nagging question, in that I thought that the Medetomidine/Ketamine mixture was used only in birds.... hmmmmm...
I guess a good place to start would be to go back and speak to the vet about what exactly happened. Were any of the above signs and symptoms observed at any time? If so, which ones? That may give you a clue if this was related to a med reaction. Did the kitten expire while still under anesthetic, or during recovery? Did the kitten expire of respiratory arrest? Cardiac arrest? Which? Did they note abnormal cardiac rhythms before expiration? If so, which ones? Did they note respiratory distress before expiration? If so, what? Did the O2 sats drop? Did repirations become labored? Did they require any accessory muscles for labored breathing? Did the kitten show any signs of hypertonicity? spasms? convulsions? seizure activities prior to expiration? All of these should be examined for any clues as to what happened.
Did the vet administer the meds himself? Or did he rely on a vet tech to do the job? Is there an area for med error? I sure feel for your friend and their kitten. I hope this helps and if there are any medical terms you're unsure of, feel free to ask me and I'll explain. There are so many possibilities that without getting very detailed info. on what was going on in regard to signs/symptoms that manifested, its hard to guess.
(in a subsequent post I asked about a blood draw to check ABGs and respiratory/metabolic acidosis/alkalosis) My sympathies to your friend. Jill Rose
Date: Wed, 07 Apr 1999 19:54:16 -0500 Subject: FEL-L: Re: felines-l-digest V2 #144
Follup on the below 1. I've only used Telazol with young (4 yrs or less cats. I don't have experience with older ones using it. I appreciate the warnings.
2. My background is an elightened breeder. I've worked closely with Dr. Ralph Farnsworth who teaches Zoo Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota. My professional training is as a chemical engineer.
3. There were 3 cats that I lost under anaesthetic (all ketamine). (All at the University of Minnesota.) Two were males in late stages of kidney failure and the third was a kitten with septicemia (sp?) that had not been detected until she was very weak. Typically at the University Small Animal Hospital, the injection would be administered by a senior vet student or resident under the supervision of a faculty member. The Posts indicated that the cause of death was the illness, not the anaesthetic.