Question about anesthesia and my boys

Jack is scheduled to be neutered at the end of October. The vet mentioned something about pre-anesthesia testing to make sure Jack will be ok under anesthesia. He said it was optional. What exactly is this and what tests do they do?

My other question is about Asher. He's 4 and was neutered when he was 6 months old. I think they did something like that for him before they gave him anesthesia. But now that he's older he dislikes going to the vet. No one is able to come near him. He hisses, lunges, swats, spits, he's like a tornado of teeth and claws and he never lets up for a second. Therefore the last two trips to the vet (last September and this September) the vet has not been able to do a physical on Asher. He said the only way now would be to put him under and do it then. I really hate to do this to Asher, but I think it's the only way he'll be able to get a physical. Do you think I should have the vet do the pre-anesthesia testing for Asher too (even though he's had anesthesia before)? What do you guys do/or have you done in the past?

Thanks!

there should be no choice to do pre-anesthesia testing. it should be a definate thing that the vet should do no matter what. Pre-Anesthesia testing is just a short bloodwork panel done to make sure your kitty will be ok to go under anesthesia. this should be done for any animal going under anesthesia so nothing goes wrong while the animal is under. Working at a day practice we included it in the fee for whatever procedure was being done. Working emergency no matter what is going on we normally run full bloodwork.

As for Asher they will probably have to gas him down in a tank. Once hes under they can then take him out and do his physical and i would suggest doing bloodwork at the same time. (i personally like to do bloodwork on my pets once a year just to make sure all is good) This may be stressful on an owner to know that their animal is going to be gased down but it is so much easier on the pet. Also makes life a whole lot easier on the vet techs. Me, personally i love wrangling a nasty cat but it stresses the animal and can make a grumpy vet tech in the end. Hope i helped a little bit and calmed any fears.

Is the gas in the tank the same thing as anesthesia or is it different? I'm pretty sure the vet said the pre-anesthesia testing was optional, but I'm going to have it done for both of them. Thanks for the information!

The preanesthesia testing checks for certain critical values, like CBC (complete blood count), AST and ALT (liver values), and BUN and creatinine (kidney values), to make sure his organs seem healthy enough for surgery. The exam is also important, as the vet can listen for a heart murmur (heart problems often don't show up on the blood work).

I would still do the testing on Asher each time. The preanesthesia screens are mini-panels, so they cost less than a full blood work-up. Things can change very rapidly in a cat's body, so even if he was okay with the anesthesia last year, that doesn't rule out changes this year. Last year, Willow's blood tests were normal. Two days shy of a year later, she died of FIP. Values that were normal last year were abnormal last month. I would definitely do the screening before putting a cat under. Sometimes the results will mean the vet needs to use a different type of anesthesia or that additional supportive care, like fluids, would be needed.

the gas is the same thing as anesthesia. I know at my job we have plexi-glass tanks that we put the nasty cats in. We then connect the anesthesia line and oxygen line to ports in the top of the tank. With a tech around at all times we allow the cat to inhale the gas/oxygen and wait for them to "go down". The second we notice they are slightly sedated is when we go in for the kill, get blood, check the animal over and then get the doc who is usually standing by.

As for pre-anesthesia testing optional he probably said so because its a younger animal and he doesnt "expect" any health problems but you can never be certain. For peace of mind i would have it done. As for Asher i would run a full blood work. That is just my opinion though. Good Luck with them!

It's always worth getting the extra tests done. When I took Sonic in I asked the vet to do a full heart checkup because I'd heard him cough a couple of times which worried me and I didn't want him put under anaesthetic if he had any health problems, I was concerned that he may have a heart problem. As it turned out he was fine, the only problem that it turns out he has is a slight allergy to the feather dust from my parrot