Dennis is back from the vet! Holistic treatment of light URI? +Risks of Metacam?

[motoko9]

If anyone's interested, here's an article on why the 420K figure is suspect at best:

http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-08-1...dvocacy-groups

Of course, we all agree that whatever the number, cats should be spayed or neutered.

To the OP: Good luck to you; I hope your kitty recovers from his URI soon.

 

[mynameismilla]

Thanks???

I think this tread is proof that its all based on personal opinion-

This article gave me some clarity-

SAFE ANESTHESIA

Today a veterinarian generally uses two stages to give anesthetic to a cat. In the first stage, an induction agent (a "preoperative cocktail") known as ketamine is given by injection to the cat in part because it is easy to use, fast acting, controls pain and sedates the cat. In the second stage, a gas known as isoflurane is given for the length of the surgery.

The subject of Anesthesia is a controversial one. The controversy lies mostly with ketamine and some warn against all injectables (telezol, propofol, thiopental) including valium, another common one, which some owners, breeders and vets link anecdotally to adverse reactions in cats. Ketamine does have side effects (such as hallucinations) and can supress the respiratory system. Many breeders will ask that isoflurane alone be used on their cats (ie: no induction agent like Ketamine). Injectable anesthetics can cause respiratory depression that may not be able to be reversed. Gas anesthesia is more easily monitored and controlled.

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 the cats are up and walking around. Many veterinarians feel that the gas is much safer to use than the injectables.

The truth is that a very small percentage of all cats can have an adverse reaction to anesthesia such as an allergic reaction or respiratory failure. Many vets (and veterinary technicians) argue strongly for the overall safety of ketamine and for its usefullness as an induction agent in terms of pain control for the cat.

Based our own research we recommend the use of isoflorane gas exclusively and no induction agents. The veterinary literature is scarce and contradictory ... some studies say it causes respiratory depression and some say the effect is negligable. Ultimately, you will likely have to use your own good judgment based on a discussion with your vet.

To ensure maximum safety during surgical procedures, we recommend a Pre-surgical Exam to include a complete physical exam including a routine blood serum profile to check the health of the organs (kidneys, liver, etc).

Isoflurane is one of the safest anesthetic gases. In addition, the usual practice in most cases is for an induction agent to be used prior to administration of the isoflurane and the induction agents can cause problems for some cats.

 

[strange_wings]

Breeders ask that ketamine not be used because certain breeds are more sensitive to it. No study is likely ever to be done because where would they get 100+ cats or so to test it on? No decent breeder would allow it and few labs would put the effort into proper breeding since it's very time consuming.

My vet is a rural vet, a bit behind on a few things. He won't even use ketamine on cats. I'm guessing that since he's been practicing a long time (that clinic in particular has been there since '81, and he was partnered with someone else before opening his own) he's seen the affects first hand.

 

[mynameismilla]

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Breeders ask that ketamine not be used because certain breeds are more sensitive to it. No study is likely ever to be done because where would they get 100+ cats or so to test it on? No decent breeder would allow it and few labs would put the effort into proper breeding since it's very time consuming.

My vet is a rural vet, a bit behind on a few things. He won't even use ketamine on cats. I'm guessing that since he's been practicing a long time (that clinic in particular has been there since '81, and he was partnered with someone else before opening his own) he's seen the affects first hand.

Does he just use Isoflurane without an induction agent?

Or something else?

( This is SO stressfull- I dont want to be rude and tell the vet to do everything different- but I dont want him to get Neutered in a dangerous manner if i dont have to. )


Doing some more reading if anybody is interested...
http://www.vetinfo.com/canesthesia.html

 

[Willowy]

To make things more confusing, some vets strongly disagree with using inhalant anesthetics without an induction agent, because they think that "masking down" the cat is too stressful, and stress can cause problems. So it is hard! Just keep doing research so you can make the decision you're most comfortable with.

 

[stephanietx]

When I told my vet no ketamine, she used Telazol. I just looked at his paperwork and he was given an antibiotic shot, but it wasn't Metacam because I specifically wrote on his paperwork, "NO METACAM". I have one cat who's got kidney problems because of it and I certainly don't want to have to go through it with another.

So, ask the vet for alternatives to Ketamine.

 

[Willowy]

Originally Posted by motoko9

If anyone's interested, here's an article on why the 420K figure is suspect at best:

http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-08-1...dvocacy-groups

Actually, that confirms what I as saying: "to get to the 420k figure, that would require that every female has 2 litters a year, every year, and that 1.4 kittens from each litter live long and productive lives". Farm cats do have at least 2, sometimes 3, litters a year, and usually around half the kittens survive to reproduce. Average lifespan for those that survive kittenhood seems to be about 8 years. We ARE up to our ears in cats. So it is quite a reasonable figure. Just because urban ferals don't have that high of a survival rate doesn't mean it never happens anywhere else.

Sorry to the OP for hijacking! Maybe this should be its own thread. . .

 

[motoko9]

Originally Posted by Willowy

Actually, that confirms what I as saying: "to get to the 420k figure, that would require that every female has 2 litters a year, every year, and that 1.4 kittens from each litter live long and productive lives". Farm cats do have at least 2, sometimes 3, litters a year, and usually around half the kittens survive to reproduce. Average lifespan for those that survive kittenhood seems to be about 8 years. We ARE up to our ears in cats. So it is quite a reasonable figure. Just because urban ferals don't have that high of a survival rate doesn't mean it never happens anywhere else.

Sorry to the OP for hijacking! Maybe this should be its own thread. . .

The problem isn't the math; it's that it doesn't, in reality, seem to happen that way. We'd have literally trillions of ferals in the US by now if those numbers really applied, and I think most experts would agree that that isn't the case.

 

[mynameismilla]

Hey guys! Im gunna make a new thread with my new questions!