Anaesthesia allows essential procedures to be carried out safely and humanely. At the University Veterinary Teaching Hospitals at Sydney and Camden, our specialist anaesthetists use feline friendly protocols designed to reduce stress, support safety and promote smooth recovery.
We provide anaesthesia support across surgical, medical, dental, imaging and emergency services.
Cats may benefit from specialist anaesthesia if they:
All veterinarians are trained and qualified to perform basic anaesthesia. A specialist in anaesthesia has undergone further training in anaesthesia including a one year internship and a 3 year residency program after which they need to sit rigorous exams to become a registered specialist in anaesthesia. This additional training means that a specialist in anaesthesia has a better understanding of how to manage and monitor your pet under anaesthesia and has advanced skills, such as in locoregional techniques, that may be of benefit to your pet.
There is no age cut off for which your pet can have an anaesthetic. However, as an animal ages there are physical changes which may make the anaesthetic riskier than in a younger animal. Your veterinarian may recommend additional tests such as blood tests or an echocardiogram prior to anaesthesia. This will help guide the anaesthetic planning to ensure the anaesthetic is as safe as possible.
Cats metabolise drugs differently from dogs and can be more sensitive to stress. Our anaesthetic plans consider your cat’s age, size, breed and health status, using carefully selected drugs, doses and monitoring to support safer outcomes.
Recognising pain in cats can be challenging. We use a multimodal, evidence based approach to pain relief, tailored to each cat and adjusted throughout recovery to maintain comfort and wellbeing.
Depending on your cat's health and the procedure performed, your veterinarian may recommend an overnight stay.
Our Sydney hospital is staffed 24 hours a day, allowing ongoing monitoring and pain management when needed.
Our Camden hospital is staffed 8am - 4pm.
Modern veterinary anaesthesia is very safe. Often times, vets will use the same drugs as what is used in humans for anaesthesia. To minimise risk, drugs are tailored to the patient, advanced monitoring is used and trained staff are with your pet the whole time. Although no procedure is completely risk free, the mortality rates under anaesthesia have been dropping and are now less than 1% for cats.
Certain breeds, including brachycephalics (Persian, Himalayan, Burmese, Exotic shorthair and British shorthair cats), will have a higher risk under anaesthesia due to their smaller airways. However, anaesthesia can still be safely performed in these breeds with appropriate monitoring and equipment.
Your veterinarian may suggest ‘pre-GA blood tests’ before your cat or dog’s procedure. These tests will evaluate organ function, primarily the kidneys and the liver, but may be more comprehensive depending on what your vet has recommended. A liver and kidney panel assists in creating an anaesthetic plan as many of our drugs are metabolised and excreted by the liver and kidneys. If your pet has organ dysfunction, they may elect to cancel the anaesthetic or will need to avoid specific drugs.
Anaesthesia allows procedures to be performed safely with the risk of movement, pain or fear. Many procedures cannot be done without anaesthesia for the safety of both your pet and for our veterinary staff.
Unlike us, dogs and cats will require a general anaesthetic for dental procedures. Anaesthesia free dentistry is not recommended as we are unable to clean underneath the gumline or take dental x-rays in an awake patient. Without anaesthesia, your pet may experience a more painful procedure and diseased teeth may be left behind.
Depending on the procedure and the health status of your cat, it may be possible to sedate your cat, rather than anaesthetising them. However, in many cases a general anaesthetic may be required. Your vet will inform you of the best option for your animal, as a general anaesthetic may be safer than sedation.
Fasting reduces the risk of aspirating stomach contents under anaesthesia. During anaesthesia, the stomach opening may relax resulting in regurgitation or reflux under anaesthesia. This risk is reduced if your cat has been fasted. Check with your vet the ideal fasting time, as an excessively long fasting period will also increase the risk of regurgitation.
Minimising anaesthetic risk in a compromised patient requires careful planning of the anaesthetic. All appropriate pre anaesthetic testing such as blood tests should be performed prior to the procedure. Ensure all patients are preoxygenated prior to anaesthesia and that drug choices are appropriate to the patient and its health status. As these patients have limited functional reserve, they require intense monitoring during the anaesthetic and the recovery period.
If the patient is bradycardic, normotensive and has a sinus rhythm, there is no need to treat the bradycardia. If the patient becomes hypotensive or has an escape rhythm, then an anti-cholinergic agent such as atropine or glycopyrrolate is required.
Ideally, all patients with a murmur should have an echocardiogram prior to anaesthesia. If the murmur has not been worked up, the safest anaesthetic protocols are opioid based protocols. If you are unsure, please consult with a specialist anaesthetist.
The anaesthetic plan is tailored to each patient so a lower dose can be used if your pet has a sensitivity to the drugs used during anaesthesia. Please let your veterinarian know if your cat has previously had any anaesthetic complications or has drug sensitivities so that the anaesthetic plan can be altered accordingly.
