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  • Can you please tell me what your protocol and procedures are for anesthesia? My cat has an appointment on Thursday for a teeth cleaning, but I am very worried about the anesthesia. She is the sweetest cat but at the vet's office she gets scared and hisses a lot! The hospital told me they will first give her a shot for an extra charge and then give her anesthesia so all of this worries me.

    One of the best things that you can do for the long-term health and happiness of your cat is to perform routine dental procedures. These procedures help keep the mouth disease-free as well as protect the heart and kidneys from potential and serious infections.

    I recommend that you call and talk to your veterinarian about your concerns. The anesthetic procedure used can vary between hospitals and individual pets. Your veterinarian can answers any questions that you have about your pet and their procedure.

    The Banfield anesthetic protocols are designed to minimize the anesthetic risk for all pets. These protocols have been formulated by experts in veterinary anesthesia and pain management. In general, we run pre-anesthetic bloodwork on all pets to make sure that they are healthy enough to handle anesthesia. If there is an issue with the bloodwork that issue will be addressed prior to the procedure.

    In certain cases if the patient is stressed or upset, a calming injection can be given prior to any handling. This will help eliminate any stress or anxiety that the pet is feeling. After the bloodwork is run, the appropriate protocol for the procedure and pet is then chosen. During the procedure the pet has an IV catheter in place and is monitored constantly. We use blood pressure, EKG and oxygen monitors at all times to make sure that they remain safe during the procedure.

    There is always a risk of complications with any anesthetic procedures. Our protocols, the drugs we use and our monitoring all help make the procedure as safe as possible.

     

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