In March 1996, a questionnaire was sent to 2000 veterinary surgeons, primarily involved in small animal practice, to assess their attitudes to perioperative analgesic therapy in dogs, cats and other small mammals. This paper is concerned only with the data relating to dogs. The veterinary surgeons considered that pain was a consequence of all the surgical procedures specified, but there were differences in their treatment of pain. Some veterinarians considered that a degree of pain was necessary postoperatively to prevent excessive activity. In general, women and more recent graduates assigned higher pain scores to the procedures and were more likely to treat the pain with analgesics. A significant number of veterinarians consider the use of opiates or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs before surgical procedures, but relatively few appear to use combinations of different classes of analgesics either before or after operations.

In March 1996, a questionnaire was sent to 2000 veterinary surgeons primarily involved in small animal practice to assess their attitudes to perioperative analgesic therapy in dogs, cats and other small mammals. This paper is concerned only with the data relevant to cats, analgesic monitoring, continuing education and, to a limited extent, small mammals. The veterinary surgeons considered that pain was a consequence of all the surgical procedures specified. Analgesics were administered by 94 per cent of them to cats undergoing orthopaedic surgery, by 72 per cent for the repair of a ruptured diaphragm, by 56 per cent for laparotomy, by 26 per cent for ovariohysterectomy, by 16 per cent for castration and by 39 per cent for dental work. Women and more recent graduates assigned higher pain scores to the procedures, and there was a significant correlation between the pain score and the number of veterinary surgeons who routinely gave analgesic, resulting in women and more recent graduates being more likely to treat the pain with analgesics. The majority of the veterinarians performed surgery on small mammals, but on average only 22 per cent gave perioperative analgesics, and the number giving analgesics varied with the species of small mammal. The perioperative monitoring of animals was largely delegated to nursing staff.Veterinary Record (1999) 145, [601][602][603][604] Animals, Langford House, Langford, Bristol BS18 7DU ON the basis of a survey of a small number of cats in a North American Veterinary School (Hansen and Hardie 1993), it has been suggested that the provision of analgesics to cats after surgery may often be neglected (Lascelles and Waterman 1997). A survey of 275 Canadian veterinarians examined attitudes to pain and the use of analgesics in dogs and cats (Dohoo and Dohoo 1996a, b) and found that although analgesics were used less often in cats than in dogs after orthopaedic procedures (70 per cent of cats and 84 per cent of dogs), they were used more often for non-ovariohysterectomy (44 per cent of cats and 38 per cent of dogs) and for ovariohysterectomy (17 per cent of cats and 13 per cent of dogs) (Dohoo and Dohoo 1996a).These authors suggested that the provision of analgesics after surgery may have been suboptimal. Historically, it has been considered that pure opioid agonists such as morphine are unsuitable for cats because they may produce maniacal reactions. Although it is known that such reactions occur only at high doses (Fertziger and others 1973), and that low doses (Watts and others 1973) can be used without inducing excitement, Dohoo and Dohoo (1996a, b) suggested that the risks of producing respiratory depression and excitement in cats remained a primary concern among practising veterinarians. Other factors that may affect the provision of analgesia for felidae in the UK are the concerns about the clinical safety of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) and the fact that until recently, fewer analgesic drugs were licensed for use in cats than in dogs (Lascelles and Waterman 1...

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