Feasibility, surgical time and complications of different surgical techniques for prepubertal gonadectomy (PPG; 8-12 weeks of age) in cats were studied and compared to gonadectomy at traditional age (TAG; 6-8 months of age). Kittens were randomly assigned to PPG or TAG. Ovarian pedicle haemostasis for PPG was achieved by ligatures (n=47), vascular clips (n=50), bipolar electrocoagulation (n=50), or pedicle tie (n=50); for TAG (n=34) ligatures were used. In male cats, PPG consisted of closed castration by spermatic cord knot (n=92) or ligature (n=91) while TAG (n=34) was an open castration by spermatic cord knot. A linear (surgical time) and a logistic regression (complications) model were designed. Significance was set at 0.05. For female PPG, clips and coagulation were the fastest procedures; placement of ligatures was most time-consuming. In male PPG, knot placement was significantly faster than ligation. In both sexes, very few intraoperative or wound complications were observed, irrespective of the surgical technique used. Surgical times in females (ligatures) as well as in males (knot) were significantly shorter for PPG than for TAG. PPG was as safe as TAG, yet took less time to perform and did not result in a greater rate of postoperative complications.
Plasma concentrations and pharmacokinetics of dexmedetomidine and buprenorphine after oral transmucosal (OTM) and intramuscular (i.m.) administration of their combination in healthy adult cats were compared. According to a crossover protocol (1-month washout), a combination of dexmedetomidine (40 μg/kg) and buprenorphine (20 μg/kg) was given OTM (buccal cavity) or i.m. (quadriceps muscle) in six female neutered cats. Plasma samples were collected through a jugular catheter during a 24-h period. Plasma dexmedetomidine and buprenorphine concentrations were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Plasma concentration-time data were fitted to compartmental models. For dexmedetomidine and buprenorphine, the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) and the maximum plasma concentrations (Cmax ) were significantly lower following OTM than following i.m. administration. For buprenorphine, time to reach Cmax was also significantly longer after OTM administration than after i.m. injection. Data suggested that dexmedetomidine (40 μg/kg) combined with buprenorphine (20 μg/kg) is not as well absorbed from the buccal mucosa site as from the intramuscular injection site.
Prepubertal gonadectomy (PPG) is promoted as a way of managing overpopulation in cats, but concerns about PPG and potential health issues still exist. The objective of the present study was to evaluate short-term and long-term health problems in cats subjected to PPG in comparison to gonadectomy at traditional age (TAG). In a prospective clinical trial, 800 shelter kittens aged between approximately 8 weeks and 12 weeks were recruited before adoption and randomly assigned to either the PPG group (gonadectomy performed immediately) or the TAG group (gonadectomy delayed until six months to eight months of age). Short-term health issues included mortality between when kittens arrived at the clinic and up to seven days after they returned to the shelter, as well as the occurrence of various other health issues arising in the first month following adoption. Kittens were followed-up until 24 months of age specifically for feline lower urinary tract disease, urethral obstruction (male cats), lameness, fractures and hypersensitivity disorders with dermatological presentation. In the short term, there were no significant differences between health problems in PPG and TAG kittens. Similarly, no significant differences were observed between treatment groups in terms of the type or number of health issues in the long term. In conclusion, there are no health-related contraindications to advocating PPG strategies in shelter cats. Ideally, PPG should be performed at the shelter facility itself as long as excellent infectious disease control and postoperative clinical observation before adoption are guaranteed
Anaesthetic and analgesic effects of three different injectable anaesthetic combinations for prepubertal gonadectomy (PPG) in cats were studied. One anaesthetic protocol was compared with a similar one for gonadectomy at traditional age (TAG). Kittens were randomly assigned to PPG or TAG. For PPG, three different protocols were compared: (1) intramuscular (IM) administration of 60 μg/kg dexmedetomidine plus 20 μg/kg buprenorphine followed by an IM injection of the anaesthetic agent (20 mg/kg ketamine) (DB-IM protocol); (2) oral transmucosal (OTM) administration of 80 μg/kg dexmedetomidine plus 20 μg/kg buprenorphine followed by an IM injection of 20 mg/kg ketamine combined with 20 µg/kg dexmedetomidine (DB-OTM protocol); (3) IM injection of a 40 μg/kg medetomidine-20 μg/kg buprenorphine-20 mg/kg ketamine combination (MBK-IM protocol). For TAG, a DB-IM protocol was used, but with different doses for dexmedetomidine (40 μg/kg) and ketamine (5 mg/kg). All cats (PPG and TAG) received a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory before surgery. Anaesthetic and analgesic effects were assessed pre- and postoperatively (until 6 h). Cumulative logit, linear and logistic regression models were used for statistical analysis. Compared with the DB-OTM protocol, the DB-IM and MBK-IM protocols provided better anaesthesia with fewer adverse effects in PPG cats. Postoperative pain was not significantly different between anaesthetic protocols. PPG and TAG cats anaesthetised with the two DB-IM protocols differed significantly only for sedation and pain scores, but sedation and pain scores were generally low. Although there were no anaesthesia-related mortalities in the present study and all anaesthetic protocols for PPG in cats provided a surgical plane of anaesthesia and analgesia up to 6 h postoperatively, our findings were in favour of the intramuscular (DB-IM and MBK-IM) protocols.
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