Question - cat to go under anesthesia

[mlp]

For those of you who have had matted fur dealt with at the vet's - was the cat put under?

Serenity has long hair, of the fineness that mats easily. She has never had an issue with heavy matting because she's a good groomer, unlike her brother Sebastian, who tries to grow dreads every other year or so, and on whom I am constantly working so as to not let things get out of hand.

Well, Serenity's stomach has gotten heavily matted. It happened quickly - she's been spending a lot of time in the outdoor enclosure, and I apparently didn't pick her up for a week or two. When I did pick her up this weekend, I felt the matts.

Serenity is a diva. If she doesn't want to be touched, she will let me know by both biting and scratching. Getting rid of one or two matts on her is possible, over the course of a couple of days, aworking on her a few seconds at a time, provided she's not in a bad mood.

So, I thought the whole thing would be less stressful for her as well as for me if I took her to the vet and had her shaved down under sedation. I've never had that done before, have always taken care of such stuff myself.

When I called to make the appointment, they said that their groomer does it, under gas, with a vet "right there." Well, I lost Sassafras as a result of anesthesia for dental work, so anesthesia, gas or not, is not something I take lightly. And I know that when my sister takes her long haired cats in to our vet in St. Louis, they're not put under, just lightly sedated.

I insisted on speaking to the vet personally, and he insists that gas is safe, safer than sedation. I won't do it without pre-op bloodwork, but even then, I'm nervous, and am strongly considering just working on her myself. I would without a question if I had someone to help me hold/distract her - we could do it a little bit at a time, over the course of days. But this would be difficult to do by myself - it's so easy to cut cats, which I have thankfully managed to avoid all these years.

 

[Scorpius]

When I worked at an animal hospital, we learned that "there is no such thing as safe anesthesia." Meaning, there are always risks present when you put an animal (or person!) under and there are always uncertainties that bloodwork cannot detect. The older the cat is, the higher the risk for anesthesia complications. Any cat older than seven years old is usually considered "senior" and should get bi-annual bloodwork done either way.

That being said, plenty of older animals have procedures done under anesthesia and come out fine. At the place I worked that, the groomer came right into the treatment area and shaved sedated pets with technicians and doctors right there. I'm in the same situation as you with Milo, who is 12 years old, long-haired, is a massive brat, and needs to be shaved. I'd say you're right to do all your homework (calling the vet and speaking with him) and doing the bloodwork.

The only other precaution you may want to take is having an IV line placed when your kitty is under anesthesia, in case something happens and they need quick access to a vein. I had this done for my kitty, Clarise who was having a dental. She had a heart murmur so they wanted to be extra safe with her. It costs a bit extra, but it's worth it!

 

[Forster]

We had a cat that matted up horribly and absolutely hated to be groomed. It took two of us, one to gently hold her, calm her, distract her and keep a hold of her paws and try and keep her mouth in a safe direction. It wasn't fun nor did we end up wound free but we didn't have to risk sedation/anesthesia. She was always back to her loving self when we were done. YMMV

 

[KLS52]

Bogart is the first long-haired cat for me. He came to me with already matted hair. He was actually more compliant his first few weeks here. But since having to give him daily medication, he has turned into quite an obnoxious kitty. If I so much as try and pet him where there happens to be matted fur, he freaks out. I haven't been able to try the warm compress yet, either. He just won't let me near him with anything in my hands, lol. He has been a little better since I've been using the trans-dermal creme instead of the liquid. Maybe in another week or so I can try to get at his matting again. I guess since I've never had a problem with any of my cats when they've gone under anesthesia, I never really worried about the risks.

 

[mlp]

I've always been nervous about anesthesia - it's a risk for humans, and it's a risk for nonhumans. Within a couple of months of Sassafras's death, two of my colleagues had dogs die under anesthesia during dental work. So I have been even more concerned ever since.

 

[KLS52]

Yes, I can see why....so, is sedated more like a tranquilizer?

 

[RabbitLuvr]

I was terrified when one of my rabbits needed her teeth trimmed under anesthesia. There is pretty much no other option in that situation.

He did have me stand in the room while he did it, which may have been even more traumatic for me than not being in the room (I wasn't given an option, and he talked me through what he was doing the entire time). He uses gas with the rabbits, and I had to stand there watching her watch me while she struggled against the clear bell sort of thing over her head.

 

[mlp]

Yes, I can see why....so, is sedated more like a tranquilizer?

Yes, like Valium.

 

[jeneticallymodified]

personally, one of the things i like about gas (if we're talking about nitrous oxide) is that it wears off really quickly. 30 seconds after removing the mask, you're 95% sobered up. if i was being shaved, i'd prefer gas over a shot of longer acting sleepy drugs. they can titrate it really well too, so you're not too out of it, just enough that everything is fine.

i've handled semi-feral cats while they've waited for injected sedation to kick in, and i've waited the 20 or so nervous minutes for them to come around, too. i really don't enjoy that.

 

[silva]

Serenity sounds like my Jersey! Long, silky, glossy hair that binds together overnight in tight, felt like dreads, if not brushed with his wire bristled brush.
I've had to have someone hold and stroke him while snipping them out with hair scissors. I often snip as close as possible, and keep brushing them out till they release with the Furminator.
I don't think I'd ever okay sedation!
I have often considered getting valerian root. I know a woman in the rescue who uses it quite successfully.

 

[silva]

personally, one of the things i like about gas (if we're talking about nitrous oxide) is that it wears off really quickly. 30 seconds after removing the mask, you're 95% sobered up. if i was being shaved, i'd prefer gas over a shot of longer acting sleepy drugs. they can titrate it really well too, so you're not too out of it, just enough that everything is fine.

i've handled semi-feral cats while they've waited for injected sedation to kick in, and i've waited the 20 or so nervous minutes for them to come around, too. i really don't enjoy that.

Do they use that for cats? I didn't know that!

 

[jeneticallymodified]

We had a cat that matted up horribly and absolutely hated to be groomed. It took two of us, one to gently hold her, calm her, distract her and keep a hold of her paws and try and keep her mouth in a safe direction. It wasn't fun nor did we end up wound free but we didn't have to risk sedation/anesthesia. She was always back to her loving self when we were done. YMMV

i think it's awesome that you managed this with your cat. that said.... some cats, when they're REALLY frightened... 'gentle' handling and keeping stuff pointed the right way and getting a few scratches just isn't gonna work. they turn into flailing squirming tornadoes of claws and teeth, that can twist on a dime incredibly well- i've seen a perfectly sweet and harmless looking little kitty lose it, and in 2 seconds flat take chunks out of me and 2 vet techs, get out of a face-mask and a zip up restraint bag, and get herself 8 feet up a wall.... i've seen a somebody get 48 individually discernible bite wounds up one arm, many of which which went down into the muscle, in about 10 seconds flat.... yeah.

sometimes sedation is the way to go- cos when cats get into that 'fight or flight' state... you're pretty much screwed, and because they're not that great at calming themselves down either- and they'll give themselves a heart attack with stress.

 

[jeneticallymodified]

Do they use that for cats? I didn't know that!

i don't know. but i can't see why they wouldn't, considering how they think it works.

 

[Forster]

i think it's awesome that you managed this with your cat. that said.... some cats, when they're REALLY frightened... 'gentle' handling and keeping stuff pointed the right way and getting a few scratches just isn't gonna work. they turn into flailing squirming tornadoes of claws and teeth, that can twist on a dime incredibly well- i've seen a perfectly sweet and harmless looking little kitty lose it, and in 2 seconds flat take chunks out of me and 2 vet techs, get out of a face-mask and a zip up restraint bag, and get herself 8 feet up a wall.... i've seen a somebody get 48 individually discernible bite wounds up one arm, many of which which went down into the muscle, in about 10 seconds flat.... yeah.

sometimes sedation is the way to go- cos when cats get into that 'fight or flight' state... you're pretty much screwed, and because they're not that great at calming themselves down either- and they'll give themselves a heart attack with stress.

Yep, know cats as bad as that too. Ours was doable, not pleasant for anyone involved, thank goodness she was otherwise a good natured and a small cat... hated and I mean hated getting groomed.

 

[jeneticallymodified]

Yep, know cats as bad as that too. Ours was doable, not pleasant for anyone involved, thank goodness she was otherwise a good natured and a small cat... hated and I mean hated getting groomed.

they're not 'bad' cats... they're just doing what they feel they need to. i know what you mean though.

 

[mlp]

Serenity isn't one that gets afraid, at least not of me, but she would get terribly stressed by anyone else trying to work on her without drugs.

With me, she's basically just pissy (although I realize that would cause stress too, if I kept pushing it). This is the kind of cat she is: she decides she wants to be on my lap. Woe betide me if I do anything while she is on my lap - if I move my arm to reach for my cup of coffee, WHAM! with the claws, sometimes with the teeth. And that's with the parts of my body with which she's in contact not moving at all.

So, she's high strung, with more than a touch of diva.

 

[mlp]

This is Serenity:

 

[jeneticallymodified]

This is Serenity:

View attachment 378View attachment 378

she's BEAUTIFUL. dilute orange tabby and white? long haired... wow. beautiful.

she'd be scooped up in 2 seconds flat in our adoption program, pissy diva with dreadlocked tummy or not.

 

[mlp]

she's BEAUTIFUL. dilute orange tabby and white? long haired... wow. beautiful.

she'd be scooped up in 2 seconds flat in our adoption program, pissy diva with dreadlocked tummy or not.

No white - just the dilute orange, a really soft apricot color. Doesn't she look like one of the Hollywood sex goddesses from the 1930's? You would never guess that she lived rough for a couple of years, until we were able to catch her.

Her brother Sebastian, who lives with me, has the same fur, but he's not as photogenic because he has a long Roman nose. He's a pistol, very smart and most often obnoxious. Their brother Willow also has the identical fur, and a very sweet face and demeanor. He lives with my sister. All three were dumped down the road from my sister's, as kittens.

 

[sallyomally]

Wow, she's gorgeous! My niece has a fluffy cat with "personality" who likes to bite and scratch when the mood hits and will in no way let her near if there's a matting issue. She has had him sedated a couple of times with no problem. Hard to say, though, since each animal is different.