Post-Operative Behavioural Assessment of Cats Undergoing Ovariohysterectomy

Abstract

Postoperative pain was assessed and compared in cats subjected to ovariohysterectomy under two different anaesthetic regimen based on Glasgow feline composite measure pain scale. Twenty queen cats were randomly divided into two groups comprising of ten animals each. Group I received dexmedetomidine (10μg/kg) and ketamine (5mg/kg) with butorphanol (0.2mg/kg) and group II received dexmedetomidine (10μg/kg) and ketamine (5mg/kg) with fentanyl (5μg/kg) by intramuscular route. In both the groups, maintenance of anaesthesia was carried out with isoflurane. A bolus of butorphanol (0.1mg/kg) and fentanyl (5μg/kg) was administered intraoperatively to provide intraoperative analgesia in group I and II, respectively. After surgery, pain scores were assessed through Glasgow feline composite measure pain scale (CMPS-Feline) continuously for 24 hours. Behavioural changes and pain expression were higher in fentanyl group compared to butorphanol group but total pain score showed no significant difference among two groups. The observation of spontaneous behaviours indicative of pain, combined with the qualitative assessment of the response to interaction and the palpation of a painful area serves as an effective tool to evaluate analgesic effectiveness.