The duration of anesthesia depends on what we need to accomplish. A dental procedure may require two to three hours of general anesthesia, while a neuter may only require 10 minutes. As long as we're monitoring and maintaining stable vitals, we can keep the cats under for as long as necessary.

Safety is paramount when your cat is under general anesthesia. The overseeing doctor and a dedicated nurse, usually a licensed veterinary technician, will be present during the procedure. We also use monitors to keep track of the heart rhythm, blood pressure, oxygen levels, breathing, and temperature of the cat.

Preparation starts at home. If your pet is scheduled for a procedure, we'll often prescribe a calming pack - a set of medications or therapeutics for your pet to take before coming to the hospital. We'll usually call you a week before the procedure to come in and get these medications.

Yes, we require blood work to be done before administering anesthesia. This helps us find out if your pet has any underlying organ issues that we need to know about before moving forward with the procedure or to confirm that they're healthy enough for general anesthesia.

Anesthesia involves taking your cat from consciousness to unconsciousness in a controlled way, often with an endotracheal tube to control the depth and duration. Sedation is used for shorter periods, like for diagnostic imaging or quick wound repairs. It immobilizes the cats, but they still have reflexes and some consciousness. General anesthesia involves intubation and a machine running to keep them under for a long period.

The most common procedures involving general anesthesia for cats include a complete oral health assessment and treatment, dental cleaning, and spaying or neutering. Other instances involve intensive wound care or following unfortunate accidents like being hit by a car or a dog bite injury.

The most common types of anesthesia used for cats are injectable types. We often use drugs such as ketamine and alfaxalone. These dissociative drugs detach the conscious mind. To maintain these injectables, we commonly use gas anesthesia, the most common type being isoflurane. However, some hospitals use sevoflurane. Both are types of gas anesthetics used to keep your pet under general anesthesia.

Yes, depending on the type of procedure, we'll prescribe multiple days of pain medication for your cat to take home. We'll go over the medication and how you should administer it. Most of our surgical patients go home on some type of pain management, as we want them to be comfortable and pain-free.

Aftercare instructions will be provided both verbally and in written form when you're here, as it's crucial that you know what to do when you take your cat home. Most instructions are common sense, such as keeping them away from small children and other pets that might harm them. We want them in a quiet environment as they recover from the procedure. We'll also guide you on how to care for them and what to watch for at their surgical sites.

The time your cat can come home depends on the time and type of procedure they had. For example, if they had a minor procedure like a neuter, they can usually go home a couple of hours after surgery. However, for bigger procedures like bladder stone removal, we need to monitor them for a longer period, so they might stay with us for the better part of the day. Regardless, all our surgical patients go home by the end of the day, often by five o'clock in the evening to recuperate at home.