Are there specific breeds that are higher risk when under anesthesia?

In general, we tend to think about the Maine Coon. They are at higher risk for a heart disease called HCM, which is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. That's a disease that they can hide. They don't necessarily have to show the symptoms or have a murmur to have heart disease. And that breed's a higher risk as are our Persians—our brachycephalic, or our smooshed-face breeds, because of the breathing. And so, when we think about the dog world, we think about bulldogs and how they recover. And so we have cats like that that already aren't breathing "normal" before anesthesia. And so then you're asking them to recover from a procedure, which makes it worth taking extra care to monitor those guys.

The brachycephalic breeds, such as Persians and Himalayans, which have more restricted airways due to their facial structure, could be considered a bit higher risk.