Anaesthesia and Analgesia for Kittens and Puppies

Prepubertal gonadectomy (at 6-16 weeks of age) of puppies and kittens is becoming more accepted in the veterinary community. However, some veterinarians are still hesitant to embrace this practice due to lack of experience with neonatal surgery and anaesthesia (1, 2). Overpopulation and resultant euthanasia of healthy animals is a serious welfare issue and an important step towards alleviating this problem is early age neutering.

The most common age for neutering pets is between 5 and 12 months of age but does not appear to be based on scientific evidence but rather when most veterinarians feel the risks of anaesthesia and surgery are minimal. Previously held concerns related to early age neutering included the following: retarded growth, growth plate fractures, obesity, diabetes mellitus, urinary incontinence, feline urologic syndrome and obstruction, vaginitis, perivulvar dermatitis and behavioural changes. Several studies indicate that these fears are no longer warranted (3-8).

Spain and others have recently published long term data on 1,660 cats and concluded there was no association with this practice and increased rates of relinquishment, medical or behavioural problems. In a survey of New York veterinarians, over 90% stated there were benefits to early spaying and neutering but almost 60% believed that this would be associated with an increased risk of anaesthetic complications (2). Contrary to these beliefs there are several reports of suitable anaesthetic regimens for young animals with good outcomes (5,7,9-11). [...]