7 things your veterinarian wants you to know before your pet has surgery

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

If your pet is having surgery, whether it’s a spay/neuter procedure or an orthopedic repair, you may be wondering whether that blood work is necessary, why your pet can’t eat or drink beforehand, and how soon he’ll recover from the experience. The following information can help ensure that your pet has a good experience and rapid recovery.

Pre-test protocol. The lab work your veterinarian recommends before surgery is to make sure your pet doesn’t have any liver or kidney problems that could interfere with the ability to metabolize the anesthetic and to ensure that your pet isn’t anemic, which could be an issue in case of blood loss.

Comfort begins at home. Your veterinarian may prescribe gabapentin or trazodone for you to give at home before bringing your pet in. High levels of stress spark chemical changes in the body that can weaken the immune system. Stress can also exacerbate the sensation of pain.

“If we have those drugs onboard before there are any pain impulses, they're much more effective,” says Tamara Grubb, DVM, assistant clinical professor of anesthesia and analgesia at Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Medicating pets beforehand can help ensure that they arrive at the clinic calm.

Other pre-surgical stress busters include playing soothing music specially composed for dogs and cats and spraying feline and canine pheromones, artificial chemical messengers that create a sense of security.

Cats are special. New anesthesia guidelines by the American Association of Feline Practitioners recognize that cats have special needs when it comes to sedation and anesthesia. The guidelines address ways to prevent common cat complications related to anesthesia. Your veterinarian can provide you with a handout that explains the anesthesia process.

Nail nausea. Nausea and vomiting from carsickness before surgery or as a result of anesthesia can affect how well a pet does during and after anesthesia. Veterinary analgesia and anesthesia specialist Jordyn Marie Boesch at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine encourages veterinarians to give maropitant, an anti-nausea medication, to cats and dogs orally the night before anesthesia or to send it home with owners to give it with the pet’s dinner the night before surgery.

“A single dose will prevent vomiting for 24 hours,” she says. “We have found this to be extremely effective at preventing vomiting due to pre-medication for general anesthesia.”

Tell your veterinarian about supplements and medications your pet takes. Some herbal supplements can increase bleeding during surgery or interfere with the drugs being used, says veterinarian Sheilah Robertson, a specialist in anesthesia and pain management. Don’t leave anything out, even if it’s something as innocuous as fish oil pills or a baby aspirin. Even low doses of aspirin can increase the risk of excessive bleeding during surgery.

Your pet accidentally got breakfast the day of surgery. Now what? Be honest. “It’s not a problem as long as we know,” Dr. Robertson says. And it’s OK to give oral medications pre-operatively. Your veterinarian isn’t referring to those when she says nothing by mouth beforehand.

Post-surgical care. Icing the incision (ask your vet how to do it and how often); providing deep, soft bedding if your pet has a fracture or bruising; and feeding canned food after tooth extractions are some simple things you can do at home to help your pet recover more quickly and less painfully. Give pain medication as directed, and call your veterinarian if your pet appears to be in pain.

“Owners know the patient best, and if an owner tells me they believe their pet’s pain is not well controlled, I take that very seriously,” Dr. Boesch says.

Q&A

Field guide

to cat fur

Q: I love my cat’s fur. What can you tell me about caring for it?

A: Whether you have a domestic shorthair; a cat with a long, flowing coat; or a hairless, wirehaired or curly-coated cat, you know how wonderful it feels to run your hands over that glorious fur. Whatever their type, cat coats are soft and beautiful, but they also serve as an environmental buffer, protecting the skin beneath it from heat, cold and invading aliens -- er, bacteria. Even more fascinating, the coat is an integral part of a cat’s sense of touch, alerting her to potential dangers such as sharp objects.

A cat’s coat is made up of three types of hairs: intermediate-length awn hairs that make up most of the coat; the downy undercoat; and coarse, thick, straight guard hairs of the outer coat, which insulate and protect. Cats shed as old hairs fall out and new ones come in. If your cat stays indoors all the time, she’ll shed consistently year-round, but cats exposed to natural light shed on a more seasonal basis, with coats that are thicker in winter, thinner in summer.

Although cats do a great job of grooming themselves with their spiked tongues that moisten fur and remove dead hair, brushing and combing on a regular basis helps them out and reduces the incidence of hairballs because cats don’t swallow as much fur as they lick themselves clean. Shorthaired cats usually do well with a weekly brushing, but longhaired cats -- depending on their coat type -- may need brushing two or three times a week or even daily.

Caring for a cat’s coat is more than just brushing or combing to remove dirt and distribute skin oils to make it shine. Feeding a high-quality food with plenty of meat protein is also a must for thick, gleaming fur. -- Dr. Marty Becker

Do you have a pet question? Send it to askpetconnection@gmail.com or visit Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker.

THE BUZZ

Pet DNA tests for

fun, not diagnostics

-- Pet DNA tests are for fun, not for making serious decisions about your dog’s health (the majority of pet DNA tests are for dogs). While much is known about the relationship between gene mutations and disease in the human genome, less is known about the canine genome. Just because a DNA test says your dog may be at risk for a certain type of cancer, degenerative disease or other illness doesn’t mean it will happen. The science isn’t that good yet, and mistakes could cause owners to seek invasive treatments that aren’t necessary or even to euthanize dogs who might never become ill in the first place. Pet DNA tests have a lot of potential, but they’re not ready for diagnostic prime time.

-- Hedgehogs are the most popular pocket pets in Alabama, Connecticut, Minnesota and Oregon, while ferrets rule in Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. A survey by Trusted Housesitters tracked social media mentions of pets in each state to rank their popularity. In Maryland, hamsters are more popular than bulldogs and Labrador retrievers. Lizards outnumber beagles and terriers in Nevada.

-- Meet the toyger. This domestic cat has a uniquely striped coat resembling that of a tiger. Breeder Judy Sugden created the toyger to help inspire conservation of tigers in the wild. The cats have no wild blood, but were developed from approximately 40 domestic cats from various countries. Toygers have circular facial markings, a body with dark markings on a bright orange background and a scatter of gold “glitter,” and a white belly. The International Cat Association recognized the breed in 2007. The medium-size cats weigh 7 to 15 pounds and are friendly, smart and affectionate. Many love to play fetch and walk on a leash. -- Dr. Marty Becker, Kim Campbell Thornton and Mikkel Becker

ABOUT PET CONNECTION

Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet-care experts headed by "The Dr. Oz Show" veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker and award-winning journalist Kim Campbell Thornton. They are affiliated with Vetstreet.com and are the authors of many best-selling pet-care books. Joining them is dog trainer and behavior consultant Mikkel Becker. Dr. Becker can be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker. Kim Campbell Thornton is at Facebook.com/KimCampbellThornton and on Twitter at kkcthornton. Mikkel Becker is at Facebook.com/MikkelBecker and on Twitter at MikkelBecker.

The shortage of opioid drugs affects veterinary medicine, too. Here’s how

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

If you don’t take pain medications or haven’t had surgery recently, you probably don’t think the opioid crisis you’ve been hearing about on the news has anything to do with you. But if you have pets, they could be affected. Not because they’re at risk of falling prey to drug dealers pushing controlled substances, but because pets who need surgery or treatment for acute pain are beneficiaries of the same pain-relieving medications used in humans.

A shortage of the medications -- caused by a double whammy of inspection issues and production delays related to upgrades at a Pfizer facility in Kansas, plus a DEA-mandated 20 percent decrease in overall opioid production in an attempt to curb abuse by humans -- means the drugs are less available for use in veterinary medicine.

Veterinarians use injectable opioids such as morphine, fentanyl, methadone and hydromorphone for surgical procedures and acute pain from trauma. Human doctors get priority when those and other opioid drugs are distributed, leaving veterinarians to scramble for ways to manage pain in pets.

“The opioid crisis the government is talking about is people OD'ing,” says Sheilah Robertson, a veterinarian who specializes in analgesia and anesthesiology and who is the senior medical director for Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice. “It’s a different crisis to us. Our crisis is that we’re short of opioids that our patients need.”

The shortage is expected to continue into 2019, according to a June 19 statement by the Food and Drug Administration. In one attempt to mitigate the shortage, the FDA and Pfizer coordinated the release of some products that were on hold due to potential quality issues, distributing them with instructions for safe handling and use to reduce risks to patients.

What the shortage means for pet owners is that in some instances, a pet’s surgery or other procedure may need to be postponed or performed with drugs that are less effective in managing pain, says pain expert Robin Downing, DVM, director of the Downing Center for Animal Pain Management in Windsor, Colorado.

The potent drugs are a cornerstone of pain relief before, during and after surgery, Dr. Downing says. Their use in anesthesia reduces the need for inhalant anesthetics. In turn, that reduces the risks associated with general anesthesia.

To get around the shortage, veterinarians are having to think creatively. They may use less-potent opioids such as butorphanol and buprenorphine in combination with drugs that provide local anesthesia and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, known as multimodal analgesia. Local anesthetics completely block pain, and a single dose of some new drugs in that category work for 24 to 72 hours. Multimodal analgesia can also help to reduce grogginess, nausea or vomiting after surgery.

Sometimes there’s a learning curve to using unfamiliar drugs and techniques, though.

“I’ve taken calls from numerous veterinarians asking about alternatives to the opioid they usually use, which they are now having difficulty obtaining,” says Jordyn Marie Boesch, DVM, a lecturer in anesthesiology at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. “The good news is that there is often an alternative opioid available. The silver lining is that the shortage is introducing veterinarians to many other ways of providing analgesia that they may not have been familiar with before.”

Veterinarians also hope drug companies will take steps to have some opioids labeled specifically for use in animals. In Europe, for instance, versions of fentanyl are made specifically for use in dogs and cats.

“If there’s a human shortage (of opioids in Europe), it doesn’t affect veterinarians, and that’s what we would like to happen here,” Dr. Robertson says. “We know that taking a drug through all the trials and FDA costs a lot of money, but we can no longer depend on our supply from human-labeled drugs anymore.”

Q&A

Cat play for

the beginner

Q: I’ve just gotten my first kitten! What kind of toys should I get her, and are there any special ways that cats like to play?

A: Congratulations on your foray into feline servitude, er, companionship. Cats are wonderful friends and wonderfully entertaining, especially during kittenhood. The right toys and play will help your kitten fulfill her natural instincts, get lots of exercise and mental stimulation, and learn how to interact with you and other people.

Cats are hunters at heart. They are wired to prowl, stalk, chase, kick and bite. A number of toys, from simple to complex, can help them meet those needs, and proper use of them can prevent injury to your own delicate skin.

Puzzle or interactive toys that allow cats to forage for food or treats by pawing inside a box or snagging food from a textured mat challenge cats’ brains, teach them to overcome obstacles and build their fine motor skills. Batting at a wand with a dangling toy or feather; chasing a ball, wind-up or battery-operated mouse; or hunting the dot from a laser pointer or flashlight is great exercise, especially if you direct the beam up and down the stairs a few times. Soft toys stuffed with catnip excite the “bite, kick and disembowel” instinct.

You don’t have to spend a lot on toys. Rotate them every few days to make sure your kitten always has something new and interesting to play with. Put away toys with string where she can’t get to them if you aren’t there to supervise.

Protect yourself from kitty tooth and claw injuries. Don’t “arm wrestle” with your kitten, and walk away if she tries to play rough with you. Most important, continue playing with her into adulthood to help her stay healthy and svelte. -- Dr. Marty Becker and Mikkel Becker

Do you have a pet question? Send it to askpetconnection@gmail.com or visit Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker.

THE BUZZ

Cat recovers well

after hip surgery

-- Fridgey, a 2-year-old Bengal cat who has had bilateral hip problems, gave veterinarians at Purdue Veterinary Teaching Hospital in West Lafayette, Indiana, their first opportunity to perform total hip replacement surgery -- a common procedure in dogs -- on a cat. He underwent the surgery in March, followed by extensive physical rehab sessions to get him back in shape, including sessions on an aquatic treadmill. Fridgey has recovered well, his veterinarians report. Between surgery and rehab, the cost of Fridgey’s care was approximately $10,000, but owners Tyler and Faith Goldsberry had pet health insurance, which covered 80 percent of the expense.

-- Summer is still in full swing. If you haven’t been to the beach with Rover yet, here are 11 dog-friendly options: Muir Beach in Marin County, California; Dog Beach in Fort Myers Beach, Florida; Jekyll Island off the coast of Georgia; Montrose Dog Beach in Chicago; Long Meadow Dog Beach in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park; Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina’s Outer Banks; Ecola State Park in Cannon Beach, Oregon; Kinney Shores in Saco, Maine; Edisto Island Town Beach and State Park in South Carolina; Padre Island National Seashore in Corpus Christi, Texas; and Magnuson Park in Seattle.

-- Got a constipated canine or a cat who’s hacking up hairballs? Add a little plain canned pumpkin to his diet. The added fiber can get things moving in your pet’s digestive tract, and it also helps to reduce the incidence of hairballs. For pets with mild diarrhea, the fiber helps to firm up loose feces. Pets on a diet will appreciate some pumpkin mixed with their food to help them feel fuller. Ask your veterinarian how much to give, based on your pet’s size, and be sure to use plain canned pumpkin, not the sweetened pie filling. -- Dr. Marty Becker, Kim Campbell Thornton and Mikkel Becker

ABOUT PET CONNECTION

Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet-care experts headed by "The Dr. Oz Show" veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker and award-winning journalist Kim Campbell Thornton. They are affiliated with Vetstreet.com and are the authors of many best-selling pet-care books. Joining them is dog trainer and behavior consultant Mikkel Becker. Dr. Becker can be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker. Kim Campbell Thornton is at Facebook.com/KimCampbellThornton and on Twitter at kkcthornton. Mikkel Becker is at Facebook.com/MikkelBecker and on Twitter at MikkelBecker.

Some dogs and cats seem to be wusses when it comes to pain. Is there a genetic reason behind it?

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

Does your dog or cat act as if you’re killing him when you trim his nails, even if you’ve never “quicked” him? Scream bloody murder when all the vet tech has done is wipe her skin with alcohol? Some breeds have a reputation for being crybabies because they have what seem to be excessive physical or vocal reactions to even minor procedures. Are they wimps, or could there be a genetic reason for their behavior?

Some breeds do seem to feel pain more acutely than others, according to Michael C. Petty, DVM, who presented a lecture on managing pain in surgical patients at the 2018 VMX conference in Orlando, Florida, in February. He specifically calls out beagles, Shetland sheepdogs, and Northern breeds such as Siberian huskies -- known for their excessive vocalizations. Other veterinarians agree.

“I think Arctic breeds probably do have a heightened pain response,” says Tamara Grubb, DVM, assistant clinical professor of anesthesia and analgesia at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Right now, she’s speaking simply from experience, but she believes that one day researchers will find that certain breeds have a genetic predisposition for a heightened pain response.

We know from studies in humans that complex environmental and genetic factors result in a high degree of individual responses to pain. Subtle changes in DNA may at least partially explain the different ways people perceive and express pain. There appear to be a number of genes in humans and animals that influence sensitivity to pain.

The genes that dictate coat color may also affect behavior or pain sensitivity in some way. It’s been found, for instance, that people with red hair are more sensitive to certain types of pain because they have specific gene variants. In his lecture, Dr. Petty says, “These people have a lower thermal threshold, need higher levels of anesthetics and don’t always respond to the effects of lidocaine like other people do. I suspect that some animals have the same issue.”

A study at the University of California, Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital found that cats with calico and tortoiseshell coats are more likely to hiss, chase, bite, swat or scratch when being handled by humans. Maybe their coat color genetics are linked to greater sensitivity to pain, although one of the authors, Melissa J. Bain, DVM, said they didn’t look at reaction to pain in their study.

It could also be that there’s no real link between coat color and certain behaviors. It may simply be what’s known in evolutionary biology as a spandrel: a byproduct of the evolution of some other characteristic -- in this case, pain sensitivity -- but with no direct relationship.

Some animals who more readily express pain also react differently to certain drugs. Veterinary anesthesiologist Jordyn Boesch, DVM, says breeds such as Siberian huskies and Alaskan malamutes become restless, anxious or depressed under the influence of certain doses of opioids used during procedures requiring anesthesia. That doesn’t mean that opioids shouldn’t be used with them, but that they should receive the lowest effective dose, she says.

Can you teach your pet to exhibit less drama when you trim nails or visit the vet? Dr. Petty noted that dogs and cats may benefit from Fear Free techniques or the feline-friendly handling guidelines developed by the American Association of Feline Practitioners. Techniques for at home and in the veterinary clinic include providing emotional and physical support, including offering a favorite treat or toy during the procedure; reducing the risk of nausea and vomiting by providing medication before car rides to the vet and prior to surgery; and environmental management of light, noise, odors, slick floors and other factors that can affect a pet’s comfort level.

Q&A

The rise of

cat worship

Q: Did the ancient Egyptians really worship cats?

A: You bet! They worshipped many deities, and several of them had feline personas. That’s not surprising. Early Egyptians paid homage to particular animals for reasons that often related to services they performed or admirable qualities they displayed. The cat’s prowess at hunting, with the resulting vermin control in grain storage areas, made them well worthy of worship in the eyes of ancient Egyptians.

As Egyptian culture evolved, so did the prominent role of cats in the pantheon of gods. One was the goddess Mafdet. She personified execution -- we all know that cats are excellent executioners of mice -- and was also associated with protection from venomous animals. Her name meant “she who runs swiftly,” and one of her titles was “slayer of serpents.” Clearly, the Egyptians had those cat attributes nailed.

Another cat goddess was Bast, also known as Bubastis. She took the form of a cat as well and was considered to be the protector of the pharaoh. Not surprisingly, considering the fertility of cats to this day, Bast also represented fertility and motherhood, and women visited her temple to pray for children. At Bast’s temple lived sacred cats who were cared for by priests.

Sekhmet, a lion-headed goddess, symbolized the sun. Her name meant “one who is powerful,” and she was considered a war goddess. One of her titles was “Lady of Slaughter.”

You can see where this is going. Egyptian cats were idolized as killing machines. But they were appreciated for their softer side as well. Household cats were cared for and adored. When the family cat died, Egyptians shaved their eyebrows as a sign of mourning. Today, many of us keep cats as pets, but they remind us always that they are special and deserving of devotion, just as they were 5,000 years ago. -- Kim Campbell Thornton

Do you have a pet question? Send it to askpetconnection@gmail.com or visit Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker.

THE BUZZ

Water dispensers

recalled by IKEA

-- If you purchased a Lurvig water dispenser from IKEA for your dog or cat, return it immediately for a full refund. The company is recalling the dispensers after two dogs suffocated when their heads became stuck in the water dispenser. The water dispensers were sold in U.S. stores and online between October 2017 and June 2018, for $7.99. “IKEA urges customers to stop using the water dispenser and return it to any IKEA store for a full refund,” the company said in a statement on its website. A receipt or other proof of purchase is not required for the return.

-- The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center is receiving an increasing number of calls regarding pets who have eaten marijuana plants or dried cannabis, as are local veterinarians. Animals can get sick from eating cannabis or edibles, becoming depressed or fatigued, dribbling urine and developing a low body temperature and slow heart rate. More serious side effects from products with higher concentrations include low blood pressure, agitation and seizures. At least one pet has died. The message to owners: Don’t be afraid to call a poison control hotline or to take your pet to the vet if you know or suspect he has ingested marijuana. They won’t turn you in, and they do want to care for your pet.

-- Beagles rank sixth among the breeds registered by the American Kennel Club. The small scenthounds are known for a merry temperament and a love of sniffing. Don’t expect to go at a fast pace on a walk with a beagle because he’ll constantly be stopping to smell the roses -- and whatever else has an interesting scent. Beware: Beagles howl and they are food thieves, but generally they will charm you into forgiving them with a melting look from their soft brown eyes. -- Dr. Marty Becker, Kim Campbell Thornton and Mikkel Becker

ABOUT PET CONNECTION

Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet-care experts headed by "The Dr. Oz Show" veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker and award-winning journalist Kim Campbell Thornton. They are affiliated with Vetstreet.com and are the authors of many best-selling pet-care books. Joining them is dog trainer and behavior consultant Mikkel Becker. Dr. Becker can be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker. Kim Campbell Thornton is at Facebook.com/KimCampbellThornton and on Twitter at kkcthornton. Mikkel Becker is at Facebook.com/MikkelBecker and on Twitter at MikkelBecker.