Pisu Maria Carmela, Ponzio Patrizia, Rovella Chiara, Baravalle Michela, Veronesi Maria Cristina
1 Veterinary Reference Centre, Turin, Italy.
2 Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
J Feline Med Surg. 2017 Oct;19(10):1087-1090. doi: 10.1177/1098612X16679589. Epub 2016 Nov 17.
Objectives Although less often requested in comparison with dogs, the collection of semen in cats can be necessary for artificial insemination, for semen evaluation in tom cats used for breeding and for semen storage. Urethral catheterisation after pharmacological induction with medetomidine has proved to be useful for the collection of semen in domestic cats. However, most of the previously used protocols require the administration of high doses of medetomidine that can increase the risk of side effects, especially on the cardiovascular system. In routine clinical practice, one safe and useful injectable anaesthetic protocol for short-term clinical investigations or surgery in cats involves premedication with low intramuscular doses of dexmedetomidine with methadone, followed by intravenous propofol bolus injection. We aimed to assess the usefulness of this injectable anaesthetic protocol for semen collection, via urethral catheterisation, in domestic cats. Methods The study was performed on 38 purebred, adult cats, during the breeding season, and semen was collected via urethral catheterisation using an injectable anaesthesia protocol with methadone (0.2 mg/kg) and dexmedetomidine (5 µg/kg) premedication, followed by induction with propofol. Results The anaesthetic protocol used in the present study allowed the collection of large-volume semen samples, characterised by good parameters and without side effects. Conclusions and relevance The results from the present study suggest that the injectable anaesthetic protocol using methadone and dexmedetomidine premedication, followed by induction with propofol, could be suitable and safe for the collection of a good-quality semen sample, via urethral catheterisation, in domestic cats. It can therefore be used as an alternative to previous medetomidine-based sedation protocols.
目的 尽管与犬相比，猫精液采集的需求较少，但对于人工授精、种用雄猫的精液评估以及精液保存而言，猫精液采集可能是必要的。事实证明，在美托咪定药物诱导后进行尿道插管有助于家猫精液的采集。然而，大多数先前使用的方案需要给予高剂量的美托咪定，这可能会增加副作用风险，尤其是对心血管系统的副作用。在常规临床实践中，一种用于猫短期临床研究或手术的安全有效的注射麻醉方案包括，肌肉注射低剂量右美托咪定与美沙酮进行预处理，随后静脉推注丙泊酚。我们旨在评估这种注射麻醉方案用于家猫经尿道插管采集精液的有效性。方法 在繁殖季节对38只纯种成年猫进行研究，采用含有美沙酮（0.2mg/kg）和右美托咪定（5μg/kg）预处理的注射麻醉方案，随后用丙泊酚诱导麻醉，经尿道插管采集精液。结果 本研究中使用的麻醉方案能够采集到大体积精液样本，这些样本参数良好且无副作用。结论及意义 本研究结果表明，采用美沙酮和右美托咪定预处理、随后用丙泊酚诱导麻醉的注射麻醉方案，对于经尿道插管采集家猫高质量精液样本而言可能是合适且安全的。因此，它可作为先前基于美托咪定的镇静方案的替代方案。
