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White Kitten

CAT CASTRATES

Quick and (usually) easy

Cat castrates are, for the most part, pretty routine and straight forward. They can often be overlooked as areas to improve upon, but a few simple steps can make them better for the patients.

 

BASICS

  • IV cannula

  • Clippers

  • Skin scrub (I use Hibiscrub at a 50:50 dilution with warm water followed by a ChloraPrep)

  • Scalpel blade

  • Analgesia (NSAID)

 

EVEN BETTER WITH

  • Local intratesticular block

Three Cats Playing
The procedure and nursing considerations

Ensure the patient is on a heat pad and is getting oxygen supplementation throughout the procedure via face mask.

 

Remember to lubricate the eyes (especially important is the patient has had ketamine in their premed).

 

Clip away fur over the scrotum using size 40 blade clippers and clean the surgical site with your scrub of choice.

 

At this stage I recommend performing an intratesticular block using bupivicaine (not exceeding 1mg/kg dose in felines) - this is especially useful if your premed only contained a partial opioid such as buprenorphine. This can take up to 5 minutes to work so ensure the surgeon hasn't scrubbed yet!

 

The patient can be left in lateral recumbency for the surgery, just make sure the tail is secured out of the way. Then give another quick scrub and prep the area using a final cleaning stage e.g. ChloraPrep.

 

The surgeon can then perform the castration.

 

Remember to lubricate the eyes again on recovery to reduce risks of corneal ulcers forming and keep the patient wrapped up warm. It is a quick surgery but they can still lose heat fast so don't forget to monitor the temperature.

 

If your patient has had a "triple" (a medetomidine, buprenorphine, and ketamine combination pre-med), the recommendation is to wait for 30-45 minutes after the ketamine was given before giving any atipamezole, to avoid the patient becoming dysphoric on recovery.

Disclaimer:

The information on this website is for reference and education, and any medications and doses should be prescribed by your veterinary surgeon before giving. All patients should be assessed individually and treated as such.

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