Why do up to 10x more cats die under or after a general anesthetic than humans?

Feline anaesthetic deaths in veterinary practice are at approximately 0.11% (1 in 895 anaesthetics) of healthy cats. A study reports that this is more than twice as frequent as has been recently reported in dogs. And for humans it is 1-4 deaths per 10,000 anaesthesias.

Let's just recap that. One death per 10,000 is 0.01% which is about 10 times less than for cats. 4 deaths per 10,000 is going to be half the rate of cats or even better.

There is no way to avoid the conclusion that between double to 10 times the number of cats die under general anaesthetic compared to humans. We need to know why, don't we?

So far, I have not found an answer. Can somebody out there who reads this article tell me the reason why? Is it because veterinarians don't have the same standard of equipment that hospital doctors have?

His female cat went in for a standard spaying operation and came out severely injured. It makes me sick and mad to be honest.

Is it because veterinarians have to be doctors and anaesthesiologists at the same time? When you go to a hospital you have a surgeon and an anaesthesiologist in the operating room. Anaesthesiologist are highly trained specialists. There is lots of advanced equipment. Great care is taken. The standard is exceptionally high, normally.

My gut feeling is that the standard of care provided by veterinarians to cats when they are given a general anaesthetic is lower than for humans in hospitals. And it is this difference rather than a difference of cat and human anatomy which causes the up to 10 times greater fatality of cats when under a general anaesthetic.

And if I am correct, it is not good enough. But then perhaps this is a question of what the general public think they can afford when they take their cat or dog to a veterinarian. If a vet has to buy more advanced equipment they are going to charge more. There is already a problem with cat owners not taking their cat the veterinarians often enough. 

Veterinary cat care is well below that of dog veterinary care. Cat owners think that their cat is independent and with that thought in mind they tend to be switched off as to their cat companion's health problems.

This morning I wrote about a man who took his young to a veterinarian for a spaying operation. The cat was put under a general anaesthetic. The effect was catastrophic on this sweet female cat.

The video above comes from TikTok and it is tragic. It is hard to watch and it is extremely sad. It is not the first time that a female cat going in for a spaying operation has been killed by the anaesthetic. Years ago, a woman wrote in about her British Shorthair kitten who died under the same circumstances. She was bemused and confused. She didn't know why her kitten that died. Clearly the veterinarian had not told her. Perhaps he didn't know himself.

Increasing the life of cats from 15 to 30 years - a cure for feline kidney disease

Professor Miyazaki believes that he might be able to double the expected lifespan of domestic cats to 30 years using a treatment he is working on.

Toru Miyazaki, 59, professor at the Graduate School of Medicine of the University of Tokyo. Picture: the University.

His extensive research found a new protein in the blood of humans and animals. He calls it AIM which stands for "apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage". Yes, I know that doesn't help!

He says that feline kidney disease is caused by dead cells piling up in the urinary tract which blocks the passageway like a clogged drain. This leads to kidney damage.

He says that AIM acts as an agent to unclog the pipes. AIM "goes to the problem area through the blood and flags exactly where the waste is. AIM itself does not dissolve the problem cells; rather other cells like macrophages come along to eat them". Macrophages are cells which destroy harmful organisms. They are also described as a "type of white blood cell that eats and digests foreign material inside the body."

He wants to administer AIM to cats via a vaccine as a preventative medicine and perhaps in other ways (orally or in a capsule?). He's started clinical trials in 2020 (reported). He wants the treatment to become a commodity i.e. a useable product by 2022.

My cat died on CKD. Photo: MikeB

He's excited by the possibility of AIM extending the lives of cats dramatically. He's correct in saying that feline kidney disease is a mass killer, shortening the lives of domestic cats in huge numbers.

His work is reactive essentially. I hope that he is successful but what about researching the reason why feline kidney disease is so disastrously prevalent in the domestic cat population? Is it the food? It might be. Why do domestic cats die of kidney far more often than humans? We need to address that question with more vigour.

No one comes up with a satisfactory answer as to why domestic cats are so predisposed to kidney disease. The situation indicates an underlying but as yet unknown environmental reason. My best bet is the commercial foods that we feed them. It might be the dry foods which have gained in popularity tremendously over the past decades.

CKD affects 8+ percent of cats of 10 years old and older. One well-known vet, Dr Elizabeth Hodgkins believes that dry cat foods are the culprit and feeding high quality wet foods can help dramatically plus a powdered phosphorus binder. One cat, Georgia, did very well on "fluids, a phosphate binder and a commercial high-protein diet. Read her book Your Cat to find out more.

Cat owners should also wish the best of luck to the professor in his quest to increase the life of domestic cats from 15 to 30 years.

Veterinary medicines sent from India seized in Belfast

Two boxes of Toxo-mox 250 (200 tablets) and 10 boxes of Drontal plus tablets (200 tablets) were detained and seized by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs at a Belfast depot after these veterinary medicines were identified by a courier company based at the depot. The parcel was addressed to residential premises in Belfast, County Antrim. The parcel had been shipped from India. The medicines are not authorised UK medicines. There is a UK authorised version of Drontal plus and it is used as a dewormer for cats and dogs. Toxo-mox is an antibiotic for cats and dogs. The medicines were seized under Regulation 25 (Importation of unauthorised veterinary medicinal products) of the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013.

Toxo-mox is available from an India online pharmacy for veterinary products.

Comment: The information comes from the UK government website. It's interesting in one way because what immediately came to mind was whether a person in the UK can order veterinary medicines online from a retailer in India. I checked a couple of Indian websites selling animal medicines and one of them stocked the above-mentioned medicines but they only shipped within India.

I suspect, therefore, that in this instance a person in India bought the medicines online from the Indian retailer and then sent the parcel to their contact in Belfast. It indicates that a person in the UK can get their hands on discount veterinary medicines without going through a veterinarian. I'm particularly thinking of the antibiotics which to the best of my knowledge can only be obtained in the UK on prescription from a veterinarian.

I have made a presumption that the prices in India are cheaper than those in the UK. This may be why the medicines were shipped to the UK. That and the fact that the receiver probably couldn't get hold of them any other way than from India.

Seraquin for cat arthritis

Seraquin is a cat treat containing glucosamine and some potent anti-oxidants called curcuminoids which have proved successful to a very credible associate of mine, Ruth aka Kattaddorra, in treating one of her cats, Walter. You can buy them online and there are no side effects as far as I am aware.



Ruth's Walter loves 'em. And the positive effect has been very noticeable. This is a cross-post so I won't go on about this joint supplement but refer you to the page on the main website: What medicine is good for cats with arthritis. Try Seraquin.

Over the Counter Pet Antibiotics

Is is sensible to buy over the counter pet antibiotics? Are we knowledgeable enough to prescribe pet drugs without veterinarian supervision? Breeders probably are as they have learned through constant veterinarian visits. I don't know where you would get them in the UK. Apparently in the USA there are ways to acquire pet antibiotics over the counter. Antibiotics for fish, for example, are freely available at pet stores. In the USA you could drive to Mexico if you are suitably located as pet antibiotics are available over the counter in that country.

Over the counter pet drugs should be the sort of drugs that are safe to use without diagnosis and prescription.

Antibiotics are used to fight bacterial infections. Do you know that your cat has a bacterial infection rather than a viral infection? Most URIs are caused by a virus.

Antibiotics are bacteria specific and are not generic. One antibiotic does not cure all bacterial infections. Are you able to select the correct antibiotic when buying over the counter? Antibiotics can cause allergies and sensitivities in the pet. I'll focus on cats. A knowledge of veterinary medicine is required to avoid pitfalls.

Antibiotics kill the good bacteria of the stomach. These act as a natural barrier against pathogens. Altering the balance of stomach flora can cause illness such as diarrhea. Giving antibiotics to pregnant cats is potentially hazardous for the unborn kittens.

Some antibiotics are combined with steroids. The steroids reduce inflammation. These drugs are usually in the form of creams. Steroids are last resort type drugs that depress the immune system of the cat. Are you able to use these creams safely without veterinary supervision?

Pet antibiotics when administered for too short a time or in too low a dosage can cause bacterial resistance to the drug.

Finally do you have the knowledge to decide how best to administer the drug for maximum effectiveness? Are you able to decide the dosage and frequency?

I sense that we would be less likely to buy over the counter antibiotics for ourselves.

Over the Counter Pet Drugs

Here is list of over the counter pet drugs available in the USA with some detail on usage:

Microchipping for pets

photo by jshots

Microchipping for pets is a secure (but is it safe?) way of identifying the person who is responsible for the pet - and, from my point of view, the cat. The microchip in this instance is a glass encased implanted radio-frequency (RFID) microchip transponder (see picture below). It sends out a signal that is received outside the body of the cat by a device (a scanner) held by the veterinarian or other person. This produces a registration number from which data can be accessed. In the USA they are FDA authorized. But I guess that is not 100% conclusive as to their safety.

Domestic cats are still talked about as being "owned" by people. I prefer "living with" or "kept" as it fosters are more equal and more healthy relationship, which leads to better cat care. The concept of ownership is promoted by the law which generally treats cats and pets "chattels", that is objects in the possession of people. This I believe should be changed.

Anyway another way to identify the cat's keeper is by the cat wearing a cat collar but this are potentially dangerous. Microchipping for pets is much safer for pets and cats, we are told, and this seems to be the case. But is it?

Some animal research has been done on mice apparently which indicates a 1%-10% incidence (see below for a slightly more accurate figure) of malignant cancers around the microchip. It is worth adding at this point that in the USA there is (or was) a scheme for microchipping humans as a more efficient means of accessing medical records when treatment was required. About 2,000 humans have the microchip. The plan is for many millions. This is a neat idea but there seems to be some controversy about it due to the possibility of malignant cancer being induced by the presence of the microchip.

There have been several reports on the the subject of tumor induced microchipping for pets (at least 11, it seems, over the period 1990-2006). The reports were reviewed by Katherine Albrecht in November 2007. The report is called, "Microchip-Induced Tumors in Laboratory Rodents and Dogs: A Review of the Literature 1990–2006".

In 6 of the 11 projects tumors developed around or close to the site of the implanted microchip in between 0.8% and 10.2% percent of the tested animals. It is thought that the presence of the microchip has a negative impact on the genetic make up of the cells near the microchip. If this is the case the mircochip would be a genotoxic object. A genotoxic substance is one that can cause damage to DNA material. This research is against microchipping for pets.

These tests would appear to have been carried out for the protection of humans in relation to the scheme to microchip people mentioned above. Clearly the research is of interest to cat and pet keepers as well. It would seem though that the jury is out on whether microchipping for pets has an overall benefit.

If cancer research is supported by live case studies over a period of time this will obviously mean a rethink. As millions of cats and dogs have been microchipped with, as far as I can see, no significant reports of cancer it would seem fair to say that microchipping for pets is beneficial overall in that the benefits outweigh the possible detriments.

However, one of the issues always present with consumer objects is that it can be hard to get to the truth as big business tends to muddy the water of any attempts to find the true facts if those facts are against profit.

Microchips can migrate from the back of the neck where they are implanted to the shoulders and sides. The cost of implantation may include lifelong registration (usually does). Petlog a branch of the Kennel Club run a registration service in the UK. If you move you'll need to update the database. This may incur a small charge.

Microchipping for pets - Conclusions

---indications are that the benefits outweigh the possible health issues of microchipping for pets but the jury is still out.
---common sense dictates that if your cat is like mine, a cat that rarely goes further than 15 yards from the patio door, is old and a moggie there is no need realistically to consider microchipping. The same would apply to full-time indoor cats.
---routine inspections (by touch) around area of the implanted microchip and surrounding areas would it seem be advisable.
---on a visit to the veterinarian's surgery it would be sensible to have the microchip scanned to see if it has moved, to see that it still works and also for the vet to check for cancer.


Microchipping for pets to Cat health problems

Photos: both are reproduced under a creative commons license. The header from Flickr and the small image of the microchip from a search conducted from the creative commons website. The picture of the microchip comes from the website: For the Love of the Dog

Sources:

1. www.antichips.com
2. For the Love of the Dog
3. Wikipedia (on definition of genotoxic)
4. Petplace.com

Cat Spraying Elavil

This post has been refurnished, relocated and republished elsewhere!! If by some strange chance you happen to visit this page and would like to read the article please click on this link.