Quick sedation moves closer to routine care in dogs and cats
CURRENT BRIEF VERSION: A new episode in Dr. Andy Roark’s “How do you treat that?” series puts a familiar general-practice problem front and center: how to achieve quick, humane sedation in dogs and cats when fear, anxiety, stress, or handling risk gets in the way of care. In the episode, Roark talks with veterinary technician specialist in anesthesia Tasha McNerney about “brief sedation” for otherwise healthy pets, including low- or no-pain handling situations and more involved short procedures when full anesthesia may be out of reach because of time or cost. That framing fits a broader practice trend toward pre-visit pharmaceuticals, lower-stress handling, and earlier use of sedation when needed for safety and welfare. Commonly discussed options include trazodone, gabapentin, dexmedetomidine-based approaches, and multimodal protocols, with cats and dogs often requiring different strategies and timing. (aaha.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, quick sedation is no longer just a “fractious patient” workaround. It’s becoming part of standard workflow for safer exams, blood draws, nail trims, imaging, and minor procedures, especially in Fear Free-style practice models. Roark’s recent podcast coverage also places the issue alongside high-FAS handling challenges, such as lunging dogs in clinic, and the wider concern that repeated force-based restraint and morally stressful care can wear down technicians and support staff. Evidence supports pre-visit medication for reducing stress in many patients, including trazodone for dogs before veterinary visits and gabapentin or trazodone-based protocols for cats, though the evidence base is stronger for some species and drug combinations than others. That makes protocol selection, test dosing, client communication, and case-by-case assessment especially important. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
What to watch: Expect continued discussion around species-specific protocols, on-label versus off-label options, and where clinics draw the line between pre-visit medication, brief procedural sedation, and full anesthesia. Newer products like feline pregabalin may also shift how clinics prepare anxious patients before they arrive. (todaysveterinarypractice.com)