{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,12]],"date-time":"2026-01-12T05:11:37Z","timestamp":1768194697761,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,6]],"date-time":"2024-07-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1720224000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The aim of this study was to compare three different anesthetic protocols administered intramuscularly (IM) in cats undergoing elective ovariectomy, while evaluating the quality of sedation, antinociceptive, isoflurane-sparing effect, and analgesia in the intra-operative and post-operative phases. A total of 71 female cats were sedated IM with alfaxalone (3 mg\/kg) combined with either butorphanol (0.3 mg\/kg), methadone (0.3 mg\/kg), or pethidine (5 mg\/kg). During surgery, vital parameters were constantly monitored; at the end of the procedure, the quality of recovery was assessed through a specific form and each cat was scored for perceived pain using the UNESP-Botucatu scale for 5 days, and rescue analgesia was provided with buprenorphine IM when indicated. Moreover, differences between two different post-operative resting regimens (hospital kennels vs. home) were also assessed. A significant difference emerged for the amount of IM dexmedetomidine required to achieve an adequate level of sedation for intravenous catheterization, highlighting a greater need in the pethidine group (p = 0.021). There was no significant difference between opioid groups for the requirement of intra-operative rescue analgesia, and the clinical parameters were kept within physiological ranges regardless of the opioid used in premedication. Lastly, differences between the UNESP-Botucatu scores were detected from day 3 to day 5 post-operatively, with lower scores in cats with home resting regimens compared to the hospitalized animals, likely due to the presence of an unfamiliar condition and the absence of a cat-friendly environment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani14131997","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,8]],"date-time":"2024-07-08T04:52:49Z","timestamp":1720414369000},"page":"1997","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Comparison of Butorphanol, Methadone, and Pethidine in Combination with Alfaxalone for Premedication in Isoflurane-Anesthetized Cats Undergoing Ovariectomy"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8765-8750","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giulia","family":"Moretti","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, 06126 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Irene","family":"Mattiuzzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, 06126 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lisa","family":"Garofanini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, 06126 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Eleonora","family":"Monti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, 06126 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Benedetta","family":"Serni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, 06126 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5073-6540","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonello","family":"Bufalari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, 06126 Perugia, Italy"},{"name":"CeRiDA (Research Center on Animal Pain), Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, 06126 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7774-9920","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sara","family":"Nannarone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, 06126 Perugia, Italy"},{"name":"CeRiDA (Research Center on Animal Pain), Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, 06126 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1409","DOI":"10.2460\/javma.239.11.1409","article-title":"Commentary ovariohysterectomy versus ovariectomy for elective sterilization of female dogs and cats: Is removal of the uterus necessary?","volume":"11","author":"DeTora","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. 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