Pre-Operative Information
for pets having sedation or general anaesthetic
Your pet has been booked in for a procedure or operation with us, for which a sedative or general anaesthetic may be required.
FOR ADULT DOGS AND CATS
We request that your pet is fed as usual the night before, but that food is removed by 9pm and no further access is allowed. If you normally feed once daily in the morning please ensure on the day prior to surgery a small meal is given in the evening too, to avoid too long a fasting period. Access to water should be given until you leave home to bring your pet to us.
FOR PUPPIES AND KITTENS [UNDER 16 WEEKS OLD]
A meal should be given four hours before the planned procedure. Ask a vet or nurse to tell you what time this will be. For example, for a procedure scheduled for 9am we would ask that puppies/kittens are given a meal at 5am. These youngsters do not have the same capacity to cope with a starve as an adult would.
SMALL FURRIES [E.G. RABBITS, RATS, MICE, CHINCHILLAS
Please do not starve. Bring some of their usual food in with them on the morning of surgery.
If you feed your pet a raw food diet – please see our policy
If possible, please make sure your pet has had the opportunity to pass urine and faeces before being dropped off with us. Please try to ensure that your pet is clean and dry on arrival at the clinic as animals with very dirty or wet coats are not ideal candidates for surgery due to the increased infection risk. If your pet is very dirty please try to bathe them the day before surgery so they are clean for their operation.
On the day of the operation we will give you an appointment for admission of your pet in the morning.
You will be asked to sign a consent form for the planned procedure or operation and if you have any queries or concerns at this stage they can be addressed. It is important that you leave us a mobile, home or work telephone number on which you can be contacted through the day should that be necessary.
In some circumstances we recommend that a pre-anaesthetic blood sample is collected and/or an intravenous drip is used during anaesthesia. The blood sample can reveal underlying problems which may alter the anaesthetic used and intravenous fluids help support blood pressure and protect the kidneys. We more commonly recommend these procedures in older animals or where an animal is sick.
If your animal is on ongoing medication please let us know what your animal has been given and when at the time of admission. If your pet is fed a special diet please bring some with you so we can offer the correct food at the appropriate time. If you already have an elizabethan collar or medical pet shirt you would like to use post-operatively please bring it to your admission appointment.
We will arrange a discharge appointment usually for late afternoon or early evening with the vet or one of the nurses who will return your pet to you with full after care instructions.
It is often the case that, after a general anaesthetic and/or surgical procedure,we may ask you to make an appointment the following day for a check up. If skin sutures have been placed these are usually removed after 10 days.
If you have any concerns or questions prior to your pet coming in please contact the surgery.
