Effects of tramadol with tiletamine/zolazepam-xylazine as anaesthesia in cats

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of the combination of tiletamine/zolazepam-xylazine-tramadol (TZXT) in cats and to compare its efficacy as an anaesthetic technique with tiletamine/zolazepam-xylazine (TZX). Fourteen healthy thirteen-month-old cats of both sexes were immobilized by TZXT or TZX on two different occasions. The cats’ scores for immobilization, analgesia and baseline physiological indicators, heart rate, respiratory rate and rectal temperature, were recorded before and 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80, 100 and 120 min after administration of TZXT or TZX. Animals in both groups became laterally recumbent within 3 min and physiological indicators changed after administration. These changes were within biologically acceptable limits; these measurements did not differ between the treatments. Induction and recovery quality in animals was better with TZXT than with TZX. Sedation, analgesia, muscle relaxation and posture scores was higher in TZXT group. During recovery, cats in TZXT group were more conscious than cats in TZX group. This study showed that in cats, addition of tramadol (T) to TZX improved the quality of anaesthetic induction and increased the analgesic effect without adversely affecting the physiological indicators. Thus tiletamine/zolazepam-xylazine-tramadol shows to be more suitable for cat anaesthesia.