Orally administered gabapentin and alprazolam induce comparable levels of anxiolysis and sedation in cats.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the level of anxiolysis achieved by alprazolam and gabapentin in hospitalized cats prior to elective ovariohysterectomy and to evaluate the sedative effects of these agents. ANIMALS: 60 client-owned female cats classified as American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status 1, admitted for elective ovariohysterectomy at a veterinary teaching hospital. METHODS: The cats were prospectively and randomly allocated into 3 groups. Ninety minutes before evaluation, group G received gabapentin (100 mg/cat), group A received alprazolam (0.125 mg/cat), and group P received no medication (placebo). Stress, enclosure activity, and sedation scores were blindly evaluated. RESULTS: Stress scores were similar in cats treated with gabapentin and alprazolam and gabapentin-treated cats had significantly lower stress score than those of the placebo group. Enclosure activity levels did not differ among the groups. Additionally, gabapentin and alprazolam resulted in similar sedation levels 90 minutes after treatment, which differed significantly compared to placebo. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The results of this study suggest that gabapentin provides similar anxiolysis in cats to that of alprazolam when evaluated 90 minutes after administration. Although no difference was noted in sedation levels between gabapentin and alprazolam, both induced deeper sedation than placebo.

Use of propofol to induce food consumption by anorectic dogs following ovariohysterectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether IV propofol administration at a dose of 2 mg/kg (0.9 mg/lb) could induce food consumption by anorectic female dogs following elective ovariohysterectomy. ANIMALS: 51 healthy female dogs that failed to eat voluntarily when food was offered 6 hours after ovariohysterectomy. PROCEDURES: In a randomized, blinded, controlled clinical trial, dogs received propofol (2 mg/kg; n = 31) or an equivalent volume of saline (0.9% NaCl) solution (20) IV 6 hours after ovariohysterectomy. Afterward, food was offered to the dogs and food consumption was reassessed. Pain, sedation, and stress were scored before and immediately after treatment. RESULTS: 27 of the 31 (87%) dogs in the propofol group consumed food immediately after administration of the assigned treatment, whereas only 1 of 20 (5%) dogs in the placebo group did. No difference in pain, sedation, or stress scores was identified between the 2 groups. Sedation scores for dogs in the propofol group increased immediately after propofol administration. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that food consumption following elective surgical procedures can be effectively induced in anorectic female dogs by IV administration of propofol at a dose of 2 mg/kg.

Genoarchitectonic Compartmentalization of the Embryonic Telencephalon: Insights From the Domestic Cat.

The telencephalon develops from the alar plate of the secondary prosencephalon and is subdivided into two distinct divisions, the pallium, which derives solely from prosomere hp1, and the subpallium which derives from both hp1 and hp2 prosomeres. In this first systematic analysis of the feline telencephalon genoarchitecture, we apply the prosomeric model to compare the expression of a battery of genes, including Tbr1, Tbr2, Pax6, Mash1, Dlx2, Nkx2-1, Lhx6, Lhx7, Lhx2, and Emx1, the orthologs of which alone or in combination, demarcate molecularly distinct territories in other species. We characterize, within the pallium and the subpallium, domains and subdomains topologically equivalent to those previously described in other vertebrate species and we show that the overall genoarchitectural map of the E26/27 feline brain is highly similar to that of the E13.5/E14 mouse. In addition, using the same approach at the earlier (E22/23 and E24/25) or later (E28/29 and E34/35) stages we further analyze neurogenesis, define the timing and duration of several developmental events, and compare our data with those from similar mouse studies; our results point to a complex pattern of heterochronies and show that, compared with the mouse, developmental events in the feline telencephalon span over extended periods suggesting that cats may provide a useful animal model to study brain patterning in ontogenesis and evolution.