What is the most common anesthetic for dogs and cats?

Answer 1

There are many types of anaesthetics. Firstly local anaesthetics which numb a specific area while it is being worked on, drugs such as lidocaine, procaine or bupivicaine may be used. Then there are anaesthetic induction agents, these are injected into the vein of the animal to intially make it fall asleep before the procedure begins, drugs such a propofol or alfaxalone are commonly used for this. Then anaesthetic gases are used to keep the animal asleep throughout the procedure, mostly isofluorane is used, some practices may now use sevofluorane (the most recent anaesthetic gas being used by the veterinary profession - this is the gas commonly used in paediatric surgery). Some practices may still use halothane but this is less common as it is a teratogenic agent (can damage unborn foetuses).

Sometimes sedation may be used as opposed to an anaesthetic, these cause the animal to become sleepy and therefore easier to handle. Sometimes sedation can be used pre-anaesthetic to make the induction process easier and less stressful for the animal. Common sedatives include diazepam, medetomidine or acepromazine.