Current practice for the chemical immobilisation of non-domestic feline species: An online survey study.

Background: Safe chemical immobilisation of wild felids is essential for both conservational management and clinical purposes. However, little is known about drug protocols and current practice.

Methods: This study was designed as an online survey based on a questionnaire. Descriptive/correlation statistics and analysis of proportions were used for data analysis.

Results: The preferred immobilisation technique was the use of darts (37% of the respondents), while the most popular drug combination was a mixture of benzodiazepines, alpha-2 adrenoreceptor agonists and dissociative anaesthetics (27%). The inclusion of ketamine in the drug mixture was associated with a quicker anaesthetic onset, as estimated by the participants (p < 0.001). Common complications were prolonged recovery (46%), bradycardia (35%), hypoventilation (32%), hypothermia (26%) and arousal (26%). Commonly encountered problems were inappropriate equipment (39%), lack of suitable drugs (27%) and inadequate knowledge of species-specific pharmacology (29%) and physiology (24%).

Limitations: Incomplete adherence to the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys is acknowledged.

Conclusions: Drug protocols including both alpha-2 adrenoreceptor agonists and dissociative anaesthetics are preferred in wild felids, and the inclusion of ketamine may be useful to achieve a quick onset. Equipment/drug availability and species-specific knowledge are potential areas of improvement to improve wild felid anaesthesia.