Attitudes of cat and dog owners towards analgesia, anesthesia and anti-inflammatory applications

With the increasing pet population in today's society, the use of analgesics, anaesthetics, and anti-inflammatory drugs in veterinary clinics has been on the rise. This research aims to determine the attitudes of pet owners towards commonly used analgesic, anaesthetic, and anti-inflammatory applications in veterinary clinics. The research material consists of data obtained from a survey conducted with a total of 437 pet owners living in the provinces of Eskişehir, Bilecik, and Aydın. Thirty-two questions were directed to the pet owners, excluding demographic characteristics, regarding the subject. The data were analysed using the SPSS statistical program. The results of the research indicate that 62% of the participating animal owners are female, with an average age of 31.1 and an average monthly income of 21,615 TL. The majority of the participants (49.7%) reside in metropolitan areas, and a significant portion (42.5%) work in the private sector. It was determined that 59.3% of the pet owners currently own cats, while 37.2% own dogs. Analysis of other scales in the survey revealed that pet owners find the use of analgesics, especially after surgical operations, necessary, but they emphasise the importance of costs and express a desire to be informed about these costs in advance. Additionally, a large proportion of pet owners believe that the side effects of the used analgesics, anaesthetics, and anti-inflammatory drugs are high. In conclusion, due to the increasing number of pet owners and awareness levels in our country, the need for analgesics, anaesthetics, and anti-inflammatory drugs used in veterinary clinics has increased. Therefore, it is emphasised in this study that veterinarians need to have more comprehensive knowledge about the use of these drugs and inform pet owners more thoroughly about possible side effects and costs.