Evaluation of the effects of meloxicam and rectal ozone application on postoperative pain in cats undergoning ovariohysterectomy

Ovariohysterectomy in cats is one of the most common surgical procedures that causes moderate pain. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different analgesic procedures on postoperative pain in healthy cats undergoing routine ovariohysterectomy (OHE). The study was conducted on 72 female cats that applied to Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy Faculty of Veterinary Medicine with a request for ovariohysterectomy. The cats were randomly divided into 3 groups as meloxicam (Group-1, n=24), ozone application (Group-2, n=24) and control group (Group-3, n=24). For anesthesia of the cats in the study, medetomidine at a dose of 0.08 ml/kg and ketamine at a dose of 0.05-0.075 ml/kg were administered intramuscularly. One of the two analgesic treatments was administered to the cats 10 minutes after ketamine administration. The ozone group received 30 μg/ml rectal ozone insufflation. The meloxicam group received 0.2 mg/kg subcutaneous meloxicam injection. No analgesic was administered to the control group. All cats underwent ovariohysterectomy from the median line under similar conditions. A follow-up form was created for each cat according to the UNESP-Botucatu multidimensional composite pain scale and the cats' postoperative observation results were recorded. Scoring was performed using the postoperative 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 10 and 24th hours for pain assessment. It was determined that the highest pain scores were in the first postoperative hours compared to the later time points in all groups. There was a significant decrease in the pain scores of the cats as time progressed and this decrease became significant especially after the 4th hour. It was determined that the pain scores of the cats in the control group increased significantly from the meloxicam and ozone groups from the 4th hour onwards. The statistical difference between the meloxicam and ozone groups became apparent after the 6th hour. In line with these findings, it was concluded that meloxicam is the method that most rapidly controls pain, and ozone application may become an effective analgesic alternative over time. Keywords: Cat, Meloxicam, Ovariohysterectomy, Ozone, Postoperative Pain