Comparison of analgesic effects of medetomidine and meloxicam in pain control after ovariectomy in cats

In small animal practice, various medications are used for postoperative pain management, with NSAIDs and alpha-2 adrenergic drugs being commonly employed. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of these medications in relieving postoperative pain following ovariectomy in cats. In this study, eleven healthy adult female cats were anesthetized for traditional midline ovariectomy and randomly administered either 0.2 mg/kg of IV Meloxicam (MLX) or 20 μg/kg of IV medetomidine (MED). Parameters including serum cortisol and glucose levels, pain scores using the Unesp-Botucatu Multidimensional Pain Scale (UMPS) method, anesthesia duration, blood pressure, and hemoglobin oxygen saturation (SpO2) were measured before the surgery and at 1, 2, 4, 6, and 24 hours post-surgery. All cats experienced pain, with the highest pain score recorded 3 hours post-surgery. Although the median pain score at this time point was higher in the MLX group than in the MED group, the difference was insignificant. The median serum glucose level peaked at two hour-post-surgery, significantly correlating with UMPS pain scores. Anesthesia duration was significantly lower in the MLX group, and the serum cortisol level in the MED group was significantly higher than in the MLX group at the 2-hour mark post-surgery. No significant difference in SpO2 changes was observed between the two groups. In conclusion, both Meloxicam and medetomidine are equally effective in alleviating post-ovariectomy pain in cats. However, due to their shorter anesthesia duration, Meloxicam may be the preferable choice for pain management in ovariectomy surgery. Furthermore, blood glucose levels can serve as a reliable pain indicator in cats, along with other biochemical markers.