Clinical usefulness of propofol as an anesthetic induction agent in dogs and cats.

Propofol was used as an induction agent of general anesthesia in 77 dogs and 64 cats, all client owned, for a variety of surgeries/treatments or diagnostic procedures. The mean intravenous doses of propofol required to achieve endotracheal intubation in dogs and cats were 6.5 +/- 1.4 mg/kg and 10.1 +/- 2.8 mg /kg, respectively. Most of the animals could be induced to anesthesia smoothly by the administration of propofol with a high incidence of apnea. Propofol is a clinically valuable anesthetic induction agent in both dogs and cats, however, care must be taken for apnea.