Caudal epidurals for blocked cats: Management of cats with urethral blockage can be challenging. Affected animals may have significant acid-base and electrolyte abnormalities and are invariably painful. Caudal epidural administration of local anaesthetics is an underused yet simple and highly effective procedure which not only provides excellent analgesia to these cases, but also facilitates sedation/anaesthesia and urethral catheterisation. This session describes the practical technique and indications for caudal epidural anaesthesia alongside discussing current evidence supporting its use.

Dental nerve blocks: Dental nerve blocks are a relatively simple means to provide good analgesia and a stable anaesthetic. As many patients anaesthetised for dental procedures may be geriatric, with co-existing disease and reduced organ function, use of dental nerve blocks can promote a smooth peri-operative period. This session describes the more commonly performed dental nerve blocks, with a review of drug pharmacology and reasons for block failure.