Time to face mask/spacer acceptance in dogs and cats.

Abstract

Objective: Aerosol medications are recommended for use in dogs and cats. Perceived pet intolerance to a face mask/spacer might prevent clinicians from recommending them, and thus prevent owners from using them. Our goal was to evaluate the duration required to train a pet to accept a face mask/spacer.

Animals and procedure: Pet owners with no experience using a face mask/spacer were recruited. Pet owners applied the face mask/spacer q12h and graded each attempt on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 = "not tolerated" and 5 = "perfect compliance." "Compliance" was defined as the animal tolerating the face mask/spacer with minimal or no restraint for a duration of at least 10 breaths for 4 separate treatments over 2 d. Time to compliance and overall compliance were calculated.

Results: Forty-four pets were enrolled and 43 completed the study. All dogs achieved compliance with a median time of 4 d (range: 2 to 18 d). Eighteen of 20 cats achieved compliance with a median time of 6 d (range: 2 to 19 d).

Conclusion: Habituation to face masks/spacers was easily achieved in dogs and almost all cats.

Clinical relevance: Concern over pet or owner acceptance should not be an obstacle to prescribing inhaled medications. Most animals could be habituated to a face mask/spacer within 19 d.