Beschreibung:
A 16‐year‐old castrated male cat underwent general anaesthesia twice within three weeks for perineal urethrostomy and its surgical revision. The cat was affected by compensated hyperthrophic cardiomyopathy. The first anaesthesia was uneventful; in the second anaesthesia a lumbosacral spinal injection of bupivacaine 0.5 per cent was carried out during inhalant anaesthesia. Immediately after completion of injection, respiratory arrest, bilateral mydriasis and cardiovascular collapse occurred. Supportive measures restored normotension and normal cardiac rhythm. Inhalation of isoflurane was immediately interrupted after respiratory arrest. Nevertheless, the cat remained comatose for two hours and it was transferred to the intensive care unit under oxygen supplementation by mask once responsive to visual stimuli. Twenty‐four hours later, neurological exam did not reveal any deficit and the cat recovered completely.