Can detomidine replace medetomidine for pharmacological semen collection in domestic cats?

Among the different methods used for semen collection from domestic cats, the pharmacological collection by urethral catheterization becomes disruptive. Medetomidine is the elected alpha(2)-adrenoceptor agonist for that, but in several countries, it is not commercially available. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of detomidine compared to medetomidine in collecting semen by urethral catheterization in domestic cats. Urethral catheterization was performed on 13 mongrel cats using a disposable semi-rigid tomcat urinary catheter. Of the 19 semen collections performed with medetomidine induction, 94.7% were successful, while with detomidine induction, only 56.3% of 16 were successful. The values semen samples variables were as follows for volume 10.56 +/- 0.4 vs 8.88 +/- 0.5 mL, motility 171.67 +/- 0.79 vs 49.77 +/- 3.45%, vigor - 4.1 +/- 0.03 vs 3.10 +/- 0.1 and concentration 3.24 +/- 0.19 vs 2.15 +/- 0.13 x 10(9) sperm/mL respectively for medetomidine and detomidine group. The failure in semen collections with detomidine was mainly due to azoospermic samples, poor urethral relaxation, insufficient volume, or contamination of urine. The sperm concentration was also lower in the detomidine group (P < 0.05) when compared to medetomidine. However, when the volume of semen collected was compared, we found no statistical differences. Despite its low performance in collecting semen from cats, detomidine may be an alternative when medetomidine is not accessible.

Automated summary

This study compared the efficacy of detomidine and medetomidine in collecting semen from domestic cats, with medetomidine showing higher success rates and sperm concentration. Although detomidine may be an alternative in cases where medetomidine is not accessible, it exhibited lower performance in semen collection.