Pet owner understanding of anaesthetic risks and evaluation of preprocedural owner anxiety

To evaluate pet owners’ awareness and familiarity with anaesthetic risks, assess anxiety and information needs using the adapted Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS), and to determine how perceived risks influence consent. Descriptive cross-sectional study. Owners of dogs and cats undergoing elective procedures requiring general anaesthesia. An anonymous online survey was distributed to owners at a tertiary referral small animal hospital between November 2024 and December 2025. The survey collected demographics, personal and pet anaesthetic experience, and APAIS scores. Owners reported awareness of, and familiarity with, anaesthetic risks and rated their influence on providing consent. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, nonparametric tests, Spearman’s correlation. Qualitative data underwent thematic analysis. A total of 132 responses were included. Median APAIS anxiety and information scores were 10.5 (interquartile range 8–14) and 8 (6–9), respectively, with a positive correlation between anxiety and information needs (ρ = 0.35, p < 0.001). Death was the most recognised (67.9%) and familiar risk, whereas awareness of more specific complications was low. Personal anaesthesia experience was associated with greater familiarity with several risks (all p ≤ 0.002), while pet anaesthesia experience was associated with greater awareness but not familiarity (OR 4.27, 95% confidence interval 1.49–12.23, p = 0.013). Most risks were unlikely to influence consent, with only 23.0% of owners reporting that the risk of death was likely or very likely to affect consent. Owners most frequently wished to discuss death (69.3%), postanaesthetic nausea and vomiting (49.6%) and prolonged recovery (48.0%). and clinical relevance Owners had variable understanding of anaesthetic risks, with greater awareness of severe complications. Most risks were unlikely to influence consent. The adapted APAIS may help identify owners with greater anxiety or information needs, although further validation in veterinary populations is required.