Ronald Gonçalves, A. Odunayo, Nicole Blystone, Zenithson Ng, Xiaojuan Zhu
{"title":"Cat owners do not provide more reliable weight estimates for cats compared with veterinary professionals in an emergency setting.","authors":"Ronald Gonçalves, A. Odunayo, Nicole Blystone, Zenithson Ng, Xiaojuan Zhu","doi":"10.1177/1098612X241240321","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"OBJECTIVES\nThe aim of the present study was to assess the accuracy of weight estimation in cats provided by pet owners, veterinary technicians, house officers (interns and residents) and attending clinicians in an emergency room (ER). An additional objective was to determine whether carrying the cat contributed to a more accurate weight estimate.\n\n\nMETHODS\nA total of 72 cats presented to an ER and were enrolled in the study. Pet owners, veterinary technicians, house officers and attending clinicians were asked to record the cats' estimated weights on individual data collection cards. The actual weights of the cats were then obtained and compared with participants' estimations.\n\n\nRESULTS\nThere were no significant differences between weight estimates provided by pet owners, veterinary technicians, house officers and attending clinicians. Similarly, neither the length of experience of the veterinary staff nor carrying the cat had an effect on the provision of a more accurate weight estimate.\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE\nPet owners are no better at weight estimation of cats in the ER setting compared with veterinary professionals. Carrying the cat did not improve the accuracy of weight estimation among veterinary professionals. The mean cat weight of 4.9 kg could be used as an average cat weight in an emergency situation for an adult cat.","PeriodicalId":15851,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1098612X241240321","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"VETERINARY SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
The aim of the present study was to assess the accuracy of weight estimation in cats provided by pet owners, veterinary technicians, house officers (interns and residents) and attending clinicians in an emergency room (ER). An additional objective was to determine whether carrying the cat contributed to a more accurate weight estimate.
METHODS
A total of 72 cats presented to an ER and were enrolled in the study. Pet owners, veterinary technicians, house officers and attending clinicians were asked to record the cats' estimated weights on individual data collection cards. The actual weights of the cats were then obtained and compared with participants' estimations.
RESULTS
There were no significant differences between weight estimates provided by pet owners, veterinary technicians, house officers and attending clinicians. Similarly, neither the length of experience of the veterinary staff nor carrying the cat had an effect on the provision of a more accurate weight estimate.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Pet owners are no better at weight estimation of cats in the ER setting compared with veterinary professionals. Carrying the cat did not improve the accuracy of weight estimation among veterinary professionals. The mean cat weight of 4.9 kg could be used as an average cat weight in an emergency situation for an adult cat.
期刊介绍:
JFMS is an international, peer-reviewed journal aimed at both practitioners and researchers with an interest in the clinical veterinary healthcare of domestic cats. The journal is published monthly in two formats: ‘Classic’ editions containing high-quality original papers on all aspects of feline medicine and surgery, including basic research relevant to clinical practice; and dedicated ‘Clinical Practice’ editions primarily containing opinionated review articles providing state-of-the-art information for feline clinicians, along with other relevant articles such as consensus guidelines.