Gonçalves Ronald, Odunayo Adesola, Blystone Nicole, Ng Zenithson, Zhu Xiaojuan
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
J Feline Med Surg. 2024 Apr;26(4):1098612X241240321. doi: 10.1177/1098612X241240321.
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.
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.
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.
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.
本研究的目的是评估宠物主人、兽医技术人员、住院医师（实习医生和住院医生）以及急诊室（ER）的主治医生对猫体重估计的准确性。另一个目的是确定抱起猫是否有助于更准确地估计体重。
共有72只猫被送到急诊室并纳入研究。要求宠物主人、兽医技术人员、住院医师和主治医生在各自的数据收集卡上记录猫的估计体重。然后获取猫的实际体重并与参与者的估计值进行比较。
宠物主人、兽医技术人员、住院医师和主治医生提供的体重估计之间没有显著差异。同样，兽医工作人员的经验时长和抱起猫这两个因素对提供更准确的体重估计均无影响。
在急诊室环境中，宠物主人在估计猫的体重方面并不比兽医专业人员更出色。抱起猫并没有提高兽医专业人员体重估计的准确性。4.9千克的猫平均体重可作为成年猫在紧急情况下的平均体重。
