Do vets use the metric system?

[daijobu]

I'm somewhat familiar with human medicine, and I understand they fully use the metric system.  So when my dd's and I started fostering kittens, we would record weight measurements in grams.  For one thing, I wanted to reinforce their familiarity with metric measurements.  For another, the little kitties are so darn small, I thought it would be reasonable to use grams rather than pounds and ounces.  

 

So they other day we brought our kitty to the humane society for shots and my dd's showed them our records of weight gain.  The vet tech looked at our numbers like we were crazy.  "I don't know what this means."  She says she only measures in pounds and ounces, as if we were using some obscure units like...stones or...farthings, lol.  

 

My question is whether vets use metric measurements or American?  And are vet techs the equivalent of nurses?  

 

Thanks for clarifying!

[Acorn]

Our vet's office measures with pounds and ounces.  Kittens start at a few ounces and weigh a pound around one month of age.

[AMJ]

Sounds like a good opportunity to practice conversions!

 

I bet medicines are metric in doses, though. Mg and ml.

[athomeontheprairie]

Our pediatrician measures in pounds/ounces. The specialist we see uses metric.

Perhaps things like this vary?

As it is, our vet uses American measurements. They don't need to be as specific with a cow our a cat as we do with a child.

[raptor_dad]

My question is whether vets use metric measurements or American?  And are vet techs the equivalent of nurses?  

 

 

I bet it depends on the context. Our regular vet uses Pounds but the specialty vet clinic at the U uses metric. Likewise the raptor center uses metric. I would imagine this is an academic vs consumer divide.

 

As for vet techs, I have no idea if they are equivalent of nurses... however, I imagine they are paid a lot less, just like everyone else in vet vs human medicine.

 

Hopefully, someone with real knowledge will chime in.

[kiana]

Our vets (large animal) use lbs for weights of animals. kg would be a completely reasonable measurement too, but they just don't.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if this were also due to resistance from farmers with switching to metric, as agricultural communities tend to be more conservative. 

[Critterfixer]

I weight the small animals in pounds and ounces. Birds, (and I would say most small reptiles) are usually weighed in grams.

I calculate virtually all medications by the kg weight of the animal. 

And I would have been impressed and delighted with a pet owner who kept such careful records of weight gain, whether in ounces or grams. Good job!

[Korrale]

My vet friends say both. They keep records and work in metric themselves. But they give measurements and things like that to the general public in lbs and oz. Very much like how our drs do.

[Erin]

Both.  

Weights and measures of animals are usually in pounds/ounces.  

Meds are always dispensed/prescribed as CCs.

 

yes, vet techs are essentially nurses.  However, it completely depends on the vet clinic what type of education the techs will have.  Some won't even talk to you unless you have a minimum 2 year certification.  Some prefer to hire someone with no schooling but instead a range of extensive experience over a young grad.   

[Hannahs4]

I'll second Critter Fixer! It depends. We use both for weighing. Medicine is almost always dosed as mg/kg, so you need to be able to convert back and forth between the two. Also, the smaller animals are often weighed in grams (exotics).

 

vet techs: they are trained, similar to nurses, and should know how to convert grams to pounds or ounces :). Most states have laws concerning labeling someone a vet tech only when they have gone to school (at least a 2 year program and then a certification test). Some clinics throw around the term vet tech loosely though... And she may not actually have been certified or gone through a specific training program.

 

What a great project for your daughter!

[daijobu]

 

What a great project for your daughter!

 

We love fostering kittens.  I like to call it the least altruistic volunteer work you can find.  ("You mean you'll give us kittens...and then you'll take them back?")

 

The only downside is we recently lost a kitten to a congenital defect.  We only had him for a week, but it was our first loss and was heartbreaking for all of us.  

[Acorn]

I'm sorry for the recent loss.  You are awesome for fostering.

[Hannahs4]

Well, the way you describe it is funny, but it is a lot of work to bottle feed those little guys, so you still deserve credit! So sorry you lost one. That is hard. You sound like you have a great record for giving these guys a good start!

[daijobu]

Well, the way you describe it is funny, but it is a lot of work to bottle feed those little guys, so you still deserve credit! 

 

We probably don't deserve as much credit as you suppose.  As we are relatively new to fostering, we haven't had to bottle feed yet.  All of ours have been already weaned, or nearly so.  

 

We would need to take another class to do bottle feeding, we are definitely thinking about giving it a try.