These devices will also help veterinarians to be more accurate in their diagnoses.
A less invasive solution for taking the temperature of cats is the use of chips. This advance allows animals to be checked without negatively impacting them, generating stress and aggression in them during a veterinary appointment.
Measuring the temperature of these pets is a challenging task due to the discomfort involved for the animals and potential problems in the accuracy of the results. Traditionally, the temperature is taken rectally, a procedure that creates stress on them.
This stress can raise a cat’s temperature by as much as 2 °C, making it difficult to obtain an accurate reading of its health status. In addition, in some cases, sedation is necessary, but this can cause alterations in temperature due to the effects of the medications used.
The chip designed to measure the temperature of cats represents an important solution to this problem. Similar to the identification chips commonly used for pets, these devices are inserted under the animal’s skin and provide a less invasive way to monitor its body temperature.
An example of these devices are MSD Animal Health’s versions: Termochip, Termochip Mini and Lifechip Petite, which allow monitoring of the animal’s health status in different situations such as hospitalization, surgery, treatment follow-up or daily consultation, without the need for a rectal shot and with the possibility of functioning as a GPS in case the pet gets lost.
These chips not only eliminate the need for uncomfortable rectal measurements, but also offer additional advantages. They can be used in cats as well as dogs, rabbits and ferrets, which expands their usefulness.
In addition, chip placement is a safe and risk-free procedure for the animal, making it an attractive option for pet owners concerned about the comfort and well-being of their felines.
Advantages of chips
Temperature chips have proven to be beneficial for cats, owners and veterinarians alike. Some of the key advantages include:
1. Less stress for cats
Measuring a cat’s temperature with a temperature chip is a much less stressful experience for the animal compared to taking it rectally. The comfort provided by this method contributes significantly to pets’ peace of mind and improves their quality of life.
2. Accuracy of measurements
By eliminating the stress associated with temperature measurement, temperature chips provide more accurate and reliable measurements. This is essential to ensure proper diagnosis and effective treatment in cases of illness or injury.
3. Avoids the need for sedation
Cats often need to be sedated for rectal temperature measurement, which carries risks and unwanted side effects. Temperature chips eliminate the need for sedation, avoiding unnecessary complications and promoting the safety and well-being of the animals.
4. Easy availability
Temperature chips are available at most veterinary clinics, making this technology accessible to a wide range of pet owners. Consulting with your local veterinarian is the first step in taking advantage of this innovation in animal health care.
The complications of designing a ChatGPT to understand pets.
In an article in Current Biology, neurobiologists Yossi Yovel and Oded Rechavi of Tel Aviv University in Israel unveiled the obstacles researchers face on the road to creating a platform capable of translating pet sounds and behaviors into understandable human language.
One of the most significant challenges is the diversity of communicative signals among animals. Dogs, for example, can learn human commands through training, but AI would have to go further and understand the natural signals that canines use with each other.
In addition, each animal species has its own range of expressions and vocalizations that vary according to context and emotion. Making an AI capable of deciphering and translating these variants would be an unprecedented scientific achievement.
Another hurdle is the understanding of signals in different behavioral contexts. It is not enough for artificial intelligence to be able to identify a vocalization or gesture in a specific scenario, it must also be able to interpret its meaning in a variety of situations.