Do you weight your pet at home?

[BrainInAJar]

Hey, this covers both dog and cat owners so forgive me for posting in chat! (Also a bit niche so need the traffic!)

I need to keep an eye on my cat's weight due to thyroid and kidney problems.

The vet says weighing myself and then her on my ordinary bathroom scales won't be accurate enough even though my scales weigh to 1/10 of a lb. She's only 7.4lbs so very small.

Can anyone recommend pet scales? There are some on amazon that have a big bit on the top like for sitting a baby in and others that are just flat, like human scales.

Thank you from me and my furry friend.

I take our dog to our local (chain) pet shop and weigh him. They have free dedicates pet scales you can use on the shop floor. Probably not an option for a cat but just in case it helps anyone else.

As an alternative I do hold him, stand on my home digital scales, pop him down and weigh myself alone then the difference is his weight. I have never once seen a difference between what that result is, and his weight as measured on the proper equipment.

If the vet needs such a precise regular measurement that cannot be one unit out for whatever reason I'd expect to be able to take the cat in and have him or her weighed there and it noted down in all honesty.

thanks @dontgobaconmyheart
My cat gets distressed going to the vet so I'm trying to monitor her at home rather than take her in just to be weighed, especially as it would have to be at least weekly. The vet hasn't said it's mandatory to buy pet scales but it won't do any harm!

No I just take ddog to the vets and he gets on the scales in the waiting room. He's diabetic so have to monitor regularly.

I always used to weigh myself without my dog, then with my dog and the difference was the dog’s weight. Was always fairly accurate when compared to his weight at the vet.

We used to weigh ourselves then get on holding fat bastard cat and use maths to work it out. Seemed pretty reliable compared to vet scales. Used same technique with DCs.

Suitcase scales? Hang the cat in a cosy sling, or in the cat box. Obviously calculating the container separately.

Yes, I've always done this and it works. I weigh in lbs and of course it is accurate enough to know if there is a lbs +/- difference?!
My cat weighed similar and it was accurate

Our old cat was more amenable , we put her in her travel cage then subtracted the weight of the cage . The Current Felines would flay me alive if I tried any of that malarky .

I used to weigh the guinea pigs every week , big plastic bowl on the scales and a Weigh SpreadSheet . They need a close eye , a 50g loss can be significant .

I had a very small rabbit (1kg at her smallest, not good) that I would weigh in a teeny carrier on food scales. Current crop are furry cannon balls (over 2.5kg so I need to use proper pet carrier) so I weigh them with digital luggage scales.

Thanks everyone! The things we do for our animals eh!

If it's between a wiggly cat not sitting still on the scales, and non-vet-approved readings from holding her, do the latter. It'll be perfectly accurate. Cats never sit on scales in my experience, even ones with bowls.

See if the scales can be changed to Kg. I stand, hold dog then stand on again, DH does sums!

Not as a matter if course but I weighed my hamster when she was sick to see if she was losing weight. I just used kitchen scales but might not be sturdy enough for a cat.

We use suitcase scales - I’ve got a wicker basket with handles (belly basket), that she likes sitting in, so I pop her in there and lift up with the scale hook. Takes seconds and more accurate for weighing a small cat than me holding her on bathroom scales and subtracting. She’s tiny (health issues) so accurate weighing is important for her.

Could get a baby scale. There was a set in a charity shop I volunteer in. The top was scooped out, like a valley. They looked the same as the ones in the vet my cats weighed on. Not the ones for large and/or adult dogs.