Your cat’s weight tracker

Why it is worth weighing it

Because a cat hides illness very well, and the scales do not. Losing weight little by little is one of the first signs of kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, diabetes or dental problems, and it often shows up months before you can see it, especially in long-haired cats. In a 4 kg cat, losing 400 g is already 10 %, the equivalent of a 70 kg person losing 7 without trying. One weigh-in a month in a healthy adult, and every week or two if it is on a diet, elderly or under treatment, is enough to see the trend.

How to weigh a cat at home

The easiest way is with bathroom scales: weigh yourself, weigh yourself holding the cat and subtract. It is not very precise (it is often 100 or 200 g out), so what matters is doing it the same way every time: the same scales, at the same time of day and before food. If you have large kitchen scales or baby scales, even better: the cat inside its carrier or a box, and you subtract what the box weighs. Note the weight with two decimals if your scales show them, because in a cat the important changes are a few hundred grams.

How the alerts are worked out

We compare the latest weigh-in with one from one or more weeks before and turn it into a weekly percentage. In a cat that is not on a diet, losing more than 1 % a week steadily already deserves attention, and more than 2 % is a reason to see the vet. If it is on a diet, the safe loss vets recommend is about 0.5 to 2 % a week: faster than that risks hepatic lipidosis, which is serious. We also warn you if it gains more than 1 % a week as an adult, and if it has lost 10 % or more from its highest recorded weight.

Where your data is kept

Only in this browser and on this device: it is not sent to any server and we never see it. That has a practical consequence: if you clear your browser data, use private mode or change phone, the tracker does not go with you. That is why there is a button to export it to a CSV file, which opens in any spreadsheet and which you can keep, email to yourself or show the vet. And if one day you want to start from scratch, the clear button removes everything from this browser.

What to do with an alert

Do not panic, but do not wait either. First check it is not a scales error: weigh it again the next day in the same conditions. If a loss is confirmed without it being on a diet, book an appointment and take the tracker: the weight curve says much more than a single figure. If it is also eating less, drinking more, vomiting or seems flat, make it soon. And if it has gone more than a day without eating, the same day: in cats, fasting, even briefly, can damage the liver.