Conference misery::feline_v1

3142.0. "Weighing cats - what type of scale?" by VAXWRK::SKALTSIS (Deb) Thu Dec 14 1989 12:21

    I've moved the discussion about weighing cats that Jan Brown's want
    ad sparked from the BUY/SELL/SWAP note to it's own note. Discuss
    weighing cats here, contact Jan offline if you have a scale that you
    wish to sell her.
    
    Deb (co-moderator)
    
    
    
                  <<< $1$DUS6:[NOTES$LIBRARY]FELINE.NOTE;2 >>>
                               -< Meower Power >-
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Note 2936.6                    BUY/SELL/SWAP note?                       6 of 13
AKOV76::BROWN "cat_max = current_cats + 1"           32 lines  13-DEC-1989 12:48
                              -< Wanted:  Scale >-
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I am trying to find a scale to weigh my cats with, and hope someone can
offer suggestions.  

Basic Requirements:
	must weigh up to 20 lbs.
	should weigh in lbs. and oz., or at least 1/4-lbs.
	would prefer digital readout, not a spring or balance scale
	needs to be big/flat enough to hold a cat

My first thought was a baby scale, although I don't know if they are
available with digital feature -- but very few stores sell them, and the
two that I have seen looked like toys, unlikely to be at all accurate.

I then thought of the kind of scales that delicatessens use to weigh out
cold cuts and the like, and found a restaurant supply store and a scale
company that have them -- for $300 and up!!  Now, I love my cats and want 
to be able to keep accurate records of their weight, but $300 for a scale 
is out of the question. I don't have any current problems with their weight
but my eldest is getting up there in years and I don't want to just rely 
on my memory of what his normal weight looks like, if it starts going down 
I'd like to know based on real evidence.  Weight loss could indicate a 
problem and that why I want to have some accuracy in the measurement.

Anybody else have ideas?  I tried asking my vet but since they don't weigh
the cats they really couldn't help.  I have no problems with buying used
equipment, that would help lower the cost I'm sure.

General search area is southern NH/norther MA, but side trips anywhere in
the Northeast would be possible.  Please help!


Jan   who_wonders_how_she'll_ever_get_them_to_stand_still_on_a_scale
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Note 2936.7                    BUY/SELL/SWAP note?                       7 of 13
GLINKA::GREENE "Catmax = Catmax + 1"                 11 lines  13-DEC-1989 12:54
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    (Your vet doesn't weigh cats????)
    
    One inexpensive solution is to use a human digital scale and
    	a) tell the cat "STAND STILL!"
    	  or
    	b) weigh yourself holding the cat, then weigh yourself not
    		holding the cat, and subtract for cat's weight.
    
    I agreen that keeping track of cats' weights is important.  Major
    weight change could signal a problem.
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Note 2936.8                    BUY/SELL/SWAP note?                       8 of 13
PENPAL::TRACHMAN "Exotic Shorthairs=NO Grooming"      7 lines  13-DEC-1989 13:17
                            -< I use a baby scale >-
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    I have a baby scale that I stand them on - I think it reads up to 30 
    or 40 lbs.   The trick I use to get them to stand on it, is to
    face one end of it towards the wall, stand the cat on the scale
    with the cat facing the wall so the cat sees that they can't go
    forward unless they go into the wall, and read the amount real
    fast!  My guys are used to being on it, and know it's a quick
    thing.
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Note 2936.9                    BUY/SELL/SWAP note?                       9 of 13
AKOV76::BROWN "cat_max = current_cats + 1"           28 lines  13-DEC-1989 13:32
                               -< Still asking >-
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Re:  < Note 2936.7 by GLINKA::GREENE "Catmax = Catmax + 1" >

The only problem with using ahuman scale is that I haven't found one
that weighs anything more specific than pounds -- I wanted ounces
or at least quarter-pounds.  Do you know of one that is that specific?

This all started with Punkin Head, who  *I*  felt had lost a bit of weight.
The "regular" vet looked him over and found nothing, and just felt I was
so used to seeing my "large cats" (a polite way to say some were overweight?)
that Punk looked thin in comparison.  I couldn't make him understand that I
was concerned because it was a change, not just the fact that he is always
thinner than some of the others.  We went back to the "old" vet (the one
we went to before we moved too far away), had a complete bloodwork up done
and urinalysis and decided all was fine.  But the whole time I could only
say "he LOOKS thinner to me" -- and in the absence of all other symptoms
and the fact that he wasn't abnormally thin, the vets really didn't
understand my concern.

That's when I decided that having "evidence" would be useful in the future.

Question for E.T. : does the baby scale seem accurate enough?  I mean, if
they shift their weight a little (have you even gotten a cat to hold
perfectly still when you want them to?) does it fluctuate wildly?  I did
see one in Lechemere's, with a cute yellow ducky on the dial -- is that the
basic model you have?  The weighing platform is curved on the sides, dial
in the middle in the front?

Jan  who's_getting_hopeful
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Note 2936.10                   BUY/SELL/SWAP note?                      10 of 13
PENPAL::TRACHMAN "Exotic Shorthairs=NO Grooming"     15 lines  13-DEC-1989 14:07
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    Yes, I have found this one to be an exact match to the digital 
    scale at my vet's office.  He has this huge floor to ceiling 
    thing with the lift for dogs - very sophisticated model.
    I go in with a 7 pound cat and my figure matches his scale
    exactly.  He also has the table scale - the type under his
    examining table - I have found that one to be one pound less
    then my scale at home.  He tells me that a cat only weighs
    5.5 lbs and I know very well that this monkey weighs more
    than a good-sized chicken!  Then we go into the next room
    and check with the new model, and the two numbers match.
    I keep telling him to either throw away his table or
    buy a cat scale - now I just bring the cat into the
    room with the 'real' scale.
    
    E.
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Note 2936.11                   BUY/SELL/SWAP note?                      11 of 13
PENPAL::TRACHMAN "Exotic Shorthairs=NO Grooming"      5 lines  13-DEC-1989 14:08
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    oh yeah, for my kittens, I will be using a food scale - I got
    one from William Sonoma's catalog - I forget how many ounces
    it goes up to - I think this one goes up 2 lbs. (?)
    
    E.
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Note 2936.12                   BUY/SELL/SWAP note?                      12 of 13
GLINKA::GREENE "Catmax = Catmax + 1"                  7 lines  13-DEC-1989 15:43
              -< what's heavier, a lb. lead or a lb. of kitten? >-
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    I also use a food scale for kittens.  It is by Braun, and weighs
    in both pounds/ounces and grams/kilograms.  The max weight it 
    registers is 2 kilos/4.5 pounds, and it will register pretty
    close to the nearest ounce.  Great for kits; not so great for
    porkers.  (Oh, HopeyCat, don't take that purrsonally!)
    
    	Pennie
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Note 2936.13                   BUY/SELL/SWAP note?                      13 of 13
FRAGLE::PELUSO "Master the Moment"                    9 lines  14-DEC-1989 08:37
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    When I weigh Nippa, we play the paper bag game.  And when she's hiding
    I put the bag on the scale and read the weight (human scale - it's
    not the most accurate, but I get a good idea).  The bag keeps her form 
    jumping off the scale (Mom, I know I'm a bit over weight but that's
    *my* buisness.....).
    
    The bag also make it more fun..

    Jan,
    
    My Vet weighs my cats every time I bring them in. I can call them
    and ask where they got there scale and what kind it is.
    
    Stephanie

                  <<< $1$DUS6:[NOTES$LIBRARY]FELINE.NOTE;2 >>>
                               -< Meower Power >-
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Note 2936.7                    BUY/SELL/SWAP note?                        7 of 7
CIRCUS::KOLLING "Karen/Sweetie/Holly/Little Bit Ca."  3 lines  14-DEC-1989 13:54
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    A baby scale is a loser since the cts don't stay still enough.  I
    wonder what vets use?  Maybe a call to your vet....
    

    Why not walk on your bathroom scale holding your cat 
    and then walk back on sans chaton, and weigh the difference. 
    Unless you cats are monsters, then you have to coax them 
    to carry you. 
    
    John

While I appreciate people's efforts, the last two replies overlooked some
of my earlier information.  My vet, unfortunately, doesn't weight cats so
they can't help me with this issue.  And a "people" scale only weighs in
pounds -- I want to know when a cat is dropping half a pound (or sometimes
less) and the usual method of weigh-us-then-weigh-me-alone just won't
give that level of detail.  For a cat that only weighs 8 lbs., even 1/2 lb.
may be significant whereas normal adult human weights probably don't get
that picky.  Besides, I avoid stepping on a scale whenever possible 8^)

Keep those ideas coming, FELINE is definitely my best source of information.


Jan

    I, too, use a baby scale.  I bought mine at a discount baby supply
    house for less than $30.  I find it to be pretty accurate.  I don't
    have a problem getting my cats to stand on it either.  They just
    sit there when I set them down.  I must have easy cats.
    
    Jo

    Jo, 
    
    RE:
> I must have easy cats. 
    
    After your episode with Moody and the female (I'm afraid I forgot
    her name) in the entryway, you must be right!!  ;-)
    
    Jill

    Her name is Lyscentia, latin for "wanton disregard for the rules"!!
    
    :^D
    
    Jo

    I bring my 3 cats to the vet once a year for a check up/shots they
    need.  The vet weighs them as part of the check up.  Doesn't your
    vet do this?  My vet is Northvalley Animal Hospital right on the
    Plaistow/Haverhill line.  Rte. 125.
    
    Doreen

Nope, my vets don't weigh the cats.  All they have is a big platfrom that
dogs can stand on, but it's just out in the waiting room so it would be
pretty hard to get cats to hold still for that without escaping! 

I guess not having vets that check on their weight is one of the reasons
I really want to keep track of it myself; it isn't a good enough (bad
enough?) reason to change vets so I don't consider that an alternative
for my situation.

Haven't gone looking for a baby scale yet, I was still hoping someone
might point me to a source for a digital scale (like they use to weigh
salad in the cafeteria?).


Jan

    Hi Jan,
    
    yup a digital scale like they use to weigh salads (or mail...that's
    what my vets use...then I know how many stamps to use to mail the
    cat  :-) would work, but they are probably *expensive*.
    
    I find the analog kitchen scale pretty reliable, and for a larger
    cat, do you really need to track a *small* change in weight?  Wouldn't
    a bathroom scale, or your "intuition", suffice?  [yeah, I *know*
    you didn't like my suggestion last time, but try, try again, hey?]
    
    	purr,
    		catlady