Weighing Kittens

Weighing foster kittens is one of the most important things you can do each day (right behind feeding them!). Even kittens who are playful and appear to be eating can have health issues that might keep them from gaining weight. Monitoring (and tracking!) their weight each day can alert you to potential issues BEFORE the kitten becomes extremely ill.

Here are the basic guidelines for weighing kittens:

Weigh kittens at the same time each day to get comparable weights.
Kittens UNDER 1 pound should be weighed in GRAMS.
Kittens under 2 weeks of age should be weighed twice daily to ensure they are consistently gaining.

Did you know?

Kittens typically gain 1/4 pound (.25 pounds, or 113 grams) each week, or 1 pound per month.
Newborn kittens (2 weeks and under) should gain at least 10 grams per day.
A human scale is not sensitive enough to track kitten weights accurately. You must use a food scale (or similar) that can weigh in pounds or grams.

Kittens can be wiggly and trying to get them to stand on a scale is no easy feat. This video below shows you how to easily weigh most kittens.