Smart scale, smart feeder, treat camera: does technology actually help a cat lose weight faster?
Published by Planète Pets · managing editor: Clément Lacaille · how our guides are written
Putting a cat on a diet in a multi-cat household is tricky: you cannot simply remove food if another animal shares the room. A study published in 2022 by Hadar, Lambrecht, Poljak, Coe, Stone, Verbrugghe and Bernardo in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery tested whether a bundle of connected devices changes that (, doi 10.1177/1098612X211044412). Our other budget guidance is gathered in the cat food section.
Contents · 6 sections
The protocol: two ways of running the same diet
The trial followed households in Canada and the United States with two or three cats, at least one of them overweight, over twelve weeks. One group applied a classic dietary restriction, managed by eye (nine households). The other received, on top of the same restriction, a bundle of connected devices: a digital scale, a smart feeder, an activity monitor and a treat-dispensing camera (six households).
A clear speed gap, on a small sample
The average weekly weight-loss rate reached 0.694% in the technology group, against 0.175% in the traditional group — roughly four times faster. Every cat in the technology group that completed the study lost weight, against just over half in the classic group. The gap is striking, but it rests on nine households on one side and six on the other: an encouraging signal, not large-scale proof.
Not every device is equally valued by owners
A useful detail for anyone hesitant to buy the whole bundle: participants rated the connected scale and the smart feeder as clearly useful day to day, while the activity monitor and the treat camera received more mixed reviews. Regular weight tracking and portion control appear to carry most of the effect, more than the entertainment gadget does.
What the study does not say
Nothing here indicates whether the gap holds after the technology support stops, nor whether simple weekly manual weighing, with no connected device at all, would produce a result comparable to the technology group's. The study also does not compare this bundle to a plain separating feeder alone, without the other sensors: our article on the separating feeder in multi-cat households covers that alternative angle, studied separately.
What can reasonably be drawn from it
Before investing in a full connected ecosystem, weighing your cat once a week on a kitchen scale and writing the number down costs nothing and, per this study, may be nearly as decisive as the connected scale itself. Adding a feeder that limits access from other cats comes next, ahead of activity-tracking accessories. For the general dieting method, see our guide on the weight-loss programme for an overweight cat.
Frequently asked questions
Should you buy the whole connected ecosystem at once?
Nothing requires it: the owners surveyed valued the scale and the feeder above all, not the full bundle of devices tested.
Does this result apply to a single cat?
The study covers only households with two or three cats, where controlling individual portions is precisely the hardest part. Find all our guides on the cat hub.
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See it at Le Félin, a shop from the same family (zero commission): Arbre à chat solide (from €149.99)
This guide is part of Planète Pets’s Cats universe. Our advice is general in nature: for any health concern, your veterinarian remains the only reference.
