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World’s First Smart Pet Thermometer Makes Taking Temps Easy

Julia Rivera//July 13, 2021//

World’s First Smart Pet Thermometer Makes Taking Temps Easy

Julia Rivera //July 13, 2021//

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Press release: Mella Pet Care

No more ifs, ands, or butts about your pets’ health. Mella Pet Care, which empowers both veterinarians and pet parents to better track pet health with connected devices, recently announced the launch of the Mella Thermometer. Pet parents say they have been eagerly awaiting the launch of the Mella Home to make sure their furry children are safe before it’s too late. 

“I wish Mella were around when my adopted kitty, Miles, was running a fever,” said Tennille Teague of Brooklyn. After adopting Miles, something didn’t seem right to Teague. She called the vet, tried to use a human thermometer from a bodega and ended up in the ER to save Miles. “If I had a Mella thermometer, I wouldn’t have gone through that back and forth.”

A pet parent herself, Anya Babbitt, CEO and co-founder, was inspired to create Mella after realizing there wasn’t an easy, fear-free way of taking her dog Mella’s temperature. However, many pet owners find the process uncomfortable, and some pets even show signs of fear or distress during the process. With Mella, vets and pet parents can easily measure a dog or cat’s temperature via the foreleg or hindleg—at the vet’s office or from the comfort of home.

“Before Mella, the vet inserted an anal probe, wrote down the temperature, and entered it into a system,” Babbitt said. “We achieved a breakthrough in hardware by creating the world’s first accurate underarm thermometer, and also in software with temperature syncing with patient records.” 

Mella has also announced $1.2 million in financing led by Pet Health Innovation Labs (Phil Ventures), a pet health & wellness technology hub backed by Australian pet retailer PETstock. PETstock has over 160 stores and 30 veterinary hospitals across Australia and New Zealand. 

“Vets and pet parents both have a real need for non-invasive diagnostic tools, and this is just the beginning of what we are doing to meet that need,” said Babbitt. “This investment from such a prestigious investor group dedicated to pet tech will allow us to expedite our first product, the Mella Pro, the world’s first underarm pet thermometer.” 

“We chose Mella as our first venture investment and are proud to back this exceptional company,” said Shane Young, PETstock CEO. “Mella’s founders have both the vision and ability to execute – essential for a rapidly changing pet care industry. We look forward to working with Mella and helping build a connected, integrated health environment for vets and pet parents.” 

Mella uses multiple temperature sensors, millions of patient records and machine learning to calculate a reading as accurate as a human thermometer. Clinical trials are ongoing at multiple universities to publish a peer-reviewed study on the accuracy levels compared to a rectal thermometer. 

Releasing first is the Mella Pro, for veterinarians professionals, followed by the Mella Home, for parents, to be in late summer. In addition to the thermometer, Mella is developing the Biggie Bodyfat Analyzer, scheduled for release by the end of this year, to address the pet obesity epidemic.

Mella has won 10 industry awards including the 2021 Purina Pet Care Innovation Prize. Mella is accepting orders for both Mella Pro and Home Thermometers on their website, including a 30-day trial period.

The U.S. pet industry reached $100 billion in 2020 with pet parents spending $30 billion on vet care and health-related products (American Pet Product Association).