I got me a BOLOMETER

[snakesRkewl]

Most of them are 1:1 so the temp is a 1 inch diameter circle 1 inch away from the device, or a 12 inch circle 12 inches away from the device. Any further away then 12 inches and it's not going to be very accurate.

Which is why I waited till I could afford a 12:1.
It's nice to shoot from a foot away and still be accurate

[zantedeschia]

remember that the temp gun only gives you an average of the temp within a circle 'X' far away from the gun.

Did more than one cat, they all register pretty cold, 73 to 78. At least their fur does, noses come up warmer, around 90. The cats don't like the device at all, I'm wondering if they're detecting something it's emitting.

[MarkS]

Did more than one cat, they all register pretty cold, 73 to 78. At least their fur does, noses come up warmer, around 90. The cats don't like the device at all, I'm wondering if they're detecting something it's emitting.

What you're measuring is the outside of the cats fur. If you put it next to the skin the temp would be higher. remember that what you're measuring is the outside of the first thing that the beam contacts. I've known people who attempt to measure the temperature of their cage by aiming through the glass. If they do that what they're actually measuring is the suface temperature of the glass on the outside of the cage which won't give you a good idea of how warm the inside of the cage is.