A system for monitoring the behavior of a household pet, the system comprising: a sensor configured to detect the presence of the household pet in a waste container; a measuring device configured to measure a characteristic of the household pet whenever presence of the household pet in the waste container is detected, the measured characteristic including at least the weight of waste left by the household pet while present in the waste container; a network adapter configured to couple to a network; a storage device configured to store the measured characteristics of the household pet and threshold alert data; and a processor configured to: calculate derived data from the measured characteristics, the derived data including at least one of the average daily weight of the household pet, the maximum daily weight of the household pet, the minimum daily weight of the household pet, the daily frequency with which presence of the household pet is detected, the cumulative daily weight of the household pet's waste, the cumulative daily duration of time between each detection of the presence of the household pet and the departure of the household pet, the cumulative daily number of times the presence of the household pet is detected, the amount of time since the last time presence of the household pet is detected, and the average daily time interval between instances where presence of the household pet is detected; compare either the measured characteristic or the derived data to the stored threshold alert data; and send, via the network adapter, an alert associated with the household pet when the measured characteristic or derived data crosses the threshold alert data. a sensor configured to detect the presence of the household pet in a waste container; a measuring device configured to measure a characteristic of the household pet whenever presence of the household pet in the waste container is detected, the measured characteristic including at least the weight of waste left by the household pet while present in the waste container; a network adapter configured to couple to a network; a storage device configured to store the measured characteristics of the household pet and threshold alert data; and a processor configured to: calculate derived data from the measured characteristics, the derived data including at least one of the average daily weight of the household pet, the maximum daily weight of the household pet, the minimum daily weight of the household pet, the daily frequency with which presence of the household pet is detected, the cumulative daily weight of the household pet's waste, the cumulative daily duration of time between each detection of the presence of the household pet and the departure of the household pet, the cumulative daily number of times the presence of the household pet is detected, the amount of time since the last time presence of the household pet is detected, and the average daily time interval between instances where presence of the household pet is detected; compare either the measured characteristic or the derived data to the stored threshold alert data; and send, via the network adapter, an alert associated with the household pet when the measured characteristic or derived data crosses the threshold alert data. calculate derived data from the measured characteristics, the derived data including at least one of the average daily weight of the household pet, the maximum daily weight of the household pet, the minimum daily weight of the household pet, the daily frequency with which presence of the household pet is detected, the cumulative daily weight of the household pet's waste, the cumulative daily duration of time between each detection of the presence of the household pet and the departure of the household pet, the cumulative daily number of times the presence of the household pet is detected, the amount of time since the last time presence of the household pet is detected, and the average daily time interval between instances where presence of the household pet is detected; compare either the measured characteristic or the derived data to the stored threshold alert data; and send, via the network adapter, an alert associated with the household pet when the measured characteristic or derived data crosses the threshold alert data.