diff --git a/stats.py b/stats.py
index b881bf148f1b6053b5c4cc6bac07ee3c5f5f0ae5..9b7f3c1377bcb04796821df976a56211726b4838 100644
--- a/stats.py
+++ b/stats.py
@@ -31,8 +31,12 @@ def cmd_free():
     p2.stdout.close()
     return p3.communicate()[0].strip()
 
+def cmd_cat(file):
+    p1 = Popen(['cat', file], stdout=PIPE)
+    return p1.communicate()[0]
+
 def cpu_load():
-    uptime = cmd_uptime().split('average:')[1].strip().split(' ')
+    uptime = cmd_cat('/proc/loadavg').strip().split(' ')
     return {
         '1min':  uptime[0],
         '5min':  uptime[1],