Maintaining your pet cat’s health is every pet parent’s priority. This can include many unpleasant but essential activities like monitoring your cat’s urine and bowel movements and even collecting samples if you notice any abnormal changes.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about how to collect cat urine samples, why they’re needed, and more.
Why Is Collecting Cat Urine Necessary?
Cat urine is mainly required to perform a test called a urinalysis. This test checks several aspects of the urine, including [1]:
- Appearance. This checks urine color and clarity (e.g., presence of cloudiness).
- Concentration. This measures the density (specific gravity) of the urine.
- Acidity. This measures urine pH.
- Chemical analysis. This checks for the presence of ketones, proteins, sugar, blood, and other chemical compounds.
- Artifacts. This checks for the presence of cells, crystals, sediments, bacteria, and other impurities.
All of these factors are critical to assessing the kidney and bladder health of your cat, detecting infections and kidney stones, and managing any health emergencies [1].
How To Collect Cat Urine
Getting a urine sample from a cat is usually not a walk in the park as they may freak out if you try to approach them while they're urinating. But, fear not, we have broken down the process into a series of simple steps that are easy to follow [2].
Step 1: If you’re taking the sample to a lab or a vet, check if the sample needs to be collected at a specific time and plan your collection process as close to the designated time as possible.
Step 2: Empty your cat’s current litter tray. Next, thoroughly wash and rinse it and then dry it in the sun. This is particularly important because any dirt, residue, or other impurities could contaminate your sample and provide incorrect results. You could use a brand-new litter tray to save some effort, but it might be better to use a tray that your cat is familiar with to encourage them to pee in it more quickly.
Step 3: Place some non-absorbent (hydrophobic) litter in the new or washed tray. You could use commercially available cat urine collection kits or go for makeshift options like shredded paper. In such cases, opt for high-quality magazine paper as the ink is less likely to run and contaminate the sample and it also wouldn’t absorb the urine too fast.
Step 4: Make sure to keep the tray in the usual spot where your cat expects it to be as any changes in location could confuse the cat and make them hesitant to pee immediately. If you’re using a covered litter tray, you may need to shut the flap to ensure that they don’t pee outside. But don’t force or frighten them as this will be counterproductive.
Step 5: Be vigilant in checking the litter tray at regular intervals, especially after meal times. If your cat poops in the tray, clear it immediately and replace the litter or paper in that area to avoid contamination.
Step 6: Once your cat has peed, use gloves to gently tilt the tray so that the urine collects in a corner. Next, collect the pee using a clean dropper or a syringe and store it in designated the sample bottle. Ensure that all equipment used and your hands are clean to prevent any contamination of the sample.
Step 7: Either send the sample to your vet/local lab for testing or test it yourself at home using cat urine test strips. Store the sample in the fridge if it can’t be tested immediately for any reason, but be sure to note the date and time of collection before storage. A stale urine sample can yield wrong test results. If your sample cannot be tested within 2 hours, you will need to add urine preservatives to store the sample for valid results.
Step 8: Don’t forget to wash your hands after the entire process is completed to avoid any health problems.
Try Petnox Urine Test Strips for Cats
Petnox-10 is a veterinary-use urine dipstick test that is ideal for assessing your pet’s metabolic and urinary tract health. These test strips are easy to use and come with detailed guidance.
If you’d like to access more helpful information, visit our blogs page on pet health.
