Tips to catch and test a urine sample

If only it were as easy as this!!

Its important to test your diabetic cats urine regularly for ketones to prevent the life threatening and very expensive to treat condition called Ketoacidosis. 

To test for this you should buy Ketone strips (ie keto-stix) or combined ketone and urine strips (ie Keto-diastix). These strips are meant to be dipped in the urine to test it - straight from the stream. But cats can be quite private and it can be challenging to get the strip into the urine flow.

These are tips to help get a sample.

1. Get to know your cats litterbox habits. Some cats like to go after a meal or at set times.  Others vary.

2. Keep the bottle of strips and any equipment (see 4 below) right next to the litter box. Be sure you have good lighting (or an LED flashlight) to read the results. The results MUST be read in 15 seconds.

3. Quickly dip the strip in the urine before it soaks into the litter (First test the litter with clean water first to ensure this doesnt cause a false positive)

4. Put something under the cats bottom to catch the urine. ie

1. the strip to catch it straight from the stream -  be sure that the stick has the test area on topside.
2. Ladle
3. Spoon rest
4. Make a mini tray (size of a playing card) from foil
5. Attach a film canister or container to a long pole if the cat doesnt want you too close.

5. Replace the litter with a non absorbent material which you have washed first. Once the cat has urinated you can tip the tray and dip the strip in ie

1. aquarium /fish tank gravel (After you collect the sample you can empty the gravel into a pair of panty hose and rinse with clean water. Let dry and reuse! )
2. dried lentils

6. Use non clumping litter. Its not so accurate but gives you a general guide - Take a spoonful of clean litter and mix well with the same amount of water. Test. If its negative then repeat using a spoonful of peed on litter. Double the results since the water is diluting the urine.

7. Take a white kitchen garbage bag  or cling wrap and slip it over the box of litter and press it down a little over the litter. This works so well and is easy to collect a sample because of the plastic bag it’s on. You could also sprinkle a little litter on top.

8.  If your cat hasn't peed or you haven't caught him/her peeing, put kitty in the litterbox and take a paw and "dig" with her paw. Sometimes this works to get them to pee. Also, you might let kitty see you pouring a little fresh little in the box.