Expert Talk  Free Expert Tips and Advices

Home » Family » How To Save Money By Testing For Feline UTI Yourself

How To Save Money By Testing For Feline UTI Yourself

Do you want to save money, anxiety for your kitty, and unnecessary trips to your vet? Would you like to know if your cat is developing crystals in her urine that could lead to a feline UTI?

It's easy to do with this check-at-home method.

I

f your kitty has been previously diagnosed with a feline UTI, there's a chance it could re-occur. Since it's impossible to see the crystals in your cat's urine that are caused by a UTI, you don't know kitty's hurting again until the UTI is fairly well advanced. And then how do you tell?

Poor kitty probably stops using the cat litter box - again.

Well, there's an easy method to check kitty's urine at home, with a minimum of fuss. You can check as often as you like, and it's easy to see the test results - you don't need any training.

Here's how:

First off, you'll need either non-absorbent litter (available from your vet) or clean acquarium gravel that's available at any local pet store.

Next, you'll need urine pH test strips, which you can read about, and order at: http://www.cat-urine-odor-advisor.com/crystals-in-cat-urine-pH-kit.html.

Then, set up kitty in a room of

her own with food, water, a clean litter box (scrubbed clean, not just litter-dumped-out clean) with the non-absorbent litter or acquarium gravel. You might also add some of her favorite toys, a kitty DVD, (see them here at: http://www.cat-urine-odor-advisor.com/cat-litter-box-problem.html), or just turn on a radio tuned to a classical music station, with the volume set low.

This testing is even easier when you know the approximate times of the day or night your cat uses the litter box. You may need to observe your cat for a few days to figure this out. Scout usually goes around 4:30 AM, or 5:00 PM. There's probably other times, but these are the two most convenient times for me to grab a fresh sample from her.

Give kitty time to give you a sample in the box. Check often, to make sure you get fresh cat urine.

Why?

Fresh cat urine will give you the most accurate pH reading. The older the urine, the higher the pH reading will be...you'll think kitty has a problem, when she may not.

Dip the urine pH test strip into kitty's urine, and GENTLY shake the excess off, over the cat litter box. Hold the wet end up, and compare it to the chart that comes with the urine pH test strip kit.

A normal reading is 6.4 - 6.6. If it's any lower or higher, please contact your vet as soon as possible for more information.

I test my cat Scout monthly. Since I've begun using this method, I no longer have to guess if the changes in her diet and lifestyle are working to prevent future UTI occurences. I know for certain, based on the urine sample test reading.

What could be easier? You:

  • Can test kitty at home, at your leisure, and hers.
  • Don't have to schedule a vet visit.
  • Can easily read the test results quickly.
  • Will know if an appointment with kitty's vet is necessary or not.

Remember, this testing will tell you that a recurring UTI is possible - it's NOT definitive. For confirmation, you will need to take your cat the vet.

Good luck, and happy testing!


Nancy E. Wigal
www.cat-urine-odor-advisor.com
nancy@cat-urine-odor-advisor.com

Nancy has successfully eliminated cat urine odor from her home, and kept the kitty that caused it.

You may reprint this article. If you do so, you must include the entire article, including the author information. You must include a link to my website, and notify me when you do so at the email address listed above.

Permalink: http://expert-talk.com/tips/549/how-to-save-money-by-testing-for-feline-uti-yourself-204549.htm

Comments

SEND A COMMENT

PLEASE READ: All comments must be approved before appearing in the thread; time and space constraints prevent all comments from appearing. We will only approve comments that are directly related to the article, use appropriate language and are not attacking the comments of others.

Message (please, no HTML tags. Web addresses will be hyperlinked):

Related Tips and Advices

Related Tags

DIGG This story   Save To Google   Save To Windows Live   Save To Del.icio.us   diigo it   Save To blinklist
Save To Furl   Save To Yahoo! My Web 2.0   Save To Blogmarks   Save To Shadows   Save To stumbleupon   Save To Reddit