This week seems to be all about cat pee! Urinary infections are one of the most common issues cats that bring cats to the vets office. If your kitty has had a UTI, it’s a good idea to test your cat’s urine levels at home regularly. This is easy, cheap – and a great way to avoid future pain and vet bills.
Male cats are more prone to urinary issues, but all cats can struggle with them. Cats that are fed a water depleted diet – meaning kibble – will be more susceptible to urinary problems due to the lack of moisture in their bodies. Many cats suffer from reoccurring UTIs – so it’s important that we feed them a moisture rich diet to help avoid this.
A healthy urine pH for cats rests between 6.0 – 6.5. Seven is neutral, but we want our kitties to have a slightly acidic urine to avoid struvite crystals. When the pH level is above 7 we need to take action. This doesn’t mean you should freak out. Sometimes a simple supplement or diet change can bring that number back to normal quickly – but it’s a great example of how being proactive by testing at home can be such a great help!
But how do I test my cat’s urine pH?
Okay… so the big question we get when it comes to at-home urine testing for cats is, “but how?“. Our indoor kitties (hopefully) urinate in litter boxes and that urine is absorbed quickly.
Some cat parents will only test their cats urine pH when they start going outside the box. We don’t think you should wait until this happens because sometimes this means the problem has escalated to crystals or even stones. Cats often go outside the box because they’re in pain. We want to avoid the pain.
Urine pH strips are easy to find and cheap to purchase. We got ours on Amazon and they last forever. Once you have the strips, simply take one litter box and put a very thin layer of litter in it. When your cat goes to urinate in the box, some of the urine will remain and won’t be absorbed. Now you have pee to test!
Obviously you’ll want to make sure you know which cat’s urine you’re testing… so keep a close eye on them and try to test on the first pee of the day – before breakfast.
Believe it or not, you may even get direct access to a purrfectly clean stream of urine if you’re watching super close! Our cats are generally unaffected by an incoming pH strip if we just slip it under their backside all calm and quiet while they’re in the act.
So, see? Simple. Cheap. Proactive. 🙂
Urinary Tract Support Kit for Cats
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