A urinalysis is a window into your pet’s internal health. It is one of the easiest and most useful laboratory tests we have available to us, and it can tell us a lot about your pet’s basic kidney function and can give us an early warning sign of many potential problems like stones and urinary tract infections.
Collecting a sample from a dog
Collecting a sample from a cat
- a first-morning sample is normally the best sample for testing, as it will usually show the greatest concentration in the pet’s urine. The sooner you can get the sample to us after collection, the better, but if it will be more than an hour before you drop it off, please place it in your refrigerator.
- in order to collect the sample, you will need: a shallow container such as a pie/tart tin, measuring cup with a handle, or a plastic baggie turned inside-out over your hand. You will also need your dog on a leash and a clean container to transfer the collected sample to (either a urine container from our office, a clean jar with a lid, or a Tupperware container – if you are using a Ziploc baggie, you can just keep the sample in that)
- hold the collection container in your dominant hand (the hand you write with), and the dog’s leash in your other hand
- walk the dog outside and as soon as the dog starts to urinate, place the collection container under the urine stream. Take care not to accidentally touch the dog with the container, as many dogs will stop urinating and subsequently do their best to avoid having a sample collected, which will make further collection difficult!
- collect as much urine as possible, then release the dog if it is safe to do so (i.e. in a fenced yard) and transfer the urine sample to your clean, sealable container and seal tightly – it is advisable to place the sample container inside a waterproof container like a plastic bag or larger sealable container for transport. If you are using a Ziploc baggie, please double-bag the sample.
- Deliver the sample to the clinic!
- If you are unable to collect a sample at home, we are happy to collect it here by appointment, just don’t allow your dog to urinate for a couple of hours before arriving at the hospital and don’t let him/her to water the bushes on the way in!
- First, try confining the cat to a small room like a bathroom with a clean, completely empty and very clean (new or completely disinfected) litter pan overnight. Make sure kitty has a bowl of water available!
- Replace the normal litter with aquarium gravel, packing peanuts, or a nonabsorbent litter made specifically for collecting urine samples (available at our office). We do offer home cat urine collection kits at the hospital, please just ask!
- Pour the sample to a clean, sealable container and bring it to the hospital as soon as possible after collection (refrigerate if it will be more than an hour or so). It is best to bring the sample in as soon as possible after collection.
- We are often able to collect a sample directly from the cat’s bladder at an appointment, especially if you are able to keep the cat away from the litterbox for two or more hours before your appointment.