Free Pee Day!
Why do we want you to bring in your pet's urine? A complete urinalysis (which involves chemical and sediment analyses) can reveal so many diseases and provides an opportunity to prevent more serious illnesses.
The chemical analysis reveals changes in kidney function by looking at the urine's concentration (called the urine specific gravity) and evidence of protein. We may suspect diabetes if glucose or ketones are present. In both dogs and cats, increased drinking and urination can be signs of both kidney failure and diabetes. A urinalysis can differentiate between the two completely different diseases. The pH of the urine can confirm presence of urinary crystals and help us to make nutritional recomeendations. And if bilirubin is present in the urine, we may be concerned with liver disease.
The sediment analysis looks at any microscopic objects in the urine. We may find red and white blood cells when the bladder wall is inflamed. If we also find bacteria, we could diagnosis a urinary tract infection. Crystals in the urine are early detectors for bladder or kidney stones. Urinary tract stones can be life threatening, particularly in male cats and dogs, as they can urinary obstruction and lead to kidney failure. Early detection of crystals helps us make changes to your pet's diet that could avoid painful and dangerous urinary stones (which often require surgery to remove them). Abnormal bladder cells may also be found in the sediment, which may indicate cancer.
With just a teaspoon of urine, we can discover so much about your pet's health. If you bring in a sample of urine on April 12, 2018 we will analyze it at no cost. Just collect a clean sample from your pet that morning and bring it to us Samples should be refrigerated and brought in within 4 hours of collection for the most accurate results. If you'd like to bring a sample from your cat, you can use some Nosorb non-absorbent litter. Stop in after April 1 t pick up urine collection kits for dogs or cats. Or, message us either on Facebook, our Web Page, or from your Petsite account and we'll instruct you on how to collect a sample. Sorry, we can't collect urine for you on the 12th, we anticipate a large volume of testing.
Sandy Wu
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