It’s not only blood tests that give us an insight into the health of your pet. Testing your pet’s urine is another essential part of good veterinary medicine.
Did you know that a small amount of urine can give us information about your pet’s internal health, and rule out problems such as kidney disease and diabetes?
As part of a routine urine test, we usually test how concentrated your pets urine is. This gives us an idea of how well your pet’s kidneys are working. We may also test for the presence of blood, look at pH, protein levels and glucose and even spin the urine down to form a sediment to look for bacteria, signs of infection and crystals. Sometimes it is necessary to send your pet’s urine to an external laboratory for testing, such as for deciding what antibiotics are appropriate if your pet has an UTI (Urinary Tract Infection).
We will often try collecting a urine sample at the time of your pet’s visit. Dogs are taken out to the garden next to the hospital, where the smells usually help provide a sample. However not all pets are so obliging, in which case we may ask for your help to collect a sample at home. This can be a bit overwhelming and we will be able to advise you on the most suitable technique for your pet. For cats and those pooches who are not keen to wee into a pot, we routinely collect urine directly from the bladder using a very small needle (a painless and quick procedure.) This routine procedure is called a cystocentesis and is necessary if we need to collect urine without contamination (such as for urine culture)
If your pet is unwell and or is coming in for a blood test please do not allow them to go to the toilet for a few hours before their visit. This will ensure the bladder is full and makes collecting that important wee sample a lot easier.
