Having trouble getting a urine sample

My foster cat has FLUTD. I need to get a new sample, but I'm having trouble. When I put the litter box down with the lab litter, he's refusing to use it. I'm afraid of him holding his urine too long. I ended up putting his other litter box back out and peed right away. Should I take his litter box away and just wait for him to use the lab litter litterbox or can this cause more problems if he holds it for too long? The longest I kept the lab litter litter box down was 12 hours and he wouldn't go. I don't want to cause more problems than needed, but I need a new sample. His last sample was too bloody to get any readings. The last sample was also taken at the shelter, so who knows how long it took him to use the box that time.

I never get samples for Coco. The Vet takes them and it works out fine.

I take my kits to the vet & they squeeze the bladder for a sample. I tried the lab litter thing....most of mine wouldn't use it.

I've never even heard of lab litter! My vet always takes the sample. Unfortunately last time they had to use a needle to go into her bladder. I have to take her back for her two-week follow-up tonight and am hoping they can get urine by pressing this time. Poor thing!

Good luck!

I hope she will test Neg. It took Coco from Nov-Jan to get rid of her last Infection.

I check my cat's urine PH level every so often at home with some paper PH strips. To get a sample, I slip a small, clean, plastic cup under Ansel when he starts to pee in the litter box and catch a little of it. Works for me.

I do like Sophie. My cat had problem with crystals so I have the strips to check the urine every so often. What I do is cut the bottom off of a small plastic bowl and slip that underneath to catch the urine. Works good for me.

I would ask the vet to do a cystocentesis--where they use a very thin needle to extract the urine. It is usually the most accurate method of getting a sample, since there is less possibility of contamination.

Originally Posted by Hdizzy

My foster cat has FLUTD. I need to get a new sample, but I'm having trouble.

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Like others have mentioned your vet should be able to get a sample. That's what our vet did when we brought one of our cat in for FLUTD 2 weeks ago.

Besides plastic cups, you can also use a laddle with long handle. Cats don't seem to be able to stop once they start urinating. Unfortunately I learned that the hard way .

I recently had to get a urine sample from my cat using lab litter, fortunately he had a pee within a couple of hours so it wasn't a problem( I have to get another sample tomorrow, hope he does it again). I would be worried too about him holding it for too long and aggravating the problem, but I also don't like the bladder squeezing technique. I'd ask the vet for advice.

Honestly, I never even though of getting it with a cup! The shelter vet was the one who gave me the lab litter... Our shelter doesn't go above and beyond to do anything medically it seems to me. It's an open door shelter...I doubt I have to say more. He's obese, was 20 lbs, now about 17. They weren't able to "feel" his bladder for stones or anything. I wonder if that technique will work on an obese cat. I'm going to try the cup trick I think. He's so fat though...and he's kind of jumpy sometimes. I hope I can snag a sample. Wish me luck!

Coco did have Stones the first time she had a Bladder Infection. They did a Ultrasound and then she got S/D. I hope your Cat feels better.