Friday, June 11, 2010

Urine Screening

In the past we have talked about routine blood testing. Today, we will discuss a little about routine urine testing as it often goes hand in hand with blood testing.

Although it can sometimes be a challenge to obtain a urine sample from your pet, it is a very important test, especially in older pets. It is ideal for your vet to evaluate a urine sample on your pet at the time of his or her annual bloodwork and exam.

Urine screening can help the doctor identify systemic diseases such as diabetes or liver disease as well as disease more specific to the urinary tract.

Routine urinalysis can help identify signs of bladder infections, inflammation, and crystals which may eventually lead to bladder stones if left untreated.

Urine testing can also tell us if your pet has protein in the urine which can be a sign of many different disease processes. We can also evaluate the concentration of the urine-this lets us know how well the kidneys are functioning and gives us clues as to if your pet is drinking abnormal amounts of water.

Check with your vet to see when and how they would like the urine sample obtained. For most routine screenings a "free catch" sample is just fine. But if there are specific concerns the doctor may want a more sterile collection method or first catch in the morning for example.

3 comments:

Dianne said...

We hate it when mommy has to get a sample of our tinkles. She chases us around with a shallow dish that she duct-tapes to a yardstick. The indignity of it all!

Emma, Tara and Cooper

Kathy Mocharnuk said...

OOOH the urine samples we usually have a lot of trouble trying to get those ;-(, so we never look forward to that, LOL, although I know it is important!

Border Collie Mom said...

I used to struggle catching a urine sample also until someone taught me this trick. Go to the dollar store and buy a big soup ladle. The long handle is just perfect for slipping the bowl into the stream of urine. And, for a $1 you can throw it away and not risk mixing it up with the kitchen ones.