Cat urine

What does cat urine say about the health of the four-legged friend? What colour is it? Why does cat urine smell so strong? What is the pH value of the urine? To keep an eye on your cat’s health, enter the urine values in the pet profile. All questions about urine in cats are answered here. 

What does cat urine consist of?

Urine is produced in the kidneys, which filter toxic substances that the body cannot use. The urine consists of about 95% water. The rest contains electrolytes (potassium, sodium, etc.), urea (degradation product of proteins), uric acid, but also foreign substances, e.g. from medication.

The pH value of cat urine is 5.5 -7.2 (ideally 6-6.5).

What should you look for in urine?

• Frequency and quantity
• Colour
• Clarity
• Odour

How often does a cat need to pee?

A cat produces 20-30ml/kg of urine daily. An adult healthy cat urinates two to four times a day. Kittens, seniors, sick cats and those on medication (cortisone or drainage) need to pee more often.

What colour should cat urine be?

A healthy urine is light yellow.

If it is almost transparent, the cat could be drinking too much water.

Dark yellow urine could indicate that too little fluid is being absorbed.

Reddish can occur after eating red beetroot, etc. If this has not been eaten, there may be blood in the urine and it should be examined urgently. Causes could be, for example, a bladder infection or urinary stones.

Brown urine occurs with severe dehydration and may indicate liver disease.

“Neon yellow” urine is produced after vitamin B administration.

Greenish urine is rare. The cause can be the administration of certain medicines or an infection with bacteria.

When does cat urine become cloudy?

Healthy urine should be clear. If the urine is cloudy, this indicates an infection. Likewise, cloudiness occurs with urinary stones. For struvite stones, a diet that acidifies the urine can help.

What does cat urine smell like?

Urine has a certain odour of its own, of ammonia and hydrogen sulphide. But if it smells unusually, this can also indicate infections. 

When is a urine test necessary for a cat?

If you notice anything unusual, it is a good idea to take the urine to the vet for examination. It is best to collect the morning urine in a clean (boiled or sterile) container.

For some cats, you can keep a shallow container when peeing, but it is usually easier to use plastic litter. To do this, clean the litter tray well or cover it with a rubbish bag and sprinkle in the silicate, this will not absorb the urine and you can easily collect it with a syringe. A few (3-8) millilitres are enough, so you don’t need a lot.

The urine should be given to the vet as fresh as possible, if you can’t bring it for a few hours, keep it in the fridge.

What is done during a urine examination?

In a urine test, the urine is dripped onto a urine strip to detect substances.

The specific gravity can be assessed in the refractometer. This shows whether the kidney concentrates the urine sufficiently or whether the kidney’s performance is limited (kidney insufficiency, kidney weakness, kidney failure).

Part of the cat’s urine is centrifuged and examined under the microscope for urinary sediments.

In some cases, a bacteriogram is also performed to determine the number of bacteria. The subsequent antibiogram is used to find out which antibiotic is the most effective for these germs.

What can be detected in cat urine?

Bladder infections can be detected and often also their cause, such as bladder stones/bladder gravel. Also diabetes, kidney disease, prostate disease, babesiosis and much more. Enter all values in the pet profile to be aware of diseases.

If your cat wants to urinate but nothing comes out, this is an emergency and must be treated as soon as possible.