Results from Bo's tests and a question

[boscibo]

I had taken Bo into the vet yesterday morning for a few things - his acne, and his tail licking (he is licking the fur off the end of his tail - it's not bald but noticeably thinner hair-wise). I also had them take blood and test for diabetes and renal failure, just cause he's getting up there (13 years).

I got the test results back just now, no diabetes (whew!), and nothing really wrong with his kidneys either, but one kidney had slightly elevated levels and they want me to get a urine sample! How am I going to do that? They said I can try it, or else they have some special litter beads that will make it easier, or they will take him for the day and get one.

Has anyone sucessfully done this, or should I just let the vets do it? I hate to separate him from Hanna, I have never had to do this before.

[neko1]

You would have to separate the cats. The best thing to do would be to put Bo in a room with the litter box and no litter in it. Some cats will urinate in the box even without litter in it. If he does then just pour it into a container and bring it in. If that doesn't work, the vet has NoSorb. You are right, they are beads you put in the box that the urine will not attach to. All you do is put the NoSorb in the empty box just as you would regular litter. Then when the cat urinates, just pour the urine back into the cup that the NoSorb was in and bring it to the vets. If that doesn't work then you will have to bring Bo into the vets so they can try to express his bladder there.

[boscibo]

Nevermind, I Googled it and came up with this. This is going to be as much fun as getting my wisdom tooth yanked.

[boscibo]

Oops, your post wasn't there before. I hate the separateion part, Bo does not like to be alone, and if there is a closed door, he will get up on his haunches and scratch at it until it is opened. I have to babysit today, so I'll try this tomorrow.

[neko1]

Well if it's too much for you then I would just take him to the vet. this way it's done and over with a lot quicker than waiting for him to go at home.

[Logan]

I don't envy you having to attempt to get a urine sample. The vet would have to ours. They never let me "watch" them go....they prefer going outdoors and then coming right back inside.

What did the vet say about the skin problem? I'm curious because we are going through some of the same things with Butter, but his is all over his body. He has pulled out huge sections of fur. He had a shot before Christmas that helped a lot and he was looking better, then it started all over again. When we took Murphy in on Monday, Butter went too and got another shot. The vet said we will notice this happening at certain times of the year. It is a form of dermatitis and he is pulling that hair to try and stop itching. He looks so pitiful!

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

When I had to get a urine sample from Tubby (his bladder is always empty when we get to the vets ) I took one of those small bottles you get with medications from the pharmacy. Fortunately for me Tubby really only pees twice a day, and one of those times is usually in the morning, right after I clean the litter box. So I was all prepared with my rubber gloves and small bottle. I cleaned the litter boxes and waited. About 2 seconds later, here comes Tubby down the stairs, sniffs his food then takes a few bites, takes a drink from their fountain, then finally he saunters over to the litter box. Sniffs it, climbs in, scratches around a bit - and all the while I'm standing there as still as possible trying not to distract him so he'll just hurry up and go already! He doesn't squat as much as he used to - or as much as Peanut, so when he started going I just whipped the little bottle into the stream of urine. When the bottle was full I capped it and rinsed it off good before taking the rubber gloves off.

The vet was amazed that I got so much, and Tubby was none the wiser.

This was a pretty simple way of collecting, so if you know when Bo uses the litter box and you can find some sort of small bottle, it might be easier than the separation thing. Good luck!

Glad the other tests were fine, and the kidney failure is much easier to manage if you catch it early. Tubby has been on 1/4 of a Pepcid daily for almost the last 2 years and his numbers have stabilized rather than getting worse as he got older, so if there is a problem with Bo's kidneys, I'm glad you're finding out sooner rahter than later.

Please let us know the results of the urine test.

[boscibo]

I think I will take him into the vet's to do this, less stress all the way around, except for Bo. he's actually pretty good at the vet's though.

Logan, it's not a skin preoblem really, they think it is more of an obsessive grooming thing. Maybe the urine test will give more insight, I had a weird skin case with my RB kitty Boo. he started pulling the hair over his back and hips out, I'd find clumps of it on the floor. I had him tested for all sorts of stuff, all came up negative. The vet told me it could be from stress, and the hair he pulled out never grew back.

[Nomilynn]

Bassett had to have a urine sample. They gave me those beads, and also a syringe so I didn't have to pour - which is good because any spillage would have been yucky!

When I took her sample, she hadn't peed in over a day (was at the vet and refused ) so she was anxious to go when she got home. It took no time at all.

[boscibo]

Tubby & Peanut's Mom, that was what I was imagining! Bo is very modest, I don't think I could do that with him (but what a funny visual!)

Nomilynn - I'm glad it was easy for you. Bo really doesn't have any set time to go - just whenever the mood strikes him. I rarely catch my cats in the boxes. That is mainly the reason I took him in for these tests, I caught him in the box twice last week. I didn't know if it was coincidence, or if something is wrong.

[jenluckenbach]

any luck with the sample?

[boscibo]

I didn't try today - I had told my brother and sister in law I'd watch their kids this afternoon and I didn't get back until a little while ago. No good getting a sample if it has to sit overnight.


I wish it was something simple like a fecal sample! (<~~never thought I'd say that!)

[Nomilynn]

Do you have a syringe from the vet? It a lot easier that way, and then you can hose out the box. I don't know about this, but what about taking the box away overnight, and have him fill his bladder, and then you would only have to separate them for a shorter amount of time? Bassett was about ready to burst, so she was only separated from her sisters for about a half hour before she used the box.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I sure hope that the urine test results are normal and that you're able to take a urine sample from Bo. Good luck and please keep us updated.

[boscibo]

My wishy-washy self.

I debated all day long how to do this, do it myself or take him into the vets, I ended up deciding to take him to the vets. So Monday Bo goes in for his urine sample.

I feel so bad making him have a vet trip for something I could do here, but the isolation with the litterbox, and the chances of me actually getting him to go while locked in the bathroom (you all know how stubborn cats can be) and me getting the sample to the vet on time, before the office closed for the day, made me decide. I could just see this going on for days, Bo refusing to go for me, and me having to lock him up for additional days.

I will be happy to get this over with, thanks for all the advice.