Check your pet’s urine! A simple yet essential test can detect potentially life-threatening conditions before they become untreatable. It’s a window into your lovely companion’s health.
When you are walking your dog, you can easily tell if your dog is sick after he or she poops based on its appearance. The same goes if you clean up your cat’s poop in the litter box. However, when your dog urinates while walking or when he or she goes potty in the backyard, you would not be able to know because it disappears so quickly. Secondly, when your cat urinates in the litter box, you also will not know what the urine looks like either as it will be clumped up.
However, that also does not mean you cannot suspect anything going wrong with your pet’s health based on urine either. You would have to look at several factors so you know what to look for in urine that could indicate a problem with your pet’s health. That would entail you having to look closely when your dog urinates on the walk, or walk around the backyard to notice anything unusual where your dog goes to potty. If you have a cat, you would have to look closely at the urine in the litter box to determine if there is anything unusual about it.
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How Can You Determine Your Pet Is Unwell Based On Their Urine?
The first thing to do is to become familiar with your pet’s urine when they are healthy by the appearance and odor. That is right, you need to take a careful look at the urine while you are walking your dog, or if you have a cat while examining the urine in kitty litter. You will not be able to do that when your dog goes out to potty in the backyard.
You also have to smell your pet’s urine. After your dog urinates on the walk, you will want to smell the area where your dog peed. Also, take a walk in the backyard where your dog urinates, and smell around the area. If you have a cat, you will also need to smell their urine in the litter box. However, if you notice a different odor or color in your pet’s urine, then there could be an issue with your pet’s health. Let’s talk about what you need to do if you detect something is off based on the odor or color of your pet’s urine.
1What Do You Do If You Notice Something Odd About Your Pet’s Urine?
Find a sterile disposable container, if you don’t find one you can always pick one up from the vet’s or your doctor’s office. Take the recipient with you when you are walking your dog, or stand around the backyard when your dog goes potty. You will want to catch some urine when your dog is ready to go.
If you have a cat, then you may take a sample of the kitty litter with the urine in it with you to the vet. Once you collect the urine from your dog or cat, you must take it right to the vet. In some cases, you may need to bring your cat to the clinic so they can collect a sample of urine. Let’s briefly talk about the characteristics of urine that can be warning signs.
2What Are The Warning Signs Of Unusual Urine?
When your pet’s urine is clear, then that is a sign that your pet is healthy and properly hydrated. However, if it is too yellow, your pet could be dehydrated and will need to be encouraged to drink more water. If it is red, brown, or orange, then there could be blood in it caused by bladder stones or cancer. The same goes if it is cloudy, and you will want to also pay attention to the quantity of urine and frequency.
Either way, your pet’s urine can tell you a lot about their health, and you have to pay close attention to it, especially if you see a change in your pet’s behavior.