How to Collect a Urine Sample From Your Dog or Cat at Home

The easiest way to collect urine at home is the mid-stream catch: you hold a clean, dry container in the stream and collect the middle part while your dog or cat is urinating. Collect about 3 mL (a little over half a teaspoon), label the container, keep it cool and take it to the lab within an hour if you can.

Why vets ask for a urine sample

Urine is made by the kidneys, so it carries clues about the kidneys, the bladder and the rest of the body. The Urine Routine test checks the colour and clarity of urine, how concentrated it is, and chemicals such as protein, sugar and blood. The lab also looks at the urine under a microscope for cells, crystals and germs.

A urine test can help detect a urine infection, kidney trouble, crystals (which can lead to stones) and sugar in the urine, which may be a clue to diabetes. It is often done together with blood tests such as the Kidney Function Test (KFT). Your registered veterinarian reads the result along with your pet's signs and history.

What you need

• A clean, dry, leak-proof container with a tight lid. Do not reuse a bottle that held food, drink or medicine, because small traces can change the result.
• A pen to write your pet's name, your name, and the date and time on the container.
• For dogs: a clean, shallow dish, or a cup on a long handle.
• For cats: a clean litter tray, a few non-absorbent litter beads (ask your vet about them), and a clean syringe without a needle, or a dropper.
• Soap and water to wash your hands before and after.

The Urine Culture & Sensitivity test grows any germs in the urine and shows which antibiotics may work against them. It needs about 5 mL of urine in a sterile container. If you are not sure which container to use, message the lab on WhatsApp before you collect.

How to collect urine from a dog

1. Take your dog out on a leash at the usual time. The first urine of the morning is often preferred because it is more concentrated, but any fresh sample is useful.
2. Wait until your dog has started to urinate. Stay calm and do not rush your dog.
3. Slide the dish or cup into the stream. Collect the middle of the stream, not the first or last drops.
4. Pour about 3 mL into your container and close the lid tightly.
5. Never scoop urine from the ground, grass or a drain. It picks up dirt and germs.

For a female dog, a shallow dish held just under her works well. For a male dog, a cup on a long handle helps you stay clear of his leg.

How to collect urine from a cat

1. Wash the litter tray with plain water, rinse it well and dry it. Leftover soap or disinfectant can change the result.
2. Remove the normal litter, because it soaks up urine. Put in a thin layer of non-absorbent beads, or leave the tray empty if your cat will use it.
3. Watch your cat. As soon as it has passed urine, tip the tray a little and draw the urine into a clean syringe or dropper.
4. Put the urine into the container, close the lid and label it.

If your cat strains in the tray and passes little or no urine, do not wait to collect a sample. This can be an emergency, especially in male cats. Take your cat to a vet at once.

Keeping the sample fresh

• Fresh urine gives more useful results. As urine stands, germs multiply and cells and crystals change.
• Bring the sample to the lab within an hour if you can. The lab is open every day from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm. Keep the sample out of sunlight and heat.
• If you cannot bring it in time, keep the closed container in the fridge (not the freezer) and tell the lab when you collected it.
• Tell the lab about any medicine your pet has taken recently, especially antibiotics, because they can change a culture result.
• Never press on your pet's belly to make it pass urine. It can hurt, and it can be dangerous if the bladder is blocked.

A mid-stream sample can pick up some germs from the skin and fur on its way out. For a culture test, your vet may prefer to collect urine straight from the bladder with a fine needle. Only a vet should do this.

When to talk to your vet

See your vet if your pet:

• strains to pass urine, or passes only a few drops
• has blood in the urine, or urine with a very strong smell
• drinks and urinates much more than usual
• has accidents in the house, or licks the genital area often
• seems to be in pain

If protein is found in the urine, your vet may ask for a Urine Protein Creatinine Ratio (UPC Ratio) to measure it. Do not start any medicine without your vet's advice. If you cannot get a sample, tell your vet, who has other ways to collect one.

Pashupatinath Vet Lab provides free sample collection anywhere in Bhopal. Call or WhatsApp +91 88175 01118 to arrange it. From other towns, samples can be sent to the lab by courier, bus parcel or through your local veterinarian, but talk to the lab first, because fresh urine matters. You can browse all lab tests for Dog and Cat on this website.