How to Monitor a Cat's Urine pH

Cats diagnosed with bladder crystals and/or kidney stones -- called uroliths -- need to have their urine monitored frequently to ascertain acid and alkaline values. Felines with the potential for struvite stones show a reduced risk if the urine is kept more acidic and the pH is less than 6.6, reports Dr. Yvette Cottam and colleagues in "Feline Reference Values for Urine Composition," published in the June 2002 edition of "The Journal of Nutrition" by The American Society for Nutritional Sciences. Calcium oxalate crystals form when the urine becomes too acidic. These cats need their urine to show more alkaline pH levels between 6.8 and 7.5. Since these values change depending on the type of food and/or supplements the cat ingests, owners need to be able to monitor their pet's urine at home to avoid the recurrence of crystal formation.

Things You'll Need

Set of pharmaceutical urine test strips
Litter box
Veterinarian-prescribed plastic cat litter or styrofoam packing peanuts
Sterile syringe

Instructions

- 1
  Purchase a set of urine test strips from your local pharmacy.
- 2
  Wash and thoroughly rinse your cat's litter box and allow it to air dry.
- 3
  Place a thin layer of plastic cat litter obtained from your veterinarian or Styrofoam packing peanuts in the bottom of the litter box. Situate the box in a quiet room in your home, put your cat in the litter box and allow it to urinate.
- 4
  Turn the litter box so that the urine collects in a corner of the box and draw the liquid up into a sterile syringe.
- 5
  Squirt a small drop of the urine on the pH square of one test strip. Dispose of the rest of the urine in the toilet or sink. Throw away the used syringe.
- 6
  Compare the color of the pH square on the test strip against those of the pH values printed on the label of the plastic test strip container to ascertain the approximate pH value of your cat's urine. Dispose of the strip after use.