How to fill up a cat's bladder

April 9, 2009 9:17 AM

How can I make sure my cat has a full bladder?

I have to take my cat to the vet to test for urinary tract disease. This requires her to have a full bladder. I have already had one failed attempt at this. Is there anything I can do to ensure success next time? The vet's recommendation was to give the cat some tuna in spring water a few hours before the appointment? Can anyone please give me some further ideas?

TIA

posted by Ruby Tuesday to pets & animals (15 comments total)

Well, if you need ways to get liquid into her, I can recommend canned chicken broth. My cat was sick a few months ago and it was the only liquid he would willingly consume.
posted by cabingirl at 9:21 AM on April 9

This is a funny dilemma. Do you HAVE to bring the cat with full bladder to the vet or is there another way to get a urine sample? Maybe you could convince your cat to pee in an empty, sterile litter box (no litter or anything, just a container) by putting the cat in a small room with no other options? Would that be a sufficient urine sample for your vet?
posted by sickinthehead at 9:27 AM on April 9

Adding to the chicken broth suggestion: if it's the canned kind with enough salt, she'd want to drink more and maybe that would help?
posted by variella at 9:29 AM on April 9

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

@Sickinthehead - I had to provide a urine sample before which indicated that my cat has lots of blood in her urine. Now the vet is trying to work out where my cat is bleeding from. The only way to rule out the bladder is for the needle to be directly injected into it whilst it's full. Hence my problem.
posted by Ruby Tuesday at 9:36 AM on April 9

I'm guessing this won't help if she's having bladder issues (and can't possibly be good for her), I only provide this as anecdote and a maybe:

When we first moved to our new home, we assumed that the cats would find the litterbox. True for one, not for the other. It was 3 days in when we saw our calico pawing at the carpet in a dark corner and panting heavily. Thinking she might have to pee, I scooped her up, took her downstairs to the litterbox, and watched her pee for a full 24 seconds after I thought, "wow, she's been going for a while!" I have no idea where she kept it all.
posted by ferociouskitty at 9:51 AM on April 9

Ah, that is a problem. Can you drop the cat off in the morning and allow the vet techs to determine when she has a full bladder? Maybe drop the cat off with some chicken broth as they said and they can keep her in a cage and check on her in intervals?
posted by sickinthehead at 9:52 AM on April 9

Can you drop the cat off in the morning and allow the vet techs to determine when she has a full bladder? Maybe drop the cat off with some chicken broth as they said and they can keep her in a cage and check on her in intervals?

This is my thought as well. I think it's a bit weird and definitely inconvenient for you to have to gauge when your cat's bladder is full - I think a morning at the vet would allow them to do that themselves.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 9:57 AM on April 9

Hi that's a good idea. Brought her in early in the morning a few days ago, but her bladder wasn't full. Might try out your suggestion tomorrow.
posted by Ruby Tuesday at 9:59 AM on April 9

This is an unusual procedure...I had to take a cat to the vet once for a suspected UTI, but the vet simply prescribed medicine based on described symptoms. (no blood test, no needing a full bladder) Is this excessive testing due to the cat being treated with medicine but still having reoccurring bouts of illness? If so--my apologies for poor kitty--and I would also favor the suggestion of bringing the cat in to the vet and let them monitor it for the appropriate time.
posted by Eicats at 10:14 AM on April 9

Tuna juice! Cats love it and will lap it up.

The ONLY upside to the terrible trend of packing tuna in water instead of oil.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 10:23 AM on April 9

My cat LOVES licking the faucet and bathtub and playing with the water droplets when they fall. I've also heard others talk about how cats are more willing to drink running water than still water in a bowl.
posted by cranberrymonger at 11:49 AM on April 9

When we had a cat's urine tested recently, we dropped him off at the vet. After it became clear to them that his bladder wasn't full, they administered subcutaneous fluids so that his body would process it and his bladder would become full.

You could discuss this option with your vet.
posted by SomePerlGeek at 1:02 PM on April 9

My cat has to have regular urine tests so I know how annoying this can be. Two things help a) always always make a first thing in the morning appointment and b) take away access to the cat litter in the morning.

The morning visit is for two reasons. Firstly, if they can't get a sample I just leave her there for the day while I go to work and they grab it during the day once her bladder is full. The one time I took her in the evening she ended up staying overnight which was both sad (I missed my kitty!) and a lot more expensive than a day stay. Secondly, Mandy has a pretty set routine. Cats generally do and I bet yours does too. She gets up, eats breakfast then goes the the toilet. So we take away the cat litter as soon as she gets up and take her to the vet straight after breakfast (she goes and stands in the empty gap and looks sad, which is actually kind of cute). We know her bladder will be full because it always is right then. She's an adult cat and able to hold on for an extra hour or so a morning visit isn't a problem, but I wouldn't want to try this and take the litter tray away all day.

So the first thing I'd do in your situation is watch your cat and see what her routine is. Is there a time when you know she likes to pee? After eating is pretty standard for cats (and your vet is right, feeding her wet food will really help). Schedule the vet visit to work in with the cat's schedule. And if that doesn't work then just go for the morning visit with the idea that she will stay there all day. It sounds like this is an important test so it'll be worth it. Good luck and I hope she's OK!
posted by shelleycat at 1:34 PM on April 9

Wow, that needle procedure sounds pretty hardcore. My cat had bladder problems and they did an ultrasound on her; they were able to see cloudiness that indicated bleeding.

But she had to go in for urinalysis several times until everything cleared up and I generally had to leave here there all day because she was pee shy.

Hope kitty feels better soon! You know we need to see pics, right?
posted by sugarfish at 2:55 PM on April 9

Feed her lots of plain chicken baby food mixed into a ton of water so it's like thick broth.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 3:15 PM on April 9