How do you get a urine sample from a cat that has never used a litter tray?

[TobiasForgesContactLense]

The vet wants a urine sample from our (probably) 16 year old cat as he is possibly diabetic.

I have the equipment but he has never used a litter tray and I have been unsuccessful so far. My attempts to drag his paws through the non absorbent litter whilst making running water noises have been met with bemusement. I left it by the door as I had go to to work and later found him sleeping it!

Any tips as otherwise he will need to spend a day a vets trying to extract the urine from him somehow. I don't want to think about it but I believe there are various methods. I think this will be stressful for him and expensive for me.

I would poke holes in a bag. Probably a large zipper food bag and put his legs through it. Let him pee into it

You don't

I'm not sure why your vet hasn't taken a blood sample instead, a much more accurate way to diagnose diabetes in a human anyway must be the same for cats!!

Can you lock him in a small bathroom where he has no other options until he goes?

My vet wouldn't believe me when I said this wasn't possible either 🙄

I wondered the same but after a bit of Googling I found that taking both blood and urine samples to test for cat diabetes is standard veterinary practise.

As my Boycat refused to use any litter except wood pellets, that completely ruled out me getting a urine sample at home. Vets should be perfectly capable of extracting it themselves in the treatment room - I think they may poke a long needle in & syphon some off that way!

My cat held on for four days at the vet before he would go. 😂

Mine held for 24 hours till the vet decided to use a needle to take a sample directly from his bladder.

What are the chances of a single millilitre of urine remaining in the bag by the time you've extricated a very cross cat from this contraption?

Our Vet always does urine samples themselves.

The vets can extract urine from a cat. I can't 100% recall but I think they said they can do it manually.

I used a syringe to get some pee off my hallway floor as mine stopped using the litter tray when he had urinary problems. Where does yours pee?

My cat had a urine sample taken at the vets last week, took a couple of minutes while I sat in the waiting room.

It might be standard, but it doesn't mean it's necessary.

If the vet thought it absolutely necessary, then I'd be leaving the cat there for them to get a sample. There's no way I'd be trying to get a urine sample from a cat, especially one that's not litter trained.

Isn't it meant to be the cat sample not the vets ? 😁😁😁.

@TobiasForgesContactLense my cat uses a litter tray however he had a lot of bladder problems and couldn't pee so the vet took a sample by putting a very fine needle directly in to his bladder.
Your vet should be able to put a catheter in and drain some that way.

Thanks. He has had the blood test but want to test the urine as well. I don't remember what we did 20 years ago with our last very old cat who also got diabetes.

I did like the bag idea but I suspect he would be upset by the rustling. He goes somewhere in the garden but next door have 2 cats who come into our garden so any cat urine or anything else in the garden isn't guaranteed to be from my cat.

I think he is going to have to go back to the vets!

My vet did it for me - he just got me to stroke and talk to him whilst he laid him on his side and the vet nurse held him, then used a syringe to suck out the wee. My cat didn’t even seem to mind. Maybe easier with a boy than a girl? The vet did ask me to try first with the litter tray but Panda refused to use it (I believe he considers it below his dignity!)