Home Testing Can Help Detect Possible Health Issues Early

Published by: Ingrid King. Last Updated on: February 1, 2023 by Crystal Uys

This is a sponsored post

Cats are masters at hiding signs of illness. By the time a cat shows symptoms, a disease may already be at an advanced stage, making treatment more difficult and also more costly. This is one of the reasons why regular veterinary exams are so important. But wouldn’t it be nice if you had a way to detect health problems even before your cat is due for her annual or bi-annual check up?

Home testing is not a new concept

Home testing for people has been around for decades, ranging from pregnancy tests to cholesterol checks and glucose monitoring. The technology is now also available for pets.

Urinary tract issues

Home testing can help detect urinary tract issues early. A urinary tract infection, if left undiagnosed and untreated, is not only painful, and, in male cats, potentially life-threatening, it can affect the cat’s kidneys and compromise kidney function. Once kidney function is lost, it cannot be regenerated.

Diabetes

When diabetes is diagnosed early, it is a manageable, and, depending on the type of diabetes, sometimes even reversible, condition.

Pawcheck and Petnostics: test your cat’s urine at home

There are several products with different technologies available to perform home testing for cats. Today I’d like to highlight PawCheck and Petnostics. These devices offer a simple, clean, and safe testing method, with no contact with the chemical reagents.

PawCheck provides innovative urinalysis strips for the screening of urinary tract infection, diabetes and kidney failure. Simply collect your cat’s urine using a special non-absorbent litter, which is provided with the test kit, and dip the strip directly into the sample. Results are read in 2 minutes. The non-absorbent litter can also be helpful if you have to bring a sample to your vet for further analysis.

Please visit www.pawcheck.com for information.

Petnostics allows you to check your cat’s health by analyzing your cat’s urine with your smartphone. Petnostics relies on the same veterinary urine strips that vets use in their clinics. Simply collect your cat’s urine in the urine cup provided, and then use the free Petnostics mobile app to perform the analysis. Results can be easily shared with your veterinarian.

Please visit www.petnostics.com for more information.

Home tests are intended to help you detect health conditions in your cat early, but are not a substitute for veterinary care. Tests are best evaluated in conjunction with your cat’s medical history, a physical exam, and possibly additional diagnostics.

FTC Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, which means that I was compensated to feature this content. Regardless of payment received, you will only see products or services featured on this site that I believe are of interest to our readers.

About the author

Ingrid King

Ingrid King is an award-winning author, former veterinary hospital manager, and veterinary journalist who is passionate about cats.