![]() Single measurements of USG alone can not be used in this way (Jepson et al., 2009). However, it can also occur in healthy cats eating mainly dry food but not drinking much water.ĭilute urine: USG 1.030 for dog, >1.035 for cat) require further investigation: possible options include testing urine concentrating ability in response to water deprivation and/or ADH administration, determining glomerular filtration rate (GFR), renal ultrasound examination, and renal biopsy.Īlgorithms derived by machine learning that effectively predict the onset of azotaemic CKD within 12 months of health screening of older apparently healthy cats have incorporated USG together with serum creatinine and urea (Biourge et al., 2020). The production of very concentrated urine (USG >1.050) can be seen when reduced renal perfusion results from hypovolaemia, haemoconcentration or heart failure. If the patient is not azotaemic, this finding is generally considered incompatible with a diagnosis of substantial kidney disease, although kidney disease, with loss of up to 2/3 of normal nephron function may still be present.* However, USG values in some cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and azotaemia may be as high as 1.040 or 1.045, so kidney disease could still be suspected in a cat if these values are accompanied by persistent azotaemia. A substantial number of functioning nephrons is needed to produce urine of this concentration, so the simultaneous presence of azotaemia suggests there is likely to be a large pre-renal component to the azotaemia this conclusion can be confirmed by determining if the azotaemia reverses on rehydrating the animal. Cats typically produce more highly concentrated urine than dogs, but similar variation might be expected for normal cats.Ĭoncentrated urine: USG >1.030 (dog) or >1.035 (cat)Įxcretion of urine that is concentrated like this indicates that significant modification of glomerular filtrate (which has specific gravity of 1.008 to 1.012) has occurred by means of active resorptive processes in the renal tubules. In healthy animals, urine concentration can change substantially over time, and 2 to 3 fold variations have been observed within 2 hours in some dogs. It is important to note that any USG value could be considered 'normal' in a patient, depending on certain other factors, including the patient's hydration status. What USG values are considered ‘normal’?Ī wide range of USGs can be encountered in healthy animals – 1.001 to >1.075 for dogs and 1.001 to >1.085 for cats – although values encountered typically for normally hydrated individuals are often closer to 1.015 to 1.045 for dogs, and 1.035 to 1.060 for cats. The USG can also help verify the presence of polyuria (USG is inversely related to 24 hour urine volume), assist evaluation of urinary losses of protein, bilirubin and glucose, and aid assessment of the patient's state of hydration. It is measured using a refractometer, and provides an approximate guide to urinary solute concentration that is sufficiently accurate for clinical purposes. ![]() USG measurement is used frequently in veterinary practice to help evaluate renal function by assessing whether water is being excreted or conserved appropriately, according to need. Original Authors: ADJ Watson, Sydney, Australia, HP Lefebvre, Toulouse, France and J Elliott, London, UK Why measure urine specific gravity (USG)? Such a system would not work for small kittens and might be unsuitable for sufficiently elderly cats-it requires a cat capable of jumping into/out of the rotating ring.Using urine specific gravity (revised by J Elliott in 2022) The cleaning mechanism normally rotates very slowly relative to the litter bed, it stops if it senses a cat in the box and then resumes when the cat has been gone for a minute. The litter box actually comprises the whole ring although the cat only sees a small part of that, the rest of it is behind the scenes. ![]() The "litter" is ferrous material encased in something that will keep it from rusting-magnets are used to keep the cat from tossing it out of the box with it's pawing. 05g-we are simply after enough to keep things from floating away. Thus lets give the cat a litter box on a squirrel cage spun to perhaps. That means you need a station large enough you can confine the cat in the area of it's litter box for a bit-that's a pretty substantial station. While cats have a natural inclination towards the litterbox anything unconventional requires a certain amount of training and kittens require a certain amount of training anyway-you start out with the cat in a fairly small environment that includes the litter box, once it has a good understanding that that's where to go you expand it's environment.
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