pH and protein in urine a little high: why

[ritz]

Took Ritz in for a check up  (fleas, indoor cat, go figure....) and to get her urine anaylzed.  She meowed once after using her litter box and sometimes her urine smells strongly.  I am leaving for Greece (vacation) tomorrow and didn't want to take the chance of a UTI waiting to happen.  She is prone to stress-induced UTIs.

Her pH was 7, and protein 30.  The very nice vet said her pH was a little high, especially for a cat being fed Raw.  And protein was a little high.

Are there any proteins that would lower her pH a little, and what does a 30 protein level mean?

I have been feeding Ritz raw (frakenprey) for almost a year.  She loves it.

Thanks.

 

[feralvr]

Cindy, I am not certain! But I think someone will know here :nod: I do know that Pip's PH since starting raw has dropped to 6.0 - 6.5 just perfect. I can't remember the protein level off the top of my head :doh3:, but I know it was in the normal range when I had it last tested. Have a wonderful trip to Greece!!!!!! How exciting!!!

 

[carolina]

Slightly elevated pH can be due to stress.....
The protein level can be due to when the vet sampled the urine - to be accurate, the urine should be sampled at least 4 hours after the kitty eats, as the protein level rises after a meal.
What time did Ritz eat, and wht time was the test taken?

 

[ldg]

Slightly elevated pH can be due to stress.....
The protein level can be due to when the vet sampled the urine - to be accurate, the urine should be sampled at least 4 hours after the kitty eats, as the protein level rises after a meal.
What time did Ritz eat, and wht time was the test taken?

The urine pH rises after a meal, and peaks at 4 hours after. So to have an accurate pH, it has to be taken at LEAST four hours after a meal (preferably more). :nod:

In answer to your question about acidifying meat, I had the same issue with Spooky. She was peeing outside the box. Her urine pH was 8.5!!!!!

WhollyCat helped me a LOT. :nod:

You can use L-theanine to help Ritz not stress. This is the really quick and simple LOL: http://www.ehow.com/facts_5471098_theanine-cats.html

I didn't buy Spooky one of the treats, I bought her NOW 200mg L-theanine capsules. I dumped them out and measured using my little spoons :lol3: and I just sprinkle 25mg on her food. :nod: It seems to have really helped her calm down - and it is NOT a sedative.

Methionine is used as an acidifier in a lot of cat foods. It is naturally occurring in meat - which is why a raw diet USUALLY provides that spot-on urine pH of 6.5. :nod:

At WhollyCat's suggestion, I looked up the meats and their methionine content. It's listed as per 100g, but doesn't matter - it's the relative amounts I was interested in. I used the USDA database nutrient info: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/list

And this is what I looked up:

Methionine.JPG

• ldg
• Sep 26, 2012

So I focused on feeding Spooky a lot of turkey breast. :lol3:

That said.... her pH was quite stubborn in coming down. So I bought NOW L-methionine. The methionine treats for cats say to feed 2 chews per day for a 10 pound cat; they provide 450mg of methione per treat. I use ONE 500mg capsule split between three meals. I do NOT plan on using this long term, as everything I see says that the use of acidifiers in cat food contributes to CRF. But her pH is a lovely 6.5 now ( I bought test strips). I'm going to stop using it at the end of this week, actually, and we'll see what happens....

I'm guessing it's a little elevated either because of stress or relationship to meal time? :dk: And what did the vet say about the protein? My understanding is that can be affected by blood in the urine.... which can happen from stress... ???????

Thankfully it seems there's nothing pressing happening here, so I REALLY hope you have a great trip! :cross:

 

[ritz]

Thank you so much for all the info.  Ritz likes turkey and venison and pork, so I'll try to find more of that.  Usually can find only turkey legs.

Ritz ate around 3 a.m. and 6 am (we get up at 3 a.m.; normal time).  I don't know exactly when the test was taken, but certainly could have been before 10 a.m.  (I dropped her off around 7:30 am.)

No blood in urine.

And certainly a lot could be explained by stress; vet didn't say what could cause the protein level to be slightly elevated.  When she had a UTI her pH was 8 (urine sample collected by me, so results suspect).  Protein was 'negative'.

 

[ldg]

Well, when you're back from Greece, it's the season, so butchers may have turkey breast. That's where we buy it - it's got no bones and ready to "roast." Er... cut up and bag and freeze. :lol3:

 

[ritz]

Thanks.  I'll have to find a butcher or make nice with the ones in the grocery store.