There's a couple different ways you can tell if your cat has a Feline Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). The most obvious way is if she cries while urinating, you see blood in her urine, and/or she won't use the cat litter box to urinate.

If you see this behavior in your cat, please call your vet immediately to get her checked! This is a very painful infection for kitty to suffer through.

But here's another way you can do a rough estimate check for a feline UTI before your cat feels the pain. Quite simply, you can do a fast check of your cat's urine pH balance. If it's out of range, call your vet as fast as you can to schedule an appointment for kitty. She'll need further examination for an accurate diagnosis.

The benefit of checking your cat's urine pH level yourself is save you and kitty a lot of grief. It's easy and safe to do. Your cat won't be traumatized, and this is another way you can stay on top of her health.

Take a clean cat litter box, and put either a little bit of aquarium gravel in it, or some non-absorbent litter. You want just enough to make kitty happy to scratch around in.

Confine kitty with this cat litter box set up in a quiet room. Do this around her elimination schedule. You'll get the most accurate results if you can check her urine sample as soon as she's eliminated.

Once kitty has made her liquid deposit, dip a urine pH test strip in the urine. Gently shake off the excess, and read the corresponding chart. If she's healthy, the level should read between 6.6 - 6.8. If it's higher or lower, call your vet for further consultation.

Please be aware that this test can be affected by when your cat last ate. If she ate several hours earlier, the results might be high. Re-test her one more time - soon after she's eaten. If the reading is normal, no worries. If it's still high, get her to the vet - quickly.

This is an easy way to check your cat's urinary tract health, but it's only a rough estimate. However, you can do it on your schedule, in your home, and kitty isn't traumatized. If anything, she might think this is just another crazy human thing she has to put up with.

Happy testing!