I have been doing home urine monitoring with my cat who is prone to urinary
blockage. In my home tests (using reagent strips) I am regularly finding a
high positive for leukocytes (white blood cells). Testing at my vet's
office confirms this using reagent strips. The ph is also high but
everything else is normal. Here's the funny part - when my vet examines the
urine microscopically, there is no evidence of white blood cells. There is
no evidence of red blood cells in the urine and kitty is showing no signs
of illness or infection. My vet and I are both looking into this and are
leaning toward the conclusion that the strips are showing a false positive
for leukocytes because the sample is not sterile (just catching it as he
uses the litter box). Can this be the case that the test would show the +++
for leukocytes everytime as a result of contaminated samples? What are some
other possibilities? I'd be grateful to anyone who could help shed some
light on this while I wait for my vet to do some more research. Thanks in
advance for any responses.