{
  "title":"Litter-box observation labels for a veterinary handoff",
  "publisher":"Daily Pet Compass",
  "reviewed_on":"2026-10-28",
  "evidence_type":"editorial communication design; no animal observations or clinical validation",
  "emergency_boundary":"Straining with little or no urine, or suspected inability to urinate: contact an emergency veterinarian immediately. Do not wait to finish a log, collect a sample or observe another visit.",
  "categories":[
    {"id":"direct","meaning":"Identified cat directly seen passing urine","keep":"Approximate time and plain description","unknown":"Cause, unmeasured volume, other times"},
    {"id":"indirect","meaning":"Clump found later","keep":"Discovery time; attribution only if independently known","unknown":"Formation time and cat identity unless established"},
    {"id":"visit","meaning":"Box visit observed without observing urine passage","keep":"The observed visit","unknown":"Urine passage; missing observation is not measured zero output"},
    {"id":"unknown","meaning":"Not watched or attribution uncertain","keep":"Which information is missing","unknown":"Do not encode as normal, none or zero"}
  ],
  "invented_wording_examples":[
    {"overstatement":"Two visits, so two normal urinations","replacement":"Two visits seen; urine passage was not observed."},
    {"overstatement":"This cat urinated overnight, based on a shared-box clump","replacement":"Clump found in the morning; which cat and when it formed are unknown."},
    {"overstatement":"The new litter caused it","replacement":"Litter changed recently; urinary change also noticed. I do not know whether they are connected."}
  ],
  "clinical_sources":[
    {"url":"https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/cornell-feline-health-center/health-information/feline-health-topics/feline-lower-urinary-tract-disease","locator":"Clinical Signs","supports":"Urgent veterinary attention for suspected obstruction","page_update":"October 2016"},
    {"url":"https://icatcare.org/resources/cat-carer-guide-urinary-tract-diseases.pdf","locator":"PDF pages 2–3","supports":"Diagnostic ambiguity and emergency boundary","document_year":2025}
  ],
  "limitations":["Categories and examples are not endorsed or validated by either clinical source.","No diagnosis, home triage score, observation waiting period, treatment or collection procedure.","An earlier observation or a clump does not rule out a current emergency.","Keep completed notes private and share directly with the veterinary team."]
}