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"Give Me Water" is a simple test kit to check the hardness of cat drinking water.

For those who are concerned about whether the tap water in their home is "soft water" or "hard water." You can easily check your cat's drinking water with this test kit.

Hard water, which generally contains a lot of minerals such as magnesium and calcium, is known to have a high risk of kidney disease in cats.

*This product cannot be used to test for kidney diseases.

*This product is not an in-vitro diagnostic product. It cannot be used for preventive, diagnostic, or therapeutic purposes.

General Precautions

1. This product is not an in vitro diagnostic. Do not use this for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes in humans or animals.

2. Please follow the instructions in this manual.

3. The test tubes included in the kit are fragile. In the case of damage, please handle it carefully to avoid injury.

4. Do not put reagent or reacted solution in eyes or mouth.

5. Please keep this product out of reach of children.

Intended use

Determination of water hardness.

This product can determine the range of most tap water in Japan (hardness below 120mg/L or less, ratio of calcium hardness to magnesium hardness between 2: 1 to 3: 1). Exceeding this range may cause measurement errors.

<General information on test items>

Drinking "hard water" which contains a lot of mineral components may increase the risk of developing urinary stones. Let's support your cat's health by giving it gentle "soft water."

Measurement principle

OCPC method

Operational Notes

1. Properties of measurement sample, method of sampling

  • To avoid the interference of metal ions in tap water, collect the water you want to test directly into the cup included in the kit.

  • When filling the cup with water, do not touch the inside of the cup.

  • Do not touch the tip of the dropper directly.

  • Please do not reuse the cup and the dropper.

  • If the pH of the water to be judged is highly acidic, it may not be judged correctly. There is no problem with the tap water in Japan. (pH 5.8 ~ 8.6)

Operation Procedures

At the beginning

  1. After opening the kit, read the instruction manual carefully and check for missing or damaged accessories. 

  2. Necessary instruments, equipment, etc.

　　A clock or a timer (not included in the kit)

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Take out equipment you need. (test tubes containing reagents, cup, dropper, kit outer box (as a test tube stand.))

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Tear the perforation on the back of the box and make a hole for the test tube stand.

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Close the lid of the test tube and shake it upside down at least three times.

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o not touch the tip of the dropper or the inside of the cup directly.

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Uncover the test tube and stand it on the test tube stand. Suck the water in the cup with the dropper and put it in the test tube.

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Place on the test tube stand and wait for 60 seconds.

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Pour the water you want to test directly into the cup. (When testing water transferred to a container which was washed with tap water or so, it may be affected by the washing water.)

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Fill the test tube with water until the surface of the water fits between the nekozuki logo on the test tube.

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Make sure that the bubbles are rising to the liquid surface. Compare with the color sample and determine the closest color. If the color of the result part is between the color samples, determine the results as the intermediate value.

Judgment of Measurement Results

Please judge the color by the color sample printed on the test paper, not this paper.

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< Notes on Result Judgment >

  • This product can determine the range of most tap water in Japan (hardness below 120mg/L or less, ratio of calcium hardness to magnesium hardness between 2: 1 to 3: 1). Exceeding this range may cause measurement errors.

  • Please judge the color of the test tube with a white background. The color of the background may make it difficult to judge the color.

Kit contents

・Instruction manual *1

・Test tubes with reagents *2

・Dropper *2

・Boat-shaped cup *2

・Color sample *1

Precautions for Use or Handling

1. Precautions for use

  • Store the product in the designated method, avoiding direct sunlight, high temperature and humidity.

  • Do not use products that have passed the expiration date.

  • Store unused test tubes containing reagents in an aluminum pouch protected from light.

  • Do not touch the inside of an unused cup or the tip of the dropper directly.

  • Do not get the reagents or the solution after the reaction into your eyes or mouth. In case of accidental contact with your eyes, immediately rinse with plenty of water and seek medical attention if necessary.

2. Precautions for disposing

  • Dispose of the used kit as combustible waste according to the regulations of each local government.

Storage Method/Expiration Date

Storage method

Store at 4 ~ 30℃

Expiration date

12 months from manufacture date

References

1. Kanai Masamitsu, ”Kanai's Manual of Clinical Laboratory Medicine” :35 , 201-203 (2005)

2. Harold, V., Am. J. Clin. Pathol., 45, 290-296(1996).

3. J. W. Ferguson, J. J. Richard, J. W. O’laughlin and C. V. Banks, “Simultaneous Spectrophotometric Determination of Calcium Chelate Color and Magnesium with Chlorophosphonazo-III “, Anal. Chem., 36, 796. (1964)

4. Michio ZENKI, Tomoko MASUTANI, and Takashi YOKOYAMARepetitive Determination of Calcium Ion and Regeneration of a Chromogenic Reagent Using Chlorophosphonazo III and anIon Exchanger in a Circulatory Flow Injection System ANALYTICAL SCIENCES, VOL. 18, p1137-1140, OCTOBER 2002

5. Ike Akiko et al., Journal of Cookery Science of Japan 49 ，Vol.49，74~81(2016)

6. Hori, M., Shozugawa, K., Sugimori, K. et al. A survey of monitoring tap water hardness in Japan and its distribution patterns. Sci Rep 11, 13546 (2021).

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