Blood Tests for Pets
How Important is Bloodwork for My Pet?
Anyone who loves their pets would do just about anything to keep them happy and healthy forever. The question is, are they in perfect health or do they have any underlying health concerns that need veterinary attention? Our pets cannot always tell us how they are feeling nor do they always show signs of illness. In addition to a thorough physical exam, diagnostic testing is often necessary to evaluate your pet’s overall health.
Preventive Care Screening
This is one of the most important reasons to run bloodwork on your pet. Underlying illness does not always have visible signs and regular blood testing allows us to establish a baseline of health and identify irregularities before they become crises. Many diseases, if caught early, can be managed long-term prolonging our pet’s life. Over 70% of common diseases in dogs and 60% of common diseases in cats can be minimized by dietary modification alone.
Pre-Anesthetic Testing
If our pets are undergoing any procedure that requires anesthesia, we would like to make sure anesthesia is safe. We usually run bloodwork the morning of the procedure. (Link to pre-anesthetic testing)
Sick and Emergency Situations
Bloodwork at this time is crucial for us to see the overall health of our pets and allows us to make any emergency decisions in regards to treatment quickly!
Monitoring Bloodwork with Chronic Medication Use
Many medications are metabolized through certain organs and we would like to make sure we are not straining any of these while on medication; For example, an older dog with signs of arthritis may be prescribed a Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAIDs) to help with pain and inflammation. These drugs are metabolized through the liver and can affect the kidneys—we check the function of these organs regularly with arthritic pets on NSAIDs. Bloodwork also ensures that the correct dosage of long-term medications such as phenobarbital and thyroid medications.
If questions please don’t hesitate to contact us at 785-841-3131
