Blood Test
Blood and urine tests are extremely useful tools for looking at the overall health of your pet. From them, a vet can learn if your pet is diabetic, has kidney or liver disease, or an infection. Many of these problems may not be obvious on a simple physical exam, but if caught early can be successfully treated or controlled, giving your pet a longer and better quality of life.
It’s also important to have lab tests performed when a pet is healthy, so the veterinarian has a baseline to compare results when/if your pet does become ill. It’s important to note that lab tests must be coupled with a complete physical examination and patient history from the owner to be of the most use( adopted from Dr. Tessa King, Pilchuck Veterinary Hospital).
In senior pets, to detect and monitor age-related health conditions, our veterinarian may recommend additional blood work and other tests. The blood profile helps to check their kidney, liver, pancreas and thyroid function. Besides that, blood work helps us monitor white and red blood cell counts to ensure there is no sign of infection or cancer.
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