Why is Bloodwork an Important Part of My Cat’s Veterinary Visit?

We discuss how important regular visits, preventatives, and dental care are to your feline friend – bloodwork is no exception. Cats don’t always show that they’re sick, so running annual blood tests (or as needed) is a critical component in veterinary care because it helps us look at the overall health of your pet.

What can we learn from your cat’s bloodwork?

Your feline companion’s bloodwork can tell us quite a bit and can point us in the direction if further examinations or tests may need to be performed. Bloodwork will tell us if your pet is diabetic, has an infection, and if their kidneys and liver are performing at peak condition, among other things.

When is bloodwork necessary?

Not only do we perform bloodwork analysis when your pet is sick, but we also perform it when your pet is healthy. This provides our team with a baseline to compare against should your pet ever become sick.

As stated before, cats don’t always show physical signs when they’re ill, or those subtle changes we attribute to aging may in fact be related to a disease. The results of bloodwork tests can show us early signs of kidney, heart, adrenal, diabetes, and thyroid problems, which can all be well managed with medication or diet changes and extend the life of your pet if caught early. Catching these issues while they’re minor also helps you avoid expensive emergency visits and potential hospital stays.

We also perform bloodwork tests before any procedure requiring anesthesia. We do this to ensure that the anesthesia is safe for your pet. If anything out of the ordinary is found in the tests, we can adjust the protocols so your pet is safe during the entire procedure.

If your pet is on certain types of medication, obtaining routine bloodwork is imperative to ensure they are processing it appropriately. Certain organs may metabolize different medications, and we want to ensure no additional strain is being put on these organs over the course of medication. We also use the results to ensure we’re giving the correct dosage of the medication for your pet.

At TLC Cat Clinic, our goal is to provide you and your feline family member high-quality, compassionate veterinary care. If you have any questions about our bloodwork tests or any other lab services we offer, please don’t hesitate to contact us by calling 763-559-8787.

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