Learning About Lab Work!
We can learn a lot from a thorough history. That’s why when you bring your pet to the vet you will have to answer a lot of questions (sometimes more than once!). We can also learn a lot from a physical exam. Sometimes the physical exam is enough to give the answer! However, we can gain a LOT of information from running some lab work. Your vet may recommend bloodwork be performed when your pet is sick, as a screening prior to anesthesia, or just as part of a routine annual exam. Today we are going to focus on what we can learn from bloodwork performed as part of a routine annual exam!
Let me start by going through the recommendations that Highland Pet Hospital makes for each species and age group of pets.
Puppies (those under 1 year of age) have a recommendation of a fecal exam.
Adult dogs (1-7 years of age) have a recommendation of a heartworm test, yearly fecal exam, CBC, and abbreviated chemistry panel.
Senior dogs (8 years and up) are recommended to have a heartworm test, CBC, Chemistry (our default panel is a shortened panel, but in some cases a more thorough chemistry panel is indicated), and a urinalysis. A yearly fecal exam is also recommended.
Kittens (under 1 year of age) are recommended to have a FeLV/FIV test and a fecal test.
Young Adult Cats (1-2 years of age) are recommended to have a urinalysis and a yearly fecal test.
Adult Cats (4-8 years of age) are recommended to have a urinalysis, CBC, and abbreviated chemistry panel. A yearly fecal test is also recommended.
Senior Cats (9 years and up) are recommended to have a urinalysis, CBC, chemistry panel, and a Total T4. As with the other age groups, a yearly fecal exam is recommended.
Let’s talk about the specifics of these panels!
Fecal Exam-
This test requires approximately a golf ball sized amount of fresh stool. The sample looks for intestinal parasites such as hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, giardia, and coccidia. While most dogs are on monthly preventatives that should protect them from many of these parasites, not all are covered by routine prevention. For indoor only cats, a “community sample” is sufficient. In dogs it’s best to check a sample for each dog. The sample should be relatively fresh. A dry, several day old sample from the litterbox or the yard is not the most accurate sample to collect.
Urinalysis-
Sometimes this sample can be collected by what we call “free catch”- that is collected by the pet owner at home. In these cases the cleaner the better, and the fresher the better. A clean, dry container should be used to collect a midstream urine sample. 2-3 tablespoons is a sufficient quantity. In most cases, the best urine sample is a sterile sample, collected by a technique called cystocentesis. The vet or the CVT collects the sample by sterile needle directly from the bladder (usually with an ultrasound to guide the collection). When used as a screening tool, we usually are looking for changes in pH, protein, glucose, urine concentration, and crystals. This can tip us off to diseases such as diabetes, kidney disease, Cushing’s disease, Feline Idiopathic Cysitits, and bladder stones.
CBC-
Complete Blood Count. This test requires a blood draw, and to be placed into a blood collection tube that stops clotting. The CBC gives information on red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. This test can aid in diagnosing infection, inflammation, some types of cancer, medication reactions, and autoimmune disease.
Chemistry-
This test requires a blood draw and to be placed in a sample collection tube that is spun down to separate the red blood cells from the serum. Chemistry is a broad term, a number of different “panels” can be checked. A very basic panel generally has BUN and Creatinine (kidney values) and ALP and ALT (liver enzymes) and glucose. More detailed panels check electrolytes, albumin, globulin, total protein, phosphorus etc. This panel is used in diagnosis of many disease processes. Many changes (such as changes to kidneys and liver) can be caught on a chemistry panel before the patient is even showing any clinical symptoms of disease. Furthermore, pets who are on chronic medications (such as steroids, pain medications, behavioral modifying medications, and medications for allergies) should be doing routine screening.
Heartworm test-
A heartworm test requires a very small amount of blood. It does not require a separate blood draw from the Chemistry and CBC, but can be done independently. Heartworm disease is carried by mosquitoes. The immature heartworms develop into adult worms and live in the large vessels around the heart. Unfortunately affected dogs do not develop symptoms until the disease is already quite advanced. Treating heartworm disease is costly and invasive. Routine prevention is greatly preferred. Most heartworm preventative manufacturers will guarantee their product (that is pay for treatment!) if the pet has documented routine use of the product AND yearly heartworm tests. Unlike intestinal parasites, a fecal sample does not provide any information on heartworm disease.
Thyroid-
While dogs usually develop low thyroid (hypothyroidism) cats usually develop high thyroid (hyperthryoid). Dogs generally don’t need routine screening, but are instead tested for low thyroid hormone when their symptoms are suspicious for the disease. It is, however, recommended for senior cats to have screening for hyperthyroidism. Generally after 9 years of age we will start to recommend this routinely. If the thyroid hormone is high, treatment for hyperthyroidism can be started. Treatment is certainly more successful if we catch the change early and start treatment early!
FeLV/FIV testing-
Unique to cats, FeLV and FIV are viral infections. Transmission occurs by contact with other cats. Both diseases are retroviruses, which means they can cause infection without clinical signs. Infected cats can spread the disease to other cats, so it is recommended they be in single cat homes or homes with other positive cats. When symptoms do start to show, the diseases can be severe. Testing is only needed once for indoor only cats. Outdoor cats may need testing before being exposed to new cats, or if showing clinical signs of disease. Yearly/routine testing is generally not needed even for outdoor cats. Vaccination for feline leukemia is recommended for outdoor or indoor/outdoor cats, and testing should be done prior to starting the vaccine series.
If your head is spinning, fear not! The average pet owner only needs to know the following: your veterinary team is trained to make recommendations for both dogs and cats, and for all life stages. They are also happy to talk to you about the recommendations and about the specifics of your questions! These recommendations exist because we are scanning for diseases BEFORE clinical signs develop. In most cases we have greater success in managing a disease process the earlier it is caught!
We can learn a lot from a thorough history. That’s why when you bring your pet to the vet you will have to answer a lot of questions (sometimes more than once!). We can also learn a lot from a physical exam. Sometimes the physical exam is enough to give the answer! However, we can gain a LOT of information from running some lab work. Your vet may recommend bloodwork be performed when your pet is sick, as a screening prior to anesthesia, or just as part of a routine annual exam. Today we are going to focus on what we can learn from bloodwork performed as part of a routine annual exam!
Let me start by going through the recommendations that Highland Pet Hospital makes for each species and age group of pets.
Puppies (those under 1 year of age) have a recommendation of a fecal exam.
Adult dogs (1-7 years of age) have a recommendation of a heartworm test, yearly fecal exam, CBC, and abbreviated chemistry panel.
Senior dogs (8 years and up) are recommended to have a heartworm test, CBC, Chemistry (our default panel is a shortened panel, but in some cases a more thorough chemistry panel is indicated), and a urinalysis. A yearly fecal exam is also recommended.
Kittens (under 1 year of age) are recommended to have a FeLV/FIV test and a fecal test.
Young Adult Cats (1-2 years of age) are recommended to have a urinalysis and a yearly fecal test.
Adult Cats (4-8 years of age) are recommended to have a urinalysis, CBC, and abbreviated chemistry panel. A yearly fecal test is also recommended.
Senior Cats (9 years and up) are recommended to have a urinalysis, CBC, chemistry panel, and a Total T4. As with the other age groups, a yearly fecal exam is recommended.
Let’s talk about the specifics of these panels!
Fecal Exam-
This test requires approximately a golf ball sized amount of fresh stool. The sample looks for intestinal parasites such as hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, giardia, and coccidia. While most dogs are on monthly preventatives that should protect them from many of these parasites, not all are covered by routine prevention. For indoor only cats, a “community sample” is sufficient. In dogs it’s best to check a sample for each dog. The sample should be relatively fresh. A dry, several day old sample from the litterbox or the yard is not the most accurate sample to collect.
Urinalysis-
Sometimes this sample can be collected by what we call “free catch”- that is collected by the pet owner at home. In these cases the cleaner the better, and the fresher the better. A clean, dry container should be used to collect a midstream urine sample. 2-3 tablespoons is a sufficient quantity. In most cases, the best urine sample is a sterile sample, collected by a technique called cystocentesis. The vet or the CVT collects the sample by sterile needle directly from the bladder (usually with an ultrasound to guide the collection). When used as a screening tool, we usually are looking for changes in pH, protein, glucose, urine concentration, and crystals. This can tip us off to diseases such as diabetes, kidney disease, Cushing’s disease, Feline Idiopathic Cysitits, and bladder stones.
CBC-
Complete Blood Count. This test requires a blood draw, and to be placed into a blood collection tube that stops clotting. The CBC gives information on red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. This test can aid in diagnosing infection, inflammation, some types of cancer, medication reactions, and autoimmune disease.
Chemistry-
This test requires a blood draw and to be placed in a sample collection tube that is spun down to separate the red blood cells from the serum. Chemistry is a broad term, a number of different “panels” can be checked. A very basic panel generally has BUN and Creatinine (kidney values) and ALP and ALT (liver enzymes) and glucose. More detailed panels check electrolytes, albumin, globulin, total protein, phosphorus etc. This panel is used in diagnosis of many disease processes. Many changes (such as changes to kidneys and liver) can be caught on a chemistry panel before the patient is even showing any clinical symptoms of disease. Furthermore, pets who are on chronic medications (such as steroids, pain medications, behavioral modifying medications, and medications for allergies) should be doing routine screening.
Heartworm test-
A heartworm test requires a very small amount of blood. It does not require a separate blood draw from the Chemistry and CBC, but can be done independently. Heartworm disease is carried by mosquitoes. The immature heartworms develop into adult worms and live in the large vessels around the heart. Unfortunately affected dogs do not develop symptoms until the disease is already quite advanced. Treating heartworm disease is costly and invasive. Routine prevention is greatly preferred. Most heartworm preventative manufacturers will guarantee their product (that is pay for treatment!) if the pet has documented routine use of the product AND yearly heartworm tests. Unlike intestinal parasites, a fecal sample does not provide any information on heartworm disease.
Thyroid-
While dogs usually develop low thyroid (hypothyroidism) cats usually develop high thyroid (hyperthryoid). Dogs generally don’t need routine screening, but are instead tested for low thyroid hormone when their symptoms are suspicious for the disease. It is, however, recommended for senior cats to have screening for hyperthyroidism. Generally after 9 years of age we will start to recommend this routinely. If the thyroid hormone is high, treatment for hyperthyroidism can be started. Treatment is certainly more successful if we catch the change early and start treatment early!
FeLV/FIV testing-
Unique to cats, FeLV and FIV are viral infections. Transmission occurs by contact with other cats. Both diseases are retroviruses, which means they can cause infection without clinical signs. Infected cats can spread the disease to other cats, so it is recommended they be in single cat homes or homes with other positive cats. When symptoms do start to show, the diseases can be severe. Testing is only needed once for indoor only cats. Outdoor cats may need testing before being exposed to new cats, or if showing clinical signs of disease. Yearly/routine testing is generally not needed even for outdoor cats. Vaccination for feline leukemia is recommended for outdoor or indoor/outdoor cats, and testing should be done prior to starting the vaccine series.
If your head is spinning, fear not! The average pet owner only needs to know the following: your veterinary team is trained to make recommendations for both dogs and cats, and for all life stages. They are also happy to talk to you about the recommendations and about the specifics of your questions! These recommendations exist because we are scanning for diseases BEFORE clinical signs develop. In most cases we have greater success in managing a disease process the earlier it is caught!
