Why Does My Veterinarian Recommend Lab Work?

Laboratory testing is a type of diagnostic testing that examines samples of a pet’s blood and sometimes their urine or feces to evaluate their health. These types of tests allow us to detect early signs of illness, evaluate organ function, screen for parasites, and more.

At Tanglewilde Veterinary Clinic, our veterinarians might recommend that your pet have lab work done for a number of reasons.

4 Reasons Your Pet Might Need Lab Work

1. Diagnosing Illness

When a pet is sick, our veterinarians need to know exactly what’s causing the animal’s symptoms before we can administer a safe and effective treatment.

The challenge is that sick pets have no way to describe how they’re feeling, and many of the illnesses that affect dogs and cats cause very similar symptoms. As a result, it can be difficult to diagnose a pet with a physical examination alone.

Thankfully, lab work can give clues to determine a pet’s cause of illness. Using laboratory tests, we can look for specific infectious diseases and also evaluate organ function for signs of systemic disease.

2. Routine Health Screening

Laboratory tests are also sometimes recommended for routine health screening. We’ll usually recommend testing adult and juvenile puppies and kittens at wellness visits to screen for parasites, and cats sometimes need virus screening.

We also routinely perform health screenings on senior pets because early diagnosis often results in more successful treatment outcomes. Routine health screenings enable us to detect the earliest signs of illness in cats and dogs and administer treatments before these diseases have a chance to progress and cause pets any discomfort.

3. Preparing for Surgery

Before a pet’s surgery, we run blood tests to evaluate the pet’s organ function and ensure that he or she is healthy enough to undergo general anesthesia and the proposed procedure.

4. Starting a Medication

Certain prescription medications can be risky for dogs and cats if their organs aren’t functioning well enough. Or, we want to see how the medication changes the way the organs are working. So, sometimes we’ll perform a blood test before or after administering certain medications to your pet.

Veterinary Diagnostics at Tanglewilde Veterinary Clinic

We have a comprehensive list of veterinary diagnostics available at Tanglewilde Veterinary Clinic. This allows our veterinarians to provide your pets with the best possible care. Whether we’re performing a routine health screening or determining the underlying cause of your sick pet’s symptoms, diagnostic tests ensure we provide your pet with the veterinary care they need.

To learn more or schedule an appointment for your dog or cat, we welcome you to contact our clinic today.