I know that when we mention blood tests for your pets, people often start to see $$ in their eyes. Yes, blood work does cost a little more money, but it often helps us find a problem early when treatment is more likely to help your pet. Blood tests are needed when you have a sick pet to help us understand how advanced the disease is or to help diagnose your pet when their symptoms can be caused by multiple problems. For example, nausea can be caused by a reaction to medication, kidney disease, diabetes, or pancreatitis just to name a few.
Blood tests at a pre-anesthesia exam can help us diagnose problems with anemia (low red blood count), infection (high white cell count), blood clotting (platelets), dehydration, poor kidney function (early kidney failure), poor liver function, or poor pancreas function (pancreatitis or diabetes). It’s important to know that these problems exist before your pet undergoes surgery, so that we can compensate for these problems during the surgery or delay the surgery till your pet is in better condition. Blood tests during preventative exams is recommended to diagnose problems early when they can be treated and hopefully result in better health for your pet. Next time we recommend blood tests, if you are not sure whether to do it or not, ask us why we think it is necessary. Hopefully, our answer will make it easier for you to make the best decision for you and your pet.