Does your furry companion have a hidden disease? Many feline and canine diseases have symptoms that are obvious—increased water consumption, decreased activity, changes in appetite, vomiting, or diarrhea, among others.
But a lot of the same diseases in dogs and cats can lurk “under the radar,” and may be somewhat advanced by the time the symptoms begin to show themselves.
Early Detection Veterinary Screening
That’s why it is important to perform and evaluate feline and canine early detection bloodwork screening on our hairy friends. When your pet is in for their yearly veterinary exam, the technician or doctor will mention our Early Detection Blood Screen. Just like when we go to our own family doctor, blood tests are an important part of the yearly exam
An early detection veterinary screening for a dog or cat is easy to do. You can schedule for a blood drawing performed by our experienced technicians, or it can be done as part of an examination with one of our veterinarians. We draw a small blood sample from your pet, and then we send the blood to a veterinary laboratory to have it evaluated.
The early detection veterinary bloodwork looks at two things in particular, the CBC and the serum chemistry profile for your cat or dog. The CBC, or Complete Blood Count, evaluates the cells—red blood cells and white blood cells. It can help us detect anemia or white cell changes which could suggest underlying inflammation or infection. The chemistry profile evaluates the blood sugar, liver enzymes, kidney waste products, blood proteins, and electrolytes. These values help screen a number of different diseases, from diabetes to kidney and liver disorders.
Catching a canine or feline disease early on allows us to determine if further tests or treatments are needed, or if simply monitoring a condition is warranted. If the lab work turns out to be normal, then of course that is excellent news! It also is an important “point of reference” to know, for instance, if a certain value was previously “borderline elevated” when lab work is run in the future.
The next time you visit Best Friends Veterinary Hospital in Powell, let’s talk about early detection screening. If we can detect and treat a hidden condition at an early stage, your furry companion will thank you for it!
Dr Todd Kyle, DVM