Blood tests are an important aspect of determining how healthy your pet is. We use blood tests often, from simple “in-house” blood tests that take 5 minutes to run, through to complex immune-related tests at our external Pathology Laboratory ( Gribbles ).

Blood tests can help us know how specific organs are working ( or example, blood sugar testing will tell us if your pet has Diabetes).

We use blood testing in 4 different broad categories:

1. Sick animals. If your pet is sick, we will often recommend blood tests to help us understand more fully how ill your pet is, and what is the most appropriate treatment. Our in-house blood tests will help the vet know how your pet is recovering.
2. Pets about to have an anaesthetic for surgery. Blood tests will let us know what is the most appropriate anaesthetic drug to use most safely in your pet. We recommend pre-anaesthetic blood testing in all pets over middle age ( 7 years in a cat, 7-10 years in a dog)
3. Old pets, as a screening test to see how well your pet is aging. Just as we wear out when we get old, so do our pets. These tests might allow us to institute measures to improve the length and quality of life of your pet. They seem to get old so quickly, and we can often make small changes, in their diet or exercise that will make them a lot more comfortable.
4. Pets on drug treatment. As many drugs are broken down and moved out of the body through the liver and/or kidneys, we often need to monitor these organ system functions when your pet is on long term treatment.

Your pet can't tell us that their “just feeling a bit off” and so often these tests are the only way we can know what’s really going on.