When Should You Test Your Dog or Cat? Signs and Situations

Test your dog or cat when your vet advises it, and do not wait for a routine date if your pet seems unwell. Common reasons for lab tests are a yearly health check, vomiting or diarrhoea, fever or weakness, urine problems, a new lump, planned surgery and long-term illness or medicine.

When is a routine check a good idea?

A pet can look healthy and still have a quiet problem. Many vets suggest lab tests once a year for healthy adult pets, and every six months for senior pets or pets on long-term medicine. A routine check can show early changes in the blood, liver, kidneys and urine. It also gives a baseline, which is a first record to compare with later.

Your vet knows your pet's age, breed and health, and will set the schedule.

Related reading: Routine Blood Tests for Healthy Dogs and Cats: How Often?

Which signs often lead to lab tests?

These signs are common reasons for a vet to ask for tests:

• Vomiting, diarrhoea or not eating. Causes range from a stomach upset to infections such as parvovirus, pancreatitis, or kidney and liver disease. Your vet may advise a Complete Blood Count (CBC), blood chemistry tests and a Stool Routine. A puppy or kitten with vomiting and bloody diarrhoea needs a vet at once. Rapid kit tests for parvovirus are available for dogs, Canine Parvo Virus Ag (Rapid Test), and for cats, Feline Parvo Virus Ag (Rapid Test).
• Fever, weakness or pale gums. A CBC and a blood smear can help look for anaemia, low platelets and blood parasites. In dogs, tick fever is a common cause, and the vet may add a tick panel.
• More thirst, more urine, blood in the urine or straining to pass urine. Kidney disease, diabetes, urine infection and stones are among the causes. Tests may include the Kidney Function Test (KFT), a urine test and a Urine Culture & Sensitivity.
• Weight loss, a dull coat or low energy. Many illnesses cause these signs. A CBC with blood chemistry is a common starting point.
• A new or growing lump. The vet may advise FNAC (Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology), which looks at a few cells drawn with a fine needle. A Histopathology / Biopsy examines a small piece of tissue.
• Skin or ear problems that keep returning. The vet may take scrapings or swabs to look for mites, fungus or bacteria.
• Sudden changes in behaviour. Being unusually dull, confused or unsteady can have many causes. Your vet may check blood sugar, body salts and a CBC, and may add other tests.

Before the visit, note when the signs started, what your pet ate, any medicines given, and any recent ticks or contact with sick animals. This helps your vet choose the right tests.

Why are tests advised before surgery or new medicines?

Anaesthesia keeps a pet asleep during an operation so that it feels no pain, and it puts extra strain on the body. Before surgery, many vets advise a CBC and liver and kidney tests, so that the anaesthetic plan can be made with more information. If a result is abnormal, the vet may change the plan or delay the operation. The Pre-Anaesthetic Panel groups common pre-surgery blood tests.

Some medicines taken for months or years can affect the liver or kidneys. Your vet may ask for baseline tests before starting and repeat them after some weeks or months. Tell your vet about every medicine and supplement your pet takes, because this can change the plan. Never start, stop or change a medicine without your vet's advice.

How do tests help with long-term illness?

Kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes, heart disease and thyroid or Cushing's disease usually need repeat tests every few weeks or months, as your vet plans. The results show whether the illness is steady, better or worse, and whether a medicine is causing side effects. Your vet may adjust the plan based on the trend.

Keep every report. Old and new values side by side help your vet see what is changing.

When to talk to your vet

See a vet at once, without waiting for a test booking, if your pet:

• Collapses or has a seizure.
• Vomits again and again, or has bloody diarrhoea.
• Has pale or yellow gums, or bleeding.
• Has trouble breathing, or a swollen and painful belly.

A cat, especially a male, that strains to pass urine and passes little or none also needs urgent care. The vet decides which tests are needed, and a registered veterinarian reads the results with your pet's signs and history.

Pashupatinath Vet Lab provides free sample collection anywhere in Bhopal. Outside the city, samples can be sent to the lab by courier, bus parcel or through your local vet, and the lab coordinates by phone or WhatsApp. The lab is open every day from 8 am to 10 pm. Routine tests are normally reported the same day or within 24 hours.