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Diagnostic Testing

Regular physical exams of your cat or dog are crucial, but they are not always enough to guarantee your pet’s well-being. Sometimes, your pet’s health can only be appropriately evaluated after diagnostic tests. That is why we recommend them for your pet, regardless of whether the cat/dog is ill or healthy.

When your pet is unwell, diagnostic tests help us to know what is causing the illness. Sick cats and dogs may exhibit signs that are not specific to a particular disease, making it hard to pinpoint the problem’s real cause. For instance, your dog vomits for a few days. It could be due to consuming poisoned food, a hormonal problem, infected livers or kidneys, or a parasitic attack.

Diagnostic testing is the only way to determine the real cause of the condition and recommend the best treatment option at the time. This enables your cat or dog to heal faster and be happy once again. Even after the pet has fully recovered, diagnostic tests are still necessary because they help to keep them healthy in the future.

Common Diagnostic Tests for Pets

There are various diagnostic tests for both cats and dogs. The one your pet needs depends on their current condition, medical history, age, breed, and results from a recently-done physical exam.

Urine Analysis

We use urinalysis to check the chemical and physical properties of your pet’s urine. It is ideal when your cat or dog is sick. When the pet is not ill, it becomes a part of a general health checkups. This diagnostic test allows us to know if your pet’s urinary tract or kidneys have issues.

When performing a urine analysis, we can collect your pet’s urine in a variety of ways. One of them is cystocentesis, where we collect the urine directly from the pet’s bladder. Our veterinarians could also use catheterization that involves passing a narrow sterile catheter up the urethra into the cat or dog’s bladder to get a urine sample.

Blood Work

We use blood work to check for a plethora of things in your pet’s body. These include:

  • Your pet’s blood sugar
  • Heartworm infections
  • Blood disorders
  • Cortisol and thyroid levels
  • Electrolyte levels
  • Cholesterol levels
  • Illnesses such as feline leukemia virus and Lyme disease

Blood Pressure Test

When your cat or dog has signs of high blood pressure, we recommend this test. It helps us know whether your pet has illnesses such as diabetes mellitus, Cushing’s disease, or kidney disease. In most instances, the blood pressure test for pets is painless. To ensure that the results are not affected by stress, we perform it in a relaxed environment.

Our veterinarians will always try to give you the results of your pet’s diagnostic tests during your visit. This, however, is influenced by the type of test we are doing. For instance, it will take us a few days to access the results of a test like a bacterial culture because we have to send the samples to another laboratory for further testing.

Fecal Exams

This is a popular diagnostic test that we perform to check your cat or dog’s stool for parasites or intestinal diseases. Some of the things that we look for include outward signs such as blood in the stool, mucus, color, and abnormal consistency. A fecal floatation procedure is also part of this exam, and it helps us know if your pet has parasites such as whipworms and roundworms.

Ear and Skin Tests

A considerable number of pets and dogs suffer from various skin and ear complications. Using skin and ear tests, we can diagnose the issue and provide you with an effective treatment. More often than not, skin and ear issues are caused by your pet’s diet and environment. Sometimes, they could also be caused by parasites such as fleas and ticks.

X-rays / Ultrasound / CT SCAN

Cat and dog X-rays allow us to know what’s happening in your furry friend’s body. With them, we can identify any broken bones that your pet might have. An ultrasound probe emits high-frequency sound waves that bounce off internal body structures, are received by the unit, and translated into an image on a screen. CT is an advanced imaging modality that gathers images of your pet’s body in thin slices, which are reconstructed into a three-dimensional image.

Bacterial Culture

Your pet could get urinary tract infections. While some antibiotics could work for them, others might not be effective. This test enables us to identify those that are less likely to be resisted by your pet’s body.

Everything Your pet needs in one place

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