Wellness & Blood profiles

Wellness and Annual Blood Profiles

Some of the leading causes of death in dogs and cats today are chronic renal disease (kidney failure) and cancer. Research has shown that if some of these conditions (especially kidney diseases) can be found early, their progression may be slowed, leading to a longer and healthier life for your pet.

Your veterinarian may suggest a wellness blood profile on your pet. There are different profiles available but the majority include a complete blood count (CBC), a serum chemistry, a urinalysis, and a thyroid test.

CBC: A CBC will check your pet's red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), and platelets. It is a test that checks the overall healthiness of the number and types of cells in the circulation. WBCs help fight infection and may be present in inflammatory diseases. RBCs carry oxygen to the tissues, and platelets are involved in the clotting of the blood.

Abnormalities may include anemia (decreased red blood cells) with cancer and kidney disease, leukocytosis (increased white blood cell count) with some cancers, infections and inflammations, and thrombocytopenia (decreased platelet count) with bleeding disorders, some cancers, kidney disease, tick diseases, toxins, and certain viral diseases.

Serum Chemistry: A serum chemistry usually includes tests to check organ systems and how they are functioning. It usually includes a blood glucose (diabetes), calcium, electrolytes, kidney enzymes, liver enzymes, pancreatic enzymes, and proteins.

ALP, ALP, AST, GGT, Bilirubin - give information aout the liver
BUN, creatinine, potassium, phosphorus, amylase - give information about the kidney
Calcium - may be increased or decreased with many diseases/disorders.
Glucose - may indicate diabetes if elevated or a tumor/other diseases if decreased
Amylase, Lipase - give information about the pancreas.
TP, albumin, globulin - give information about the hydration level, liver, inflammation

T4: A T4 is a thyroid test. Increased T4 is often seen with hyperthyroidism in older cats. A decreased T4 may indicate hypothyroidism or another illness causing the level to be falsely low.

Urinalysis: A urinalysis may reveal suspected diabetes, kidney disease, and infection. A urinalysis may reveal early kidney disease (before blood values change).