Why did my vet get angry when I asked for my senior cat's blood work?

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Kissy. I'm sorry she isn't feeling well! Yes, bloodwork is a logical step if she isn't feeling better. I would take her back into the vet to get it done. I hope this helps!

Hello! Thank you for your question. Whether or not the lab results included more values depends on what exact laboratory test was ordered. There are a variety of tests out there and they all vary in what values they test for. Some only test for a small handful of values, others are more extensive. I would call your veterinarian and request a copy of Trixie's blood work and also talk to the vet about the blood work that was run. That way you may better understand what was included and if additional testing is needed or desired for Trixie.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If the veterinarian did not test her urine, I would recommend having her urine tested to see if she is dealing with a urinary tract infection. If she has a UTI, she will need an antibiotic and potentially an anti-inflammatory. If her urine was tested and came back normal, I would recommend providing her with multiple litter boxes with different litter and consider the use of a product called Feliway, which can be found online or at your local pet store. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please remember to rate this answer as helpful or not. Thank you!

Thank you for sending over the copies of Gonzie's blood work! Looking at the provided results, I see that his creatinine is a tiny bit elevated. This value increases with kidney damage or dehydration. I'd certainly recommend talking to his vet about rechecking his kidney function in a month or two, as well as running a urinalysis to see how well his kidneys are working to concentration his urine. The monocyte increase is extremely mild. I don't worry when this type of white blood cell increases a tiny bit while other white blood cell lines (especially the neutrophils and lymphocytes) are normal. Stress alone can trigger this minor elevation. The RDW helps to give the proportions of the red blood cells' size and volume. Again, this minor elevation does not seem to be significant. A 50% hematocrit is slightly elevated, which means that Gonzie has some extra red blood cells. I would much rather see too many red blood cells than too few! His blood volume could also be more concentrated if he's a bit dehydrated. Platelets can be challenging to read on CBCs since they can clump together, so the machine may read a clump of several platelets as just one single cell. In these cases, it's always useful to manually examine a blood smear under the microscope to determine if adequate numbers of platelets are present. Nothing on the provided lab work makes me terribly concerned at this moment, but I do think it's worth tracking his kidney values and confirming an accurate platelet count. I hope that everything goes well for Gonzie!

I am not too concerned about the blood work for Bella. How is she acting now? Is she walking normal? Cats will usually hide after having a big day at the vet which sounds like one for Bella. So I am not concerned she is hiding. I am wondering if she had a clot but without seeing her it is hard to say. I would see what your vet says after the second opinion but I would also recheck her if she isn't doing well. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If blood work was not performed then I would definitely recommend this. If the blood test comes back normal or did come back normal and she is still having issues, I would recommend further diagnostics such as x-rays and / or an abdominal ultrasound. I hope Martha gets better soon! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further!

Hi Pamela, Sometimes basic blood work does not give us all the answers we need. If your vet did not include any treatment, I would recommend contacting them and letting them know that Moxie has continued to do poorly. They may recommend trying fluids or some other medications or may recommend rechecking her temperature and examination, then considering some additional tests. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and that Moxie feels better soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.