Do you do wellness blood tests?

zoeysmom

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I was just at the vet today for my girls' check ups and vaccinations, and the vet asked if I wanted to do the wellness blood tests. I had been waivering on this. Ideally, I would love to get them done every year, but at $90 each and the stress of blood collection, I wasn't sure. Since they had the wellness check when they got spayed less than a year ago, I said no for this time, thinking maybe I'd do them every other year. I'm still waivering - may get it done if I take them in for a bi-annual check-up, as is being suggested by my vet now.

So, my question is, do you get wellness blood tests on your cats as part of their routine check-up. I know everybody might have a different routine. If yours doesn't fit one of the poll options, feel free to post what you do.
 

sarahp

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My oldest is 4, so I don't think it's necesary. Maybe once they're 10+
 

mews2much

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Meeko has got them since she was 8 and Coco gets them every few months because her CRF.
Sasha also had blood tests before her lapo spay in Feb.
 

jamasmom

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My girls are 14, I have been doing them every year since they were 8, good thing to because it was through the blood test that I found out about Jazz's hyperactive tyroid.
 

littleraven7726

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I have a 9 yr old and a 12 yr old. The 12 yr old already gets them. The 9 yr old will start them when he's next due at the vet.
Our youngster doesn't, she's almost 1 1/2 yrs old. She did get bloodwork done with her spay last fall.
 

katgoddess

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Tofu is only 2 years old, but I have a blood test done on him every year and will continue to do so. I have a 7 year old dog that never had a blood test done until she was 5 because I didn't think it was necessary...and we found out through that test that she has a type of liver disease that is congenital, meaning she's had it her whole life and we didn't even know.

Now all of them have a blood test done at least once yearly because I want to detect and catch any health issues early on. Also, I want to get baseline readings in case Tofu does get sick, so we can compare to see what is "normal" for him.
 

ldg

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Gary and I are a bit nutty about our cats' health. We take them every year for a full check-up, including blood work. We also had them x-rayed at 2 years old to have the baseline in the file (that was our idea, but the vet thought it was not a bad one). We also have a kitty that had an autoimmune disease where his body thought his red blood cells were a virus - and three of our other cats are his siblings. We almost lost him twice.

As our kitties are exclusively indoor, we no longer do vaccinations (our youngest kitty is 2 and had his initial series completed - our oldest are seven years)... even though none had an adverse reaction, we figure with all the problems that there have been, it's not worth the risk.

We also have the vet check to see if they need a dental. Spooky has really bad teeth, so she goes for a dental every 6 months. The other kitties seem to be on an every-other year schedule for the dental.

We talked to our vet about keeping a credit balance on our account. Because we do contract work and never know whether or not we're going to have money in an emergency if there is one, every time we get paid, we put money "on account" at the vet. We've had as much as several thousand there, and thank goodness we did, because we've needed it. But at the very least, it'll pay for their annual stuff when that comes around.

Laurie
 

eilcon

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My vet recommends them every year after age 10 or sooner depends on the cat's health. My oldest, Katie, who's 16, has had one annually since then, except for a couple of years ago she experienced unexplained weight loss. Then, she had one mid-year. At her last check up in early Feb., her levels were okay, but indicative of very early stage kidney failure so we've been monitoring her very closely since then and she'll have another blood test in a couple of weeks. My next oldest, Gracie, who turned 10 in May, and has never had any health issues, will have her first blood test at her annual check up in August. She's fine, but it will give us a good baseline should any future issues develop.
 

tari

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I answered once every year after a certain age, and that's true for my older cats. I also do them every few years for the younger cats, just to be sure and get a baseline for future comparison.
 

sarahp

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Originally Posted by LDG

We talked to our vet about keeping a credit balance on our account. Because we do contract work and never know whether or not we're going to have money in an emergency if there is one, every time we get paid, we put money "on account" at the vet. We've had as much as several thousand there, and thank goodness we did, because we've needed it. But at the very least, it'll pay for their annual stuff when that comes around.

Laurie
That's a great idea!

Originally Posted by LDG

I disagree with this. I think it's very important to at least have a baseline done at some point.


Laurie
True, we should get one done for all of them as a baseline.
 

plebayo

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My oldest is 4, so I don't think it's necesary. Maybe once they're 10+
My friend has a cat who was diagnosed with kidney failure at 1.5yrs old, she is 4 now. Anything can happen, age doesn't matter.

I run blood work once a year when I clean my cat's teeth and do his vaccines.
 

ldg

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Originally Posted by sarahp

That's a great idea!
It has been for us. Of course, we have seven kitties, and one was severely health impaired when we started this. But three of our boys are prone to blockages - and you never know when someone's going to need to be catheterized.


Originally Posted by sarahp

True, we should get one done for all of them as a baseline.
Apparently yours isn't the only vet that recommends you start blood work after 10 years old! I just can't imagine waiting that long to get a baseline. Tuxie's problem would have been diagnosed without the baseline - but we just feel safer getting them done. I'm sure it's over-kill doing it every year.

Laurie
 

white cat lover

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At age 7 I start yearly blood panels. There are a few exceptions - like the semi-feral farm kitties who must be trapped to get to the vet.
 

pookie-poo

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Cleo has CRF, and gets bloodwork about twice a year as long as her renal numbers are stable. Right now she's had some elevated liver function tests, so I've been taking her in every 2 months to have her ALT checked. Maggie is also CRF, but she's so timid that she only gets blood work every 18 months or so. So far, her numbers have remained stable. If they start worsen, I will take her in more frequently. Lola had a base line done at the time of her spay, and I have it repeated every other year...so far, no issues (knock wood!) She's had a couple of UTI's, so she's certainly no stranger to the vet!

I guess I'm one of those worry wart people who would rather err on the side of caution. Cats are so good at hiding when they don't feel well, that sometimes bloodwork is the only way to catch something before it becomes a big problem.
 

greycat2

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I have the wellness bloodwork done every year on Kuce (she's 16) and Luvbug (he's 9). Lil' Jag (she's almost 5) has had 3 (one done as a kitten and one done last year as a baseline) done so far and will be starting when she reaches 7 (unless something comes up). Kuce will be going in again later this year due to her thyroid being in the grey area.
 

katkisses

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I will start getting bloodwork & dentals done yearly when my cats hit 7yrs old.

There are some great ideas in this thread, I am considering getting a baseline soon, just in case.
 

whiteforest

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I only get a blood panel if I have any concerns. So far *knock wood* any blood tests have been normal on my boys. Once they are older I will start getting them annually, but not until they are probably 8-10 will I start that.
 

vet65

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I work as an exam room assistant at a local animal hospital. We strongly recommend that all of our cats get a wellness blood panel every year. While you may think your cat is perfectly healthy, a blood test can often find an issue in its early stages. If the problem is found early and treated right away, there is a much better prognosis for the cat. At our clinic, we also have different blood panels we can run for outdoor cats and senior cats (over 7 years old). Basically, I'm a very big fan of annual or even biannual blood tests!
 
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