Much like when you visit your own doctor, we use a number of diagnostic tests here at Bryants Road Vet to assess the health of your cat or dog. While a comprehensive physical exam often gives us the information required to assess your pet’s health, sometimes we need to undertake further testing to gain a more complete understanding of their health. This is often the case if your pet is unwell, on certain medications, advancing in age, or about to undergo surgery.
Some of the tests we may run include blood, urine or faecal analysis, X-ray or ultrasound. Read on to find out more about each of these diagnostic tests, and the circumstances in which your vet may run one of these tests.
Urine analysis
Urine analysis is one of the most common diagnostic tools we use to assess the health of your pet. This is typically performed when your cat or dog is unwell, as it allows your vet to screen for a range of diseases, infection, damage to cells and see if there is blood in the urine. We can undertake urine analysis in-house here at Bryants Road Vet which allows us to get the results quite quickly.
Further analysis can be forwarded onto specialist laboratories, including the detection of bacteria in your pet’s urine and to measure kidney function more accurately. These tests take longer to perform, so results can take a few days.
Blood testing
Blood tests are another important diagnostic and monitoring tool for dogs and cats and can provide our vets with immediate insights into the health of your pet. This can include the diagnosis of illness such as infection or disease, assessing how their organs are functioning, monitoring the progress of any treatment, and providing important information relating to blood sugar and hydration levels.
Blood tests are performed in a number of circumstances:
- Prior to surgery or a procedure. Before your cat or dog undergoes anaesthesia, we may need to check the health of their organs to ensure they are healthy enough to be sedated.
- When your pet is unwell or injured. Blood tests can help vets to work out what is making your pet ill, as well as to screen for any underlying or developing disease. If your pet has been injured, blood tests can check to see how their major organs are functioning.
- Medication monitoring. If your cat or dog is on medication, your vet may require your pet to undergo regular blood testing. This may be to ensure the medication dosing is correct, or if it is causing any potentially dangerous side effects.
- Screening in older pets. As pets get older, they tend to develop more health problems. Routine blood testing during their check-up can help detect the beginnings of any common age-related illness (such as thyroid disease, diabetes or kidney disease), and enable us to commence treatment before the condition progresses.
Faecal testing
Many cats and dogs will be infected with parasites at some stage during their life. If your pet is suffering from diarrhoea, your vet may test their stools for the presence of intestinal parasites such as giardia, roundworms, tapeworms or hookworms. This will then enable your animal to be effectively treated.
X-ray
Another common procedure we undertake is an X-ray. X-rays are used for much more than just assessing fractures or orthopaedic issues. We also use them to diagnose a wide range of health issues, including conditions relating to the heart, lungs or abdominal region. As dogs and cats aren’t known for their ability to stay perfectly still when asked, we typically need to gently sedate them for X-rays.
Ultrasound
Our vets also use ultrasound to diagnose and monitor a range of conditions. We give your pet a light sedation to relax them through the scan and keep the experience as painless and stress-free as possible.
Ultrasound is used for a number of reasons, including:
- To get an in-depth look at your pet’s internal organs and look for signs of disease
- Locate any foreign objects in the stomach
- To check on a cat or dog’s pregnancy
The most common organs we ultrasound are the liver, kidney, bladder and heart.
Our clinic’s diagnostic facilities
At Bryants Road Vet, we have an extensive range of equipment and facilities to support the diagnosis and treatment of your dog, cat or pocket pet. Our vet clinic has all the latest in diagnostic tools, including an in-house laboratory for blood, urine and faecal analysis, plus X-ray and ultrasound equipment.
By having these facilities at our clinic, we can provide a prompt diagnosis and recommend a treatment plan without delay. For non-routine diagnostic testing we have a network of external specialist laboratories that we utilise.
To make an appointment at our Loganholme vet clinic, please call us on 07 3801 1744 or book online.