My eldest, Snap, went in for her annual today and as she's almost 10 I was expecting to need to bring a urine sample to check her kidneys which I did. The vet's package for "senior health panel" is blood work, urine, and fecal samples and it was $300 just for that panel. Needless to say, my wallet definitely took a hit. Which got me wondering...how often do you do senior blood work? Is this something I just need to budget for for every year? I will, of course, ask my vet when we get the results, but I wanted to survey y'all to see. How often do your senior keekers get blood work done?
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How often do you do senior blood work?
- Thread starter Annieca2016
- Start Date
Depends on your cats history and health. My vet does every other year if everything else looks good.
My vet prefers to do semi-annual exams which include blood work (CBC, Chemistry panel, thyroid) and a urinalysis. The fecal is generally only done when something appears amiss. This exam schedule usually starts around 10 yo, but when there are health issues that need to be followed up on, it can become a quarterly process (e.g.; hyperthyroidism, kidney disease, diabetes, as examples). Ask your vet what their standard protocol is just so you know.
Some vets and the labs they use are 'packaging' blood work pricing, but the one we use does not include fecal, so you might ask if that has to be done and how much that would change the cost. Ditto with the thyroid check as well - as long as when it is done, it is within range.
Some vets and the labs they use are 'packaging' blood work pricing, but the one we use does not include fecal, so you might ask if that has to be done and how much that would change the cost. Ditto with the thyroid check as well - as long as when it is done, it is within range.
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Semi annual but my boy is pushing 18. Don’t know if you can get pet insurance, but there are several threads on here devoted to it. Might save you $.
It is good to have one done early to establish a baseline for the future. I'm really glad I had one done on Kabuto last month because it revealed hyperthyroidism even the vet did'nt suspect he had it because he didn't have the typical symptoms (eating normal, clean coat, etc) just weightloss and a heart murmer. They discovered it after screening for heart disease which he also has.
Cats are masters at hiding sickness.
Cats are masters at hiding sickness.
Ginger is 17 and vet is recommending senior labs and visit yearly around $360
this year my bill was about $1300 as she had pancreatitis and a UTI, needed two pancreas tests and a few urine cultures, meds and follow up visits. I hope we are done for this year *sigh*
this year my bill was about $1300 as she had pancreatitis and a UTI, needed two pancreas tests and a few urine cultures, meds and follow up visits. I hope we are done for this year *sigh*
I am considering only having routine bloodwork done once a year for all my senior cats but will use a mobile vet.
Of course, if anything changes healthwise and the vet recommends it, any cat will be treated individually.
Two of my 3 senior cats (12 and 16 years old) have received diagnoses for the start of CKD after bloodwork was carried out at vet clinics - sometimes under light sedation. A year later, I contacted a moblle vet and asked him to do blood work on all three senior cats. The results for all three were "normal" - no evidence of CKD, pancreatitis or anything else. He had classified all my cats as friendly to mega friendly (not quite true!) and managed to take blood in my kitchen without sedating any of them. All but the eldest cat removed the dressing immediately and none were upset by the procedure. (I captured the cats and my daughter acted as vet-technician.) It was purrfect. Costs were about €250 per cat though only one was tested specifically for pancreatitis.
Later I had to take the eldest cat to a local vet for a less-senior-related problem and showed her the blood analyses. The vet was not surprised by the results. She said that stress affects the blood but vets have no means of knowing how much. They only have the blood analyses to go by. She told me to continue with the mobile vet - it's more expensive but easier for the cats - and for me! She also recommended not allowing my 16-year-old Mogi to be sedated (not even for dental work) and I'm willing to go along with that, too. It's a relief to know that at least Mogi is still allowed to take painkillers, if and when it helps her in her old age! Some cats live to be over 20 but Mogi is already old at 16.
So - the answer to your question - just once a year, but in my kitchen.
Of course, if anything changes healthwise and the vet recommends it, any cat will be treated individually.
Two of my 3 senior cats (12 and 16 years old) have received diagnoses for the start of CKD after bloodwork was carried out at vet clinics - sometimes under light sedation. A year later, I contacted a moblle vet and asked him to do blood work on all three senior cats. The results for all three were "normal" - no evidence of CKD, pancreatitis or anything else. He had classified all my cats as friendly to mega friendly (not quite true!) and managed to take blood in my kitchen without sedating any of them. All but the eldest cat removed the dressing immediately and none were upset by the procedure. (I captured the cats and my daughter acted as vet-technician.) It was purrfect. Costs were about €250 per cat though only one was tested specifically for pancreatitis.
Later I had to take the eldest cat to a local vet for a less-senior-related problem and showed her the blood analyses. The vet was not surprised by the results. She said that stress affects the blood but vets have no means of knowing how much. They only have the blood analyses to go by. She told me to continue with the mobile vet - it's more expensive but easier for the cats - and for me! She also recommended not allowing my 16-year-old Mogi to be sedated (not even for dental work) and I'm willing to go along with that, too. It's a relief to know that at least Mogi is still allowed to take painkillers, if and when it helps her in her old age! Some cats live to be over 20 but Mogi is already old at 16.
So - the answer to your question - just once a year, but in my kitchen.
I have 2 seniors and we don't do bloodwork often. My boy had bloodwork recently because he had a flare up of pancreatitis, but my vet is not a huge believer in frequent bloodwork.
