Hi,
Was just going back to my cats blood test and trying to reconcile the different results with normal ranges. I was using the Washington State U site to help explain what the different items like BUN, bilirubin, ALT, etc were. http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/clientED/lab.aspx
At any rate the problem I kept running into was that for almost every result that was abnormal it kept saying that dehydration could lead to out of range results.
Then it dawned on me that every time I was taking my cat to the vet for tests was when she was sick!! Therefore there were no test results from when she was healthy to use as a baseline.
For example it showed her BUN level 3 times higher than normal. The WSU site goes on to say that increased BUN indicates kidney desease. BUT it also says that pets that are severely dehydrated will show elevated levels of BUN. So she could have had kidney disease but the test results were masked by her severe dehydration which was due to extreme vomiting.
MY POINT IS I THINK IT IS VITALLY IMPORTANT TO TAKE YOUR CAT FOR BLOOD/URINE WORKUP WHEN THEY ARE NOT SYMPTOMATIC AS TO ESTABLISH A HEALTHY BASELINE TO WORK AGAINST.
Again... should a competent vet explain to a pet owner to bring a cat back for another blood panel once their health improves - yes, I believe my vet let me down numerous times. Had we done that it might have been clear she had kidney issues once the dehydration was removed and BUN levels remained high.
If money is the obstacle as it was partially for me... call around for prices. One vet quoted $120 for bloodwork another was $340. So while your pet is healthy, casually make some phone calls.
Hope this helps everyone.
Was just going back to my cats blood test and trying to reconcile the different results with normal ranges. I was using the Washington State U site to help explain what the different items like BUN, bilirubin, ALT, etc were. http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/clientED/lab.aspx
At any rate the problem I kept running into was that for almost every result that was abnormal it kept saying that dehydration could lead to out of range results.
Then it dawned on me that every time I was taking my cat to the vet for tests was when she was sick!! Therefore there were no test results from when she was healthy to use as a baseline.
For example it showed her BUN level 3 times higher than normal. The WSU site goes on to say that increased BUN indicates kidney desease. BUT it also says that pets that are severely dehydrated will show elevated levels of BUN. So she could have had kidney disease but the test results were masked by her severe dehydration which was due to extreme vomiting.
MY POINT IS I THINK IT IS VITALLY IMPORTANT TO TAKE YOUR CAT FOR BLOOD/URINE WORKUP WHEN THEY ARE NOT SYMPTOMATIC AS TO ESTABLISH A HEALTHY BASELINE TO WORK AGAINST.
Again... should a competent vet explain to a pet owner to bring a cat back for another blood panel once their health improves - yes, I believe my vet let me down numerous times. Had we done that it might have been clear she had kidney issues once the dehydration was removed and BUN levels remained high.
If money is the obstacle as it was partially for me... call around for prices. One vet quoted $120 for bloodwork another was $340. So while your pet is healthy, casually make some phone calls.
Hope this helps everyone.