Proactive Health Screening For Your Pet

Why is your pet’s routine wellness visit so important?

A wellness visit is more than just a checkup. It's a chance to talk with your veterinarian about your pet's lifestyle, to understand potential risk factors that might develop as they age, and to establish a diagnostic baseline while your pet is healthy. Research shows that including diagnostic testing in a wellness visit can uncover potential issues in up to 40% of dogs and 60% of cats. Identifying problems early can help your pet live a happier, healthier life and avoid additional costs associated with treatments if a disease goes undetected.

What do we look at during a wellness visit, and why?

A comprehensive wellness visit can give us a clearer picture of your pet's health so we can make the best recommendations for its care. The exam includes diagnostic screening tests and a physical exam from nose to tail.

A Wellness Exam

• Eyes – Small changes in the eyes may cause problems with vision or may be a sign of underlying diseases that would require treatment.

• Ears and Skin – Evaluation can help us detect skin parasites like ear mites or fleas and changes that can signal infection or other conditions.

• Mouth and teeth - Evaluating the health and color of the gums and teeth can help us take proactive measures to protect and maintain healthy teeth and possibly identify signs of other underlying systemic diseases.

• Abdomen – Abnormal size or shape of organs or changes in the digestive tract can point us to disease, even without symptoms. 

• Heart and Lungs – Issues with the heart and lungs affect the body's ability to circulate blood and oxygen, which can have far-reaching effects in the body.

• Joints, muscle, and mobility – Looking for evidence of arthritis or changes in muscle and ability to move can help us determine if other treatments are necessary for support. 

Proactive Diagnostic Screening

• Blood cell health - Evaluating blood cells provides insight into the immune system, risks of bleeding, and the ability to distribute oxygen to the body.

• Organ function - Blood testing can help us evaluate liver and kidney function and determine levels of important proteins, electrolytes, and thyroid hormones. Urine testing provides additional information on hydration and bladder health and deeper insights into organ function.

• Infectious disease - We also test the blood for dangerous parasites like heartworms and diseases that ticks can transmit. We can also test cats that go outdoors for diseases that can be contracted by contact with other cats. Pets may harbor intestinal parasites without outward signs; some are transmissible to humans. Fecal testing for pets detects intestinal parasites to help reduce pet infections and protect humans.

Note: This data is based on wellness profiles that included a complete chemistry profile, CBC testing, urinalysis, and for cats 7 years old and older, total T4 testing. 

Talk with your veterinarian about including proactive, diagnostic screening tests at your pet's next wellness visit. To schedule your pet's next wellness visit or if you have any questions about wellness exams or proactive diagnostic screening tests, please call us at  (512) 837-7493. 

Information and data provided by our friends at Idexx.