Blood tests
Bloodwork is very easily to do at home and provides us with a lot of useful information about the health of your pet.
Most typical blood tests are focused on the functioning of organs like the thyroid, kidneys, liver or pancreas. Tests for FeLV (Feline Leukemia Virus) FIV (Feline AIDS), allergy tests and Rabies titers are also done frequently.
If Dr. Roncal thinks bloodwork will be helpful in your pet’s case, he will discuss this with you and draw the blood during his visit. We submit the blood to a national diagnostic laboratory for fast and accurate testing. Most standard test results are available within a couple of days. When the result is ready, Dr. Roncal will call you with his assessment and recommendations.
Urinalysis
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common in companion canines, especially in females. Through testing a sample of the urine we can diagnose urinary tract infections. The most common symptoms seen are:
- Difficulty urinating
- Blood in urine
- Cloudy or malodorous urine
- Frequent urination, but only in small amounts
- Urinary incontinence, especially during confinement or at places that are not customary (i.e., locations he or she has not peed before)
- Urination when bladder is touched (occasional)
- Not only urinary tract infections are diagnosed through urinalysis, there are also some diseases like diabetes or renal insufficiency that can be also diagnosed.
If you suspect that your pet has one of theses diseases, try to collect some urine in order to be able to run some tests.
Fecal examinations
The best way to check if your pet has intestinal worms is to perform a fecal examination. We can identify the parasites and then choose the best treatment to get rid of them. This is very important specially in puppies and kittens who have diarrhea for several days. When these parasites have been identified and treated, we recommend to test again at the end of the treatment to check if all the parasites have been killed.
Other tests
It is also possible to do bacteriological examinations (swabs, antibiograms), fungus cultures and take superficial skin scrapings and biopsies.
When your pet needs other research like X-rays, echography, endoscopy, Dr. Roncal will arrange these procedures to be done at a veterinary clinic with this type of diagnostic equipment. Everything will be arranged in order to provide your pet with the best possible treatment.