Understanding Your Pet’s Diagnostic Testing

The information on this page is meant to help you better understand common blood test values and what they may indicate. Every pet is different, and lab results should always be interpreted by a licensed veterinarian alongside your pet’s exam findings, medical history, symptoms, medications, and overall health.

Bloodwork is like putting together pieces of a puzzle — individual values often need to be evaluated together to understand the full picture. A value outside the normal range does not always mean your pet is sick, and normal results do not always rule out medical concerns.

Our veterinary team carefully reviews how all of your pet’s results interact with one another before making recommendations or discussing possible diagnoses. If you have any questions about your pet’s laboratory results, we are always happy to help explain them further.

Many people are surprised to learn that blood testing is important even for young and seemingly healthy pets. Dogs and cats are very good at hiding illness, and early changes inside the body can develop long before visible symptoms appear at home.

Routine bloodwork helps establish your pet’s normal baseline values while they are healthy. This gives your veterinarian something to compare to in the future, making it easier to detect subtle changes early and monitor trends over time.

Testing can also help identify hidden concerns involving organs such as the kidneys, liver, pancreas, blood cells, blood sugar, hydration status, and more — sometimes before a pet ever appears sick. Early detection often allows for earlier treatment, better outcomes, and improved long-term health.

Bloodwork is also an important safety tool before anesthesia, surgery, dental procedures, or starting certain medications, as it helps ensure your pet’s body is functioning properly and safely.

Even healthy young pets benefit from preventative screening because catching problems early is always better than waiting until a pet is visibly ill.

Ask us about cancer screening and other preventative testing options available for your pet!

Blood Chemistries

These common blood tests allow veterinarians to assess your pet’s overall health. Blood tests are often recommended in healthy pets, in pets about to undergo anesthesia and in sick pets.

Interpretation of multiple tests in conjunction with one another (profiling) allows quick and noninvasive assessment of the major organ systems of the body.

Kidney

• BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen): Spikes in this waste product can signal failing kidneys, dehydration, shock, low cardiac output, or a high-protein meal, whereas drops usually stem from overhydration.
• CREA (Creatinine): This muscle byproduct rises alongside BUN during kidney failure or dehydration, but its levels remain completely unaffected by a recent high-protein diet.
• PHOS (Phosphorus): Elevated phosphorus points toward reduced filtration by the kidneys or severe tissue trauma, though higher levels are completely normal in growing puppies and kittens.
• Ca+ (Calcium): Blood calcium levels shift upwards due to certain malignancies, parathyroid complications, or toxicity, and drop when a pet’s albumin protein is low.

Liver

• ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase): A highly sensitive marker found inside liver cells that leaks directly into the bloodstream when the liver suffers acute damage.
• ALKP (Alkaline Phosphatase): Spikes in this enzyme alert us to impaired bile flow (cholestasis), Cushing’s disease, skeletal injury recovery, or normal bone growth in younger animals.
• GGT (Gamma Glutamyl Transferase): An enzyme that acts as a highly targeted indicator for structural liver abnormalities and gallbladder bile blockages.
• ALB (Albumin): A fundamental liver protein that climbs during dehydration and drops due to advanced liver failure, acute blood loss, or gastrointestinal and kidney disorders.
• TBIL (Total Bilirubin): High levels of this pigment indicate underlying liver insufficiency, biliary blockages, or destructive red blood cell disorders like hemolytic anemia.
• Bile Acids: A specialized test used to measure hepatic function, detect abnormal blood shunts to the liver, or identify physical obstructions in the bile duct.

Pancreas

• AMYL (Amylase): This digestive enzyme spikes drastically during active pancreatitis, but can also rise due to kidney disease, gastrointestinal illness, or specific drug treatments.
• LIPA (Lipase): Measures pancreatic enzyme output to help identify pancreatitis specifically, though elevations can also occur with kidney or gastrointestinal disease and certain medications.

Protein Profile

• TP (Total Protein): Reflects the combined state of hydration and immune function, climbing with chronic inflammation and dropping from severe blood or organ-based protein loss.
• ALB (Albumin): This liver-produced protein acts as a primary building block; it climbs during dehydration and drops due to blood loss, liver insufficiency, or intestinal and kidney diseases.
• GLOB (Globulin): These antibody proteins expand in response to ongoing inflammation or chronic infection and drop from internal bleeding, intestinal loss, or congenital immune deficiencies.

Electrolytes

• Na+ (Sodium): A core electrolyte that concentrates heavily during dehydration and depletes rapidly from gastrointestinal loss (vomiting/diarrhea), kidney illness, or Addison’s disease.
• K+ (Potassium): An electrolyte that builds up dangerously during acute kidney failure, urinary obstructions, dehydration, or Addison’s disease, and drops from severe fluid loss.
• Cl- (Chloride): Works closely with sodium to maintain fluid balance, climbing with systemic dehydration and dropping from fluid loss during vomiting or diarrhea.

Miscellaneous Chemistries

• GLU (Glucose): Vital blood sugar that climbs permanently with diabetes mellitus; low levels point to liver or pancreatic disorders and can trigger dangerous seizures, collapse, or coma.
• AST (Aspartate Aminotransferase): A cellular enzyme that leaks into circulation following active damage to either the liver or muscle tissue.
• CK (Creatine Kinase): A specialized enzyme released directly from injured cells, pointing specifically to active muscle tissue damage.
• CHOL (Cholesterol): Circulating lipids that rise from pancreatic inflammation, low thyroid function, Cushing’s disease, diabetes, or kidney ailments, and drop from liver insufficiency or intestinal disease.
• TRIG (Triglycerides): Blood fats that naturally elevate in unfasted samples or Miniature Schnauzers, as well as in patients suffering from pancreatitis, diabetes, Cushing’s, or hypothyroidism.
• Cortisol: A foundational stress hormone measured via specialized testing protocols to identify Cushing’s disease when elevated, or Addison’s disease when deficient.
• T4 (Thyroxine): The master metabolic hormone used to diagnose hyperthyroidism in cats when elevated, or hypothyroidism in dogs when decreased.
• LACTATE: An emergency biomarker that measures systemic or local blood perfusion, helping our intensive care team assess shock levels and survival prognosis in critical patients.

Complete Blood Count (CBC)

This is a common test performed on pets to provide objective information about the general health status of an animal. The objective data obtained from a CBC can be helpful in monitoring ill patients undergoing therapy; therefore, serial CBC requests are common.

Red Blood Cell (RBC) Parameters

• RBC, HCT, and HGB: These evaluate your pet’s overall red blood cell mass and oxygen transport; drops mean active anemia, while increases highlight dehydration or overproduction.
• MCV (Mean Cell Volume): Measures individual cell size. Large cells point to a healthy bone marrow response to anemia, while small cells signify chronic iron deficiency or blood loss.
• MCH and MCHC: Track overall hemoglobin concentration within individual cells. Shifts suggest active cell destruction (hemolysis) or a regenerating blood supply.
• RDW (Red Cell Distribution Width): Quantifies variations in red blood cell sizing, giving our veterinary team an early clue into the root cause of complex blood disorders.
• RETIC (Reticulocytes): Immature red blood cells. High counts show the bone marrow is actively fighting a peripheral demand for cells; low counts indicate nonregenerative marrow failure.

White Blood Cell (WBC) Parameters

• WBC (White Blood Cells): Total circulating immune cells that multiply from infection, leukemia, stress, or excitement, and collapse from bone marrow exhaustion or overwhelming inflammation.
• Leukocyte Differential: Various patterns of change in numbers of specific white blood cells may be seen with different types of inflammation, stress, excitement, and leukemia:
• NEU (Neutrophils): Frontline inflammatory cells that react heavily to both infectious and noninfectious disease processes.
• LYM (Lymphocytes): Immune cells that deplete during acute stress and multiply during chronic infections.
• MONO (Monocytes): Specialized inflammatory cells tasked with the repair of localized internal tissue damage.
• EOS (Eosinophils): Inflammatory markers that activate during parasitic infestations, hypersensitivities, and allergic reactions.
• BASO (Basophils): Complementary cells that respond alongside eosinophils to manage parasitic disease and hypersensitivity reactions.

Platelet (PLT) Parameters

• PLT (Platelet) & PCT (Platelet Crit): Components responsible for forming life-saving blood clots. Excesses cause a hypercoagulable state, while low counts trigger marrow failure, consumption, or destruction.
• MPV (Mean Platelet Volume): Measures individual platelet size. Increases show the bone marrow is actively replacing cells in response to an urgent need (this marker is not clinically significant in cats).
• PDW (Platelet Distribution Width): Quantifies platelet size variations to confirm active marrow response or drops due to immune-mediated thrombocytopenia (this marker is not clinically significant in cats).

Urinalysis

A urinalysis is performed on a urine sample and provides insight into kidney functions as well as the hydration status of the animal. This valuable test may also be helpful in diagnosing and monitoring various diseases and metabolic disturbances throughout the body.

• Specific Gravity: Determined by the kidney’s vital ability to concentrate urine dynamically in response to the animal’s hydration status.
• pH: Reflects the general acid-base status of the body, provided the patient is well-hydrated.
• PRO (Protein): Small amounts of protein are normal, but larger quantities indicate significant protein loss through the kidney and underlying renal disease.
• GLU (Glucose): High levels inside a urine sample are usually associated with matching high blood sugar concentrations.
• KET (Ketones): Elevated levels indicate an abnormal increase in the breakdown of lipids and body fats within the system.
• UBG (Urobilinogen): Abnormally high levels serve as an important indicator for underlying liver complications or hemolytic disease.
• BIL (Bilirubin): While minor bilirubinuria is common in normal male dogs, any presence of bilirubin inside a cat’s urine sample is highly significant and points to liver or hemolytic disease.
• RBCs and Hemoglobin: Positive results can stem from inflammation, infection, or physical trauma, signaling hematuria, hemoglobinuria, or myoglobinuria.
• WBCs: Excessive numbers of white blood cells confirm active inflammation somewhere along the urinary tract.
• UPC (Urine Protein: Creatinine Ratio): An important screening tool used to identify early kidney disease, detect protein loss, and monitor ongoing renal therapy.

Other Possible Tests – including but not limited to:

• Canine/Feline Giardia: On-site screening for a protozoan parasite that invades the small intestine of dogs, cats, and humans, often causing severe diarrhea.
• Canine/Feline Heartworm: A crucial test to detect deadly parasites migrating through the heart chambers, major blood vessels, and lungs.
• Canine Tick-Borne Diseases: Tests for serious tick-transmitted conditions commonly seen in dogs, including Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis.
• Canine Parvovirus: A fast diagnostic test used to confirm this severe, highly contagious gastrointestinal disease in young dogs.
• Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV): Rapid testing for two of the major viral causes of severe illness and death in cats.