There is no dispute about how often a cat should have a physical exam. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) all agree that every pet cat should have a wellness visit once a year, twice yearly if the cat is older. (The AAFP says twice a year is the correct frequency once a cat turns 11.) What’s not set in stone is how often blood tests should be done as part of those exams.
Many online sites advise a blood screening at least once a year. But the major veterinary organizations take a more nuanced approach. Consider the Feline Preventive Health Guidelines issued jointly by the AAHA and the AVMA. They say that every cat should should have “a customized plan based on assessment.” And when discussing geriatric cats specifically, the AVMA says that exams “may” include “possible” bloodwork. In other words, the decision on whether to do a blood draw and send the sample to the lab to check for disease in its early stages should be made on a cat-by-cat basis.
Tufts veterinary internist Michael Stone, DVM, isn’t surprised. Granted, he says, blood tests can show early signs of disease that might not be picked up by a cat’s behavior or overall demeanor. For instance, blood (and urine) tests may be able to detect early kidney disease, allowing it to be treated faster and more effectively. But, Dr. Stone comments, there are other things to consider.
One is cost. Taking blood and sending it to a lab for analysis can easily add a couple hundred dollars to the vet bill. It could be money well spent if a cat is getting on in years and is more disposed to various diseases. But is it the right approach for a spry 5-year-old feline whose health checks out when the doctor conducts a thorough physical exam that includes examining her for weight and body condition; skin and coat quality; the state of her mouth, gums, and teeth; eyes and ears; heart and lungs; and joints and muscles? For comparison, drawing blood from a healthy young cat would be akin to taking blood from a happy, active 10-year-old human child to check for rheumatoid arthritis.
Then, too, Dr. Stone points out, there is the potential harm of false positives. A cat may show elevated liver enzymes on a blood test, for instance, which could trigger further testing that costs more than $1,000 and might even involve a biopsy. But benign causes of elevated liver enzymes are common — yet hard to ignore once they show up on a lab report. This happens with some frequency in human medicine, too.
For these reasons, Dr. Stone says it’s important to individualize guidance for the frequency of blood tests based on the vet’s assessment of a cat’s overall health during a physical exam. There’s no “one recommendation fits all.”
