1st vet visit for my rescue tomorrow - blood work question

[susanwrites]

Zoey goes for her first visit to our vet tomorrow. She was a stray (looks like for a while) and has had the typical shots/treatment she would get from the pound and rescue group. She had tapeworms and foxtails in the ears. So we will do another fecal test and she needs her ears checked again because I think there's still stuff going on it. And she needs a heartworm test.

My question is this, is it a good idea to have the vet run any kind of bloodwork to check anything else? Zoey is such an absolute sweetheart for just being with us 24 hours I really want to get her off to the best possible start.

[msvette2u]

A CBC (complete blood count) is never a bad idea.

[susanwrites]

That's kind of what I was thinking. Thanks.

[harmony]

Originally Posted by msvette2u

A CBC (complete blood count) is never a bad idea.

[Magwart]

One nice thing about running complete blood work is that if it all comes back healthy, you'll have a baseline of values to have in the file for the future -- that can be very useful.

[susanwrites]

Ooh, Magwart, very good reason. Will do it. After losing Cassie last week at the young age of just 5, I really want to do make sure Zoey has everything she needs. I mean, we made sure Cassie did as well, many $$$ for vets and specialists and hundreds of dollars in medicine a month. We did the best for her until the end. I just want the best for Zoey too.

[GatorBytes]

If you want a proper baseline as well to look a bit deeper, then for an extra $5 or $10 have a CBC + (plus) or whatever it may be called - tests reticulocytes (immature red blood cells), as well as a chem screen II or III, this measures the function of the liver, kidney values, blood calcium etc.

Reticulocytes

The normal range of values for reticulocytes in the blood depends on the clinical situation and the lab, but, in general terms, is 0.5% to 1.5%. However, if a person has anemia, his/her reticulocyte percentage should be higher than "normal" if the bone marrow's ability to produce new blood cells remains intact. Thus, calculating the reticulocyte production index is an important step in understanding whether the reticulocyte count is appropriate or inappropriate to the situation. This is often a more important question than whether the percentage is in the normal range; for instance, if someone is anemic but has a reticulocyte percentage of only 1%, the bone marrow is likely not producing new blood cells at a rate that will correct the anemia. The number of reticulocytes is a good indicator of bone marrow activity, because it represents recent production. This means that the reticulocyte count, and the reticulocyte production index that can be calculated from it, can be used to determine whether a production problem is contributing to the anemia, and can also be used to monitor the progress of treatment for anemia.
When there is an increased production of red blood cells to overcome chronic or severe loss of mature red blood cells, such as in a haemolytic anemia, people often have a markedly high number and percentage of reticulocytes. A very high number of reticulocytes in the blood can be described as reticulocytosis.
Abnormally low numbers of reticulocytes can be attributed to chemotherapy, aplastic anemia, pernicious anemia, bone marrow malignancies, problems of erythropoietin production, various vitamin or mineral deficiencies (B9, B12, iron), disease states (anemia of chronic disease) and other causes of anemia due to poor RBC production.

[wyominggrandma]

CBC and CHEM panel...............