Getting Your Cat's Blood Drawn

Rags getting his blood drawn on 3-14-08

Getting your cat's blood drawn once a year is an easy way to keep up-to-date on his/her health. Just like it is important for human's to get a blood panel once a year, it is just as important to get your cat's blood taken once a year. If your cat has some sort of aliment, then, of course, you will want to get his/her blood taken more frequently. This is especially important because cats take a long time to show that there is anything the matter with them. They show very subtle signs that owners usually don't recognize or fail to recognize and if you have their blood drawn once a year, it keeps everything in check.

The process of taking a cat's blood is very easy. I snapped the pictures below from Rags' blood draw on 3-14-08.

The vet tech holds the Rags' head back, exposing his head for easy access to the jugular vein. Since Rags is 18 (equivalent to about 90 years old in human years), his veins aren't the easiest to get blood from...so they go for the jugular. They then squirt alcohol on his fur and his skin to make sure that there will not be a risk for infecction.

Here, Rags' doc, Dr. Gloor of the KC Cat Clinic, is inserting a needle into his jugular vein.

This whole process took less than 30 seconds. Rags was a little unhappy because someone was holding his head back and he didn't like not being in control. However, Rags' minimal amount of discomfort is totally worth the knowledge I receive from this process.

Rags' Vet - KC Cat Clinic

Check out the other procedures that Rags has received:

• Rags' Dental
• Rags' Lymphoma
• Rags' Enema
• Rags' B12 Shots
• Administering Fluids