Blood Testing

For the convenience of our clients and to help with the rapid diagnosis of disease we have equipped our laboratory with an IDEXX Catalyst Dx serum biochemistry analyser and an IDEXX ProCyte Dx Haematology analyser. Both of these are state of the art analysers offering accurate and rapid results. The ability to perform in-house tests means no waiting time for samples to be posted to an outside laboratory. In an emergency situation this can mean the difference between life and death. 

Sick animal profile

Apart from clinical examination of your pet one of the most helpful diagnostic tools we can use to help determine the cause of your pet’s illness is to run a range of blood tests. These tests help us pinpoint which organs are affected and give clues as to the underlying cause of disease.  Blood tests help us make decisions on what further tests, such as xray, ultrasound or biopsy might be necessary.
Some blood tests are very specific for certain infectious diseases such as canine parvovirus or feline immunodeficiency virus. The ability to make a rapid diagnosis of contagious disease helps us manage the situation to avoid outbreaks of disease.


Pre-anaesthetic health screen

We are able to perform a pre-anaesthetic health screen blood tests directly before your pet is anaesthetised or sedated. This improves overall anaesthetic safety as it alerts us to any health issues that may need special precautions during anaesthesia.


General Health screen

It is a good idea to have a routine health screen blood test performed on your pet once a year to alert your vet to any early health problems that are developing. The earlier a disease is detected the more successful the treatment is likely to be.  The older your pet is, the more important it is to perform a yearly blood test. Our ‘Grey Paws’ scheme for senior pets is designed with just that in mind.


NSAID Health Screen

Pets with arthritis are often treated for pain relief, long-term, using non-steroidal antinflammatory drugs (NSAID’s) such as Rimadyl , Metacam, Previcox. Trocoxil. Pets on long-term NSAID therapy require periodic blood testing for monitoring of liver and kidney function to ensure the body is coping well with long-term therapy.


Therapeutic monitoring

Many pets are on long-term medication and it is important to monitor the effectiveness of treatment by analysing markers specific for that disease. Therapeutic monitoring tests we can perform the same day on-site include:-

  • Phenobarbitone levels for monitoring pets with epilepsy
  • T4 (thyroid hormone) for monitoring pets with thyroid issues
  • Fructosamine and glucose for monitoring diabetic pets
  • Cortisol for monitoring pets with Cushings or Addisons disease.


We offer a full range of other diagnostic tests performed off-site through NZ Veterinary Pathology (www.nzvp.co.nz) based at Massey University. For most tests we receive an answer within 24hrs.