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What do you mean "now"? It is standard procedure and has been for many years. Pre-anesthetic blood work is extremely important. It's how you determine if there IS "some other health issue" before the anesthesia. Most people just go for the in-house screening, which is pretty basic, and, at the clinic I use, costs about $50. It does check CBC and basic organ function. I insist on the super-chem, which has to be sent out to a lab and currently is $95. It means an extra trip to the vet a few days before the procedure, but totally worth it, to me.
right...that young kitten I mentioned who died during her spay? She might have had kidney or liver problems. Bloodwork would have detected this and saved her life. Unless you have superpowers, you can't tell by looking if an animal has a hidden infection or the start of CRF. Drugs are processed by the liver and kidneys,so issues there can cause adverse reactions
What do you mean "now"? It is standard procedure and has been for many years. Pre-anesthetic blood work is extremely important. It's how you determine if there IS "some other health issue" before the anesthesia.
Maybe we need to speak for our own areas then. Remember that some cities and countries have banned declawing and others have not. My girls, who I adopted in 2009, were not blood tested before being spayed. The three strays I had vetted in 2010 were not blood tested either. Our two female dogs, now at Rainbow Bridge, were not blood tested before spay surgery back in the mid 1990s.
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Most people just go for the in-house screening, which is pretty basic, and, at the clinic I use, costs about $50. It does check CBC and basic organ function. I insist on the super-chem, which has to be sent out to a lab and currently is $95. It means an extra trip to the vet a few days before the procedure, but totally worth it, to me.
It can surely be requested but isn't routinely done where I live.
right...that young kitten I mentioned who died during her spay? She might have had kidney or liver problems. Bloodwork would have detected this and saved her life. Unless you have superpowers, you can't tell by looking if an animal has a hidden infection or the start of CRF. Drugs are processed by the liver and kidneys,so issues there can cause adverse reactions
And sometimes a perfectly healthy animal or person has a bad and serious, even fatal reaction to the anesthesia that could not have been foreseen. My uncle died in a NYC VA hospital from a fatal reaction to anesthesia. No blood work on earth would have foreseen it happening. He was in his 40s (he was my dad's brother). When I worked at the Animal Hosp years ago it was very rare for any animal to have a bad reaction to anesthesia. And today the gasses they use are even safer than in the past. The commonest test they ran was the CBC. It was not expensive and was included in the cost of the surgery as was the antibiotic they got before and afterward.
Couldn't say, but in Texas it runs between $700---$900, so I'd like to know where I can get it so cheap!
Texas is a big state. Vet fees vary widely from city to city, town to town, even vet to vet. Call around. But remember, that if you go to a vet who is not your usual vet, they are going to want to do an exam and get a health history on your cat before scheduling a dental.
And sometimes a perfectly healthy animal or person has a bad and serious, even fatal reaction to the anesthesia that could not have been foreseen. My uncle died in a NYC VA hospital from a fatal reaction to anesthesia. No blood work on earth would have foreseen it happening. He was in his 40s (he was my dad's brother). When I worked at the Animal Hosp years ago it was very rare for any animal to have a bad reaction to anesthesia. And today the gasses they use are even safer than in the past. The commonest test they ran was the CBC. It was not expensive and was included in the cost of the surgery as was the antibiotic they got before and afterward.
Yes, sometimes animals (and people) die from a reaction to the gas. It is very rare, but it does happen. That doesn't mean we shouldn't take every precaution to avoid the possible dangers that we can foresee with bloodwork- dangers that are much more common.
Many years ago it was very rare to give animals pain medication after surgery. In some areas and hospital it still is rare or optional. That doesn't make it a wise idea, humane, or justifiable.
Veterinary med. is evolving. Look back five years and many hospitals would have considered pain medication an 'extra'. Look back ten and many hospitals would have argued against it, claiming that pain medication allowed the animal to move around too much after surgery. We now know that animals on pain medication recover faster and move less (because they are more comfortable). Now many hospitals require it, and those that don't are considered to have poor patient care and are outside the norm of the veterinary community. It's the same thing with presurgical bloodwork. Even if an animal survives the procedure, liver or kidney damage can take time to develop. An animal with an existing liver problem could go under the knife, survive and seem fine, and die a year later...again, an outcome that could have been avoided if the owners had known of the liver issue in the first place.
Vet med. as a community is also recognizing the changing status of pets in people's lives. They are no longer disposable and many owners consider them part of the family. So, yes, people are willing to spend more, and vets now press for procedures they might not have in the past...not because the procedure was never important or they're now 'money grabbing', but because owners are now willing to pay for these important, possibly life-changing options.
I brought up the bloodwork in the first place because someone was arguing they wouldn't get their pet a dental because of the risk for issues from anesthesia. Every owner must decide for themselves how much risk to take with their pet. But if you want to minimize risk, it's a simple fact that presurgical bloodwork, catheter, monitoring, and fluids are the way to go.
.....Many years ago it was very rare to give animals pain medication after surgery. In some areas and hospital it still is rare or optional. That doesn't make it a wise idea, humane, or justifiable.
Pain relief is common here after surgery on animals.
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It's the same thing with presurgical bloodwork. Even if an animal survives the procedure, liver or kidney damage can take time to develop. An animal with an existing liver problem could go under the knife, survive and seem fine, and die a year later...again, an outcome that could have been avoided if the owners had known of the liver issue in the first place.
So then the animal is allowed to die from lack of the needed surgery? What if the animal has no chance without the surgery?
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Vet med. as a community is also recognizing the changing status of pets in people's lives. They are no longer disposable and many owners consider them part of the family. So, yes, people are willing to spend more, and vets now press for procedures they might not have in the past...not because the procedure was never important or they're now 'money grabbing', but because owners are now willing to pay for these important, possibly life-changing options.
You're forgetting that many people don't have MORE to spend in this rotten economy or in any economy. To pay $125 to spay a cat may be affordable whereas $325 ($200 for bloodwork) is out of the question. None of the low-cost clinics, to my knowledge, run expensive blood tests before surgery. If blood tests showed some problem - what then? No surgery of any kind? Just let the animal suffer and die when surgery may well save it's life? The anesthesia's today are very safe. But if someone has the extra cash for blood work, and would feel better having it done, then that's what they should do.
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I brought up the bloodwork in the first place because someone was arguing they wouldn't get their pet a dental because of the risk for issues from anesthesia. Every owner must decide for themselves how much risk to take with their pet. But if you want to minimize risk, it's a simple fact that presurgical bloodwork, catheter, monitoring, and fluids are the way to go.
Monitoring and IV fluids and pain killers are all part of the package unless we're talking some backwoods area clinic still operating in 1950s mode.
What it comes down to are cost, and more importantly, what quality of life will the cat have without the surgery?
Ok maybe I'm doing something wrong here but I've had many cats over the years and NEVER had their teeth cleaned.
Is the cat really old, if so, maybe the vet could think about extracting any which are no good and just switching her to soft food?
My cats mouth and teefs are always fine...but I feed them dry biscuits which clean their teeth for them. They only drink water and have the occasional bit of chicken or meat.
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It is standard procedure and has been for many years. Pre-anesthetic blood work is extremely important. It's how you determine if there IS "some other health issue" before the anesthesia. Most people just go for the in-house screening, which is pretty basic, and, at the clinic I use, costs about $50. It does check CBC and basic organ function. I insist on the super-chem, which has to be sent out to a lab and currently is $95. It means an extra trip to the vet a few days before the procedure, but totally worth it, to me.
Remember that some cities and countries have banned declawing and others have not. My girls, who I adopted in 2009, were not blood tested before being spayed. The three strays I had vetted in 2010 were not blood tested either. Our two female dogs, now at Rainbow Bridge, were not blood tested before spay surgery back in the mid 1990s. 
