Mainly for baseline lab values. We like to track the numbers over time to see if they do get sick in the future where that started and see where those changes happen and how long it took for those changes to happen. We might also get lab work with kittens to prepare for anesthesia, if needed, for a dental cleaning or some other procedure.

A couple of reasons. Most commonly, we do kitten lab work in preparation for their spay and neuter. So we always want to check lab work before they go under anesthesia to make sure it's safe for them. Otherwise, we’d do lab work if there are any signs of illness— vomiting, weight loss, if their appetite is down, and also there's some viral testing we like to do on kittens as well.

Kitties are very stressed-out creatures in general, so we always try to minimize stressors as much as possible. We like to keep them in a room by themselves where there aren’t any dogs in the background or people that can scare them. We usually have at least two to three people on the case, one drawing the sample, one holding and petting the kitty, and maybe one distracting if we think that it's necessary.

It's about the same as a person. So your furry friend will feel a little prick in the area. But other than that, they don't seem to mind too much.

Very similar to people. We use a needle, and we draw from whatever part in the kitty that is comfortable for them. Most frequently, that's going to be one of their limbs, either the front limb or back limb. If it's more comfortable for the kitty, we might draw from the neck, but it depends on what works for them.