That's going to depend on what we're testing for. So if it's presurgical and an apparently healthy cat, we're going to do a chemistry, CBC, and a urinalysis. If we have a sick cat, the tests are going to be tailored based on what symptoms the cat is showing. If we have a new kitty, we're going to test for leukemia, AIDS, and a stool sample because we want to know if there are parasites or viral diseases that we can unmask.

Generally, a CBC is going to be excellent. Our chemistries are going to be very, very good and those have been refined to be as accurate as they are in humans.

Lab tests in cats are pretty darn effective. If there is a disease there that they can catch, it's going to show up. So just like a human, if we're testing for thyroid disease and we test that thyroid number, if it's off, we know it. If they have diabetes, we're going to know it. If they have kidney failure, we're going to see those markers.

There are markers that help lead us toward cancer, but there is no one blood test for cancer. It is an impossible question because people always want to know if their pet has cancer and there is no one test for that.

Absolutely. That's why we run it. The whole point is to determine what is going on and that's part of the puzzle. So it's one piece of it along with other diagnostics and the examination itself.

A baseline lab test is going to be a CBC chemistry and urinalysis. That helps us to determine what's going on inside your cat that they can't tell us externally.

Generally, we're going to do this annually and if your cat's a senior we'll want to do it twice a year. We'll also order it if your cat is sick or if your cat is going to undergo any anesthetic procedure to ensure safety.

Once we have confirmed that she's delivered all of her puppies, it's important to make sure all the puppies are clean and dry, there's a warming source available for them to stay warm next to their mom, and they all have access to the mother's mammary glands so they can nurse. For the next several days, you'll need to take temperatures of these puppies twice a day, and record weights two to three times a day.

An ultrasound exam done about a month after the breeding should give us a rough estimate of how many puppies there are to be delivered.

The first part, stage one of dog labor, can take 12 to 24 hours. But once the cervix is open and we see vaginal discharge, we expect to see the first puppy within a couple of hours and each subsequent puppy within one hour of each other.