What are baseline diagnostic images and why are they important for my cat?

When I think about baseline, I think about "normal." So if we have baseline radiographs or x-rays, we know what your cat's "normal" is. If they come in with a problem later, we can compare what your cat was six months ago to where we are now. That might also reflect progression. Even if they're not necessarily "normal" images, we can see the progression of the disease to determine the severity of the prognosis. We can do that with echocardiograms for cats' hearts as well to see if they're getting worse.