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Ask Minsa if your pet needs a vet right now
Tell Minsa what’s going on — by text, voice note or photo. She asks the right questions, tells you how soon your pet needs a vet and what to do until then, and connects you with a verified vet if you want one.
Ask Minsa — try freeor chat on WhatsAppMinsa is an AI assistant, not a vet. She doesn’t diagnose or prescribe.
- My cat has not eaten since last night 😟
- I’m sorry — let’s work it out together. Is she drinking water and passing urine normally?
- She drinks, but she’s hiding
- Thanks. A vet should see her today. Want a video consult now or a vet at home?
How to read the page
Most lab reports in Pakistan use the same five columns. Once you know them, the page stops being a wall of numbers:
- Test — the short name, such as ALT, BUN or PLT.
- Result — your pet's number.
- Unit — mg/dL, U/L, g/dL, µmol/L and so on. The same test can be reported in different units: creatinine of 1.4 mg/dL is about 124 µmol/L. Never compare two reports that use different units.
- Reference range — the normal band for that lab's machine and that species. Dogs and cats have different ranges, and puppies and kittens have their own.
- Flag — H for above the range, L for below. Some labs use arrows or bold type instead.
The CBC — what's in the blood
| Marker | What it measures | Often high when… | Often low when… |
|---|---|---|---|
| HCT / PCV, RBC, haemoglobin | Red blood cells, which carry oxygen | Dehydration | Anaemia — blood loss, blood parasites, long-term illness |
| MCV, MCHC, RDW | The size and colour of red cells | New red cells being released during recovery | Iron deficiency, usually from chronic blood loss (heavy fleas, ticks or worms) |
| Reticulocytes | Brand-new red cells | The bone marrow is answering an anaemia — a good sign | The marrow is not keeping up |
| WBC | All white blood cells | Infection, inflammation, stress, some cancers | Parvo, overwhelming infection, bone marrow problems |
| Neutrophils | First responders to bacteria | Bacterial infection, inflammation, stress, steroid medicines | Parvo and other severe infections |
| Lymphocytes | Immune memory cells | Young animals, excitement in cats, some chronic infections | Stress or steroid medicines — very common and usually not serious |
| Eosinophils | Allergy and parasite cells | Worms, fleas, allergies | Stress or steroids — rarely meaningful |
| Platelets (PLT) | The cells that make blood clot | Inflammation, iron deficiency | Tick fever, bleeding, immune disease — and in cats, clumping in the tube |
In Pakistan, low platelets together with anaemia in a dog very often points to a tick-borne infection such as Babesia or Ehrlichia — see tick fever in dogs. A blood parasite smear or PCR is the companion test that confirms it.
The chemistry panel — how the organs are doing
| Marker | What it measures | Often high when… | Often low when… |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALT | Damage to liver cells | Liver injury or inflammation, some medicines; in cats even a moderate rise matters | Rarely meaningful |
| ALKP / ALP | A liver and bone enzyme | Growing puppies and kittens (normal), steroids in dogs, liver or bile duct disease; in cats any rise matters | Rarely meaningful |
| GGT | Bile duct health | Blocked or slow bile flow, steroids in dogs | — |
| AST | Liver and muscle cells | Liver or muscle injury | — |
| Bilirubin | Pigment from old red cells | Jaundice — liver disease, or red cells being destroyed by blood parasites | — |
| Total protein, albumin, globulin | Proteins in the blood | Dehydration (all up); chronic infection or inflammation (globulin up) | Protein lost through the gut or kidneys, liver failure (albumin down) |
| BUN / urea | A kidney waste product, also affected by diet | Dehydration, kidney disease, a high-protein meal, bleeding in the gut | Liver problems, a low-protein diet |
| Creatinine | How well the kidneys filter | Kidney disease, dehydration, a blocked bladder (in male cats, an emergency) | Low muscle mass |
| SDMA | An earlier kidney marker | Kidney function falling — it rises before creatinine does | — |
| Phosphorus | A mineral the kidneys control | Kidney disease; normal in growing puppies and kittens | — |
| Calcium | A mineral | Some cancers, some poisonings, kidney or hormonal disease | Eclampsia in nursing mothers, kidney disease |
| Glucose | Blood sugar | Diabetes; stress in cats — it can soar from the car ride alone | Small-breed puppies that aren't eating, severe infection, some tumours |
| Cholesterol | Fats in the blood | A meal before the test, hormonal disease, diabetes | Liver failure, protein loss |
| Amylase / lipase | Pancreas enzymes | Pancreatitis (lipase is the more useful one); kidney disease raises both | — |
| Sodium, potassium, chloride | Electrolytes | Dehydration (sodium) | Vomiting and diarrhoea; potassium changes can affect the heart |
| T4 | Thyroid hormone | An overactive thyroid in older cats | An underactive thyroid in dogs — though any illness can lower it |
The patterns vets actually look for
No vet diagnoses from one line. These are the combinations that mean something:
- Dehydration — HCT, total protein, albumin and BUN all edge up together. Often it settles with fluids.
- Kidney disease — creatinine, BUN, SDMA and phosphorus up, especially with dilute urine.
- Liver trouble — ALT and ALKP up, sometimes bilirubin. An ultrasound or bile acid test usually comes next.
- Tick fever, common across Pakistan — anaemia plus low platelets, sometimes high bilirubin. A blood parasite smear or PCR confirms it.
- Infection or inflammation — high WBC and neutrophils, sometimes high globulin.
- Stress — in dogs, high neutrophils with low lymphocytes and eosinophils; in cats, high glucose and sometimes a jump in white cells from fear. Common after a tense trip, and meaningless on its own.
- Simply being young — puppies and kittens run higher ALKP and phosphorus and lower protein than adults. That is normal growth, not disease.
Why a result can look wrong when it isn't
- A meal before the test leaves fat in the blood, turning the sample milky and skewing several values.
- A sample that sits too long or gets hot — easy in a Lahore summer — can burst red cells and distort several results. Blood cells also keep using sugar inside the tube, so glucose can read falsely low. Samples should reach the lab quickly and stay cool.
- Stress, especially in cats, moves glucose and white cells.
- Medicines — steroids raise ALKP and glucose and lower lymphocytes. Tell the vet everything your pet takes, including tablets bought without a prescription.
- Age — puppies and kittens have their own normal values.
This is why a sample drawn calmly at home and taken straight to the lab is often a cleaner sample, particularly for cats.
Before the test
- No food for 8–12 hours, unless your pet is a young puppy or kitten or has diabetes — then ask first.
- Water is fine. A hydrated pet is easier to draw blood from.
- List every medicine and supplement, with doses.
- Bring older reports. A trend over time tells a vet far more than one reading.
What a blood test can't tell you
Blood work is a first look, not the last word. It cannot see inside a lump, confirm most cancers, or show a blockage or a stone. The usual next steps are a urine test for the kidneys, an X-ray or ultrasound to look at the organs, and cytology — a needle sample read under a microscope by a veterinary pathologist.
Get the test done in Lahore
Most clinics send blood samples out to a lab and add their own charges. Our partner labs publish their own prices — see the dog and cat lab test price list for Lahore, or go straight to a test:
Frequently asked questions
Can my dog or cat eat before a blood test?
Usually no food for 8–12 hours beforehand, because a recent meal clouds the sample with fat and pushes up glucose and some other values. Water is fine and makes the blood easier to draw. Very young puppies and kittens, and pets with diabetes, should not be fasted without asking the vet first.
My dog's ALT is high — does that mean liver disease?
Not necessarily. A mild rise can follow a recent illness, some medicines, or a meal before the test. A result two or three times above the range, or a rise alongside ALKP or bilirubin, means more. Vets usually repeat the test in a few weeks or add an ultrasound before calling it liver disease. In cats, even a moderate ALT rise deserves a closer look.
How long do blood test results take?
A CBC and a basic chemistry panel are often ready the same day or the next. Specialised tests — PCR for tick-borne infections, hormone tests, cultures — can take several days, depending on the lab.
Can a blood test detect cancer in dogs and cats?
Not reliably on its own. Blood work can show signs that something is wrong — anaemia, high calcium, unusual white cells — but confirming cancer needs imaging and usually a sample of the lump examined under a microscope (cytology or biopsy) by a veterinary pathologist.
Can blood be drawn at home in Lahore?
Yes. A verified MatchVet vet can collect the sample at your home and deliver it to the lab, and the report is saved in the MatchVet app. For cats especially, a calm sample at home can be a cleaner one, because travel stress raises blood sugar and white cell counts.
Blood test se pehle pet ko khana dena chahiye?
Aam tor per test se 8–12 ghante pehle khana band kar dein, kyun ke khane se blood mein charbi aa jati hai aur report ki values badal sakti hain. Paani dete rahein. Chhote puppies aur kittens, aur diabetes wale pets ko bhooka rakhne se pehle vet se zaroor poochein.
Report mein H aur L ka kya matlab hai?
H ka matlab hai value lab ki normal range se upar hai, aur L ka matlab neeche. Har lab ki range alag hoti hai, is liye hamesha report par likhi range se hi compare karein. Aik value thori si bahar ho to aksar fikr ki baat nahi hoti — vet poori report aur pet ki halat dekh kar faisla karta hai.
Sources & further reading
- Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine — eClinPath (veterinary clinical pathology)
- Merck Veterinary Manual — Clinical chemistry and haematology in small animals
- International Renal Interest Society (IRIS) — SDMA and staging kidney disease
Medically reviewed by Dr. Yahya Nawaz (DVM, RVMP) — Founder of MatchVet · In-charge, Civil Veterinary Hospital, Ghang, Sheikhupura. This is general guidance, not a diagnosis; for your own pet, ask a verified vet.