What exactly happens when you take your cat to the veterinarian's office for a routine physical examination?

By Tom Ewing

As far as you can tell, your six-year-old cat, Lucretia, has never had a sick day in her life. If she has, she’s certainly never shown any signs of it. Nevertheless, you’ve dutifully made a point of taking her to her veterinarian for a routine physical exam twice a year, just to make sure she’s up-to-date on her vaccinations and is not harboring any obscure and subtle systemic anomaly that could eventually prove troublesome.

Besides doing bloodwork, your veterinarian will likely ask if your cat's normal habits have changed in any way.

You’re doing the right thing, says William Miller, VMD, medical director at Cornell University’s Companion Animal Hospital, and all cat owners would do well to follow suit. "It’s a very good idea to have every cat…

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