Most guidance says twice a year past a certain age. Here is what the panel is actually looking for, and why owners who skip it usually pay more later.
General veterinary guidance is a full blood and urine screen once a year from around seven years of age, moving to twice a year past ten or eleven, or sooner if anything is found. The panel is looking mainly for kidney disease, hyperthyroidism and diabetes, all three of which are common in older cats, all three of which are cheaper and more manageable when caught early.
Cats are exceptional at hiding illness. By the time an older cat looks unwell, the condition behind it has usually been developing for months. Bloodwork is the only practical way to see it early, and it is the test owners most often decline because the cat seems fine.
Three conditions dominate. Chronic kidney disease is the most common serious illness in older cats. Hyperthyroidism is close behind and often presents as a cat that eats more and weighs less. Diabetes is third. All three change the numbers on a routine panel well before the cat behaves differently, and all three have meaningfully better outcomes when treatment starts early.
Local currency, before tax. Figures are the typical range in our index on 2026-09-06, not a quote from any one clinic.
| Country | Typical range | Currency | Highest city | Lowest city |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇦 Canada | $150–$350 | CAD | Vancouver $290 | Regina $220 |
| 🇺🇸 United States | $130–$300 | USD | San Francisco $300 | San Antonio $185 |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | £85–£205 | GBP | London £195 | Belfast £125 |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | A$140–A$330 | AUD | Sydney A$285 | Hobart A$220 |
| 🇮🇪 Ireland | €95–€215 | EUR | Dublin €195 | Waterford €140 |
| 🇳🇿 New Zealand | NZ$125–NZ$285 | NZD | Auckland NZ$230 | Invercargill NZ$185 |
Same procedure, same country, eight Canadian cities. Rent, wages and how many clinics compete locally do most of the work.
A urine sample is not an upsell. Early kidney disease often shows in how well the cat is concentrating urine before blood values move, so a blood panel without urine can read as normal while something is already underway. If your clinic asks for both, that is thoroughness rather than padding.
Once a year from around seven, twice a year from ten or eleven, and more often if something has already been found or a medication needs monitoring. Cats on thyroid or kidney treatment are rechecked on a schedule set by the drug, not by the calendar, and skipping those rechecks is genuinely risky rather than merely thrifty.
A screening panel is one of the cheaper things on a vet price list. An emergency admission for a cat in a kidney crisis is one of the more expensive. Screening does not guarantee you avoid the second, but early-stage kidney disease managed with diet and monitoring is a very different financial picture from a cat that arrives collapsed. Compare the two lines on our index and the argument makes itself.
Much of the resistance is not money, it is the carrier. Leaving it out at home, a towel sprayed with a synthetic pheromone, a booking at a quieter time of day, and asking whether your clinic runs cat-only appointment slots all help. A cat that travels better is a cat that gets screened.
We publish typical bloodwork ranges city by city, in local currency, next to the emergency and hospitalisation figures. Seeing both side by side is the clearest way to decide how you want to spend.
We build a national typical range from published clinic price lists, veterinary association fee surveys and real bills owners submit to us, then apply a city multiplier for local rent, wages and clinic density. Non-Canadian markets scale the same base by national price level. Figures are estimates in local currency before tax, never quotes. Once three verified bills exist for a city and procedure, the real bills replace the estimate.
Full method and correction policy: our methodology page. Spotted a price that is wrong? Send us the invoice and we will fix it.
Most vets treat seven onward as mature and eleven onward as senior. Screening usually starts at the first of those and gets more frequent at the second.
Typically a blood chemistry panel, a complete blood count, a thyroid value, and a urine sample. Some clinics add blood pressure, which is worth accepting in older cats.
That is exactly when it is worth it. The point of screening is to find the change before the cat shows it, because cats mask illness until it is advanced.
Past ten or eleven, most guidance says yes, because these conditions can progress noticeably within six months. Once a year is a reasonable minimum earlier on.
Early kidney disease often shows in urine concentration before blood values change. Blood alone can look normal while something is already developing.
Routine screening usually is not, unless you have a wellness add-on. Diagnostic bloodwork run because the cat is unwell is often covered by accident-and-illness cover.
Indoor living avoids trauma and infection, not kidney disease, thyroid disease or diabetes. Those are where most senior spending goes.
Most of these conditions are managed rather than cured, with diet, medication and monitoring. Early management is generally cheaper and far less dramatic than a crisis admission.
Leave the carrier out permanently, use a pheromone spray on a towel inside it, book a quiet appointment slot, and ask whether the practice has cat-only times.
No. They are typical ranges from our nightly-rebuilt index, in local currency before tax. Your clinic sets its own fees.
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