Why use jugular vein?

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi there Betty...thanks so much for your question.

Believe it or not, the jugular vein is the recommended vein for taking blood from a cat. When we take blood from a leg we usually can only get a small blood volume. This is ok if we are doing a test that only needs a tiny amount of blood (such as a blood glucose level).

However, if we are doing a regular type of blood test we usually need 2-3 cc of blood. The only way to consistently do this is to take blood from the jugular vein.

Sometimes, this can look traumatic to a cat! Many cats do not like to stay still for blood collection. Often they can vocalize a lot to tell us they are not happy. And it is not uncommon to have some bruising at the site of the blood collection. It is challenging getting blood from a cat sometimes!

If you have more questions about how your cat was handled, let me know.

Dr. Marie.



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