Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	May 06, 2013
Entity Registrant Name	VCA ANTECH INC.
Entity Central Index Key	0000817366
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2013
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		88,534,818