Consolidated Income Statements (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 1,803,369	$ 1,699,642	$ 1,485,361
Direct costs	1,393,989	1,324,668	1,146,904
Gross profit	409,380	374,974	338,457
Selling, general and administrative expense	157,911	157,155	121,112
Asset Impairment Charges	0
Goodwill and Intangible Asset Impairment		123,573
Goodwill impairment		99,501	21,310
Net loss on sale of assets	2,455	1,310	382
Operating income (loss)	249,014	92,936	195,653
Interest expense	(18,928)	(17,020)	(17,485)
Interest income	(379)	(468)	(601)
Debt retirement costs	0	0	2,764
Business Combination, Step Acquisition, Equity Interest in Acquiree, Remeasurement Gain	0	(5,719)	0
Other expense (income)	90	(488)	118
Income before provision for income taxes	230,375	82,591	175,887
Provision for income taxes	87,453	31,875	76,027
Net income	142,922	50,716	99,860
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	5,411	5,165	4,455
Net income attributable to VCA Antech, Inc.	$ 137,511	$ 45,551	$ 95,405
Basic earnings per share	$ 1.55	$ 0.52	$ 1.10
Diluted earnings per share	$ 1.53	$ 0.51	$ 1.09
Weighted-average shares outstanding for basic earnings per share	88,621	87,681	86,606
Weighted-average shares outstanding for diluted earnings per share	89,663	88,671	87,394