Condensed, Consolidated Income Statements (Unaudited) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014		Mar. 31, 2013
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 449,507		$ 438,606
Direct costs	348,056		341,683
Gross profit	101,451		96,923
Selling, general and administrative expense	41,440		39,846
Net (gain) loss on sale or disposal of assets	(1,221)		1,726
Operating income	61,232		55,351
Interest expense, net	4,167		4,307
Other income	(53)		(9)
Income before provision for income taxes	57,118		51,053
Provision for income taxes	22,203		19,230
Net income	34,915	[1]	31,823	[1]
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	872		1,338
Net income attributable to VCA Antech, Inc.	$ 34,043		$ 30,485
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.39		$ 0.34
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.38		$ 0.34
Weighted-average shares outstanding for basic earnings per share (in shares)	88,338		88,400
Weighted-average shares outstanding for diluted earnings per share (in shares)	89,421		89,379

[1] Includes approximately $0.5 million and $0.7 million of net income related to redeemable and mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.