Condensed, Consolidated Income Statements (Unaudited) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended				6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2014		Jun. 30, 2013		Jun. 30, 2014		Jun. 30, 2013
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 489,472		$ 465,255		$ 938,979		$ 903,861
Direct costs	369,057		350,961		717,113		692,644
Gross profit	120,415		114,294		221,866		211,217
Selling, general and administrative expense	39,931		39,023		81,371		78,869
Net loss (gain) on sale or disposal of assets	578		(430)		(643)		1,296
Operating income (loss)	79,906		75,701		141,138		131,052
Interest expense, net	4,030		5,658		8,197		9,965
Other expense (income)	43		(18)		(10)		(27)
Income before provision for income taxes	75,833		70,061		132,951		121,114
Provision for income taxes	28,925		26,601		51,128		45,831
Net income	46,908	[1]	43,460	[1]	81,823	[1]	75,283	[1]
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	1,324		1,798		2,196		3,136
Net income attributable to VCA Inc.	$ 45,584		$ 41,662		$ 79,627		$ 72,147
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.52		$ 0.47		$ 0.90		$ 0.82
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.51		$ 0.46		$ 0.89		$ 0.81
Weighted-average shares outstanding for basic earnings per share (in shares)	88,041		88,509		88,188		88,455
Weighted-average shares outstanding for diluted earnings per share (in shares)	89,191		89,653		89,312		89,531

[1] Includes approximately $1.2 million and $1.9 million of net income related to redeemable and mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests for the six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively.