Condensed, Consolidated Income Statements (Unaudited) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015		Mar. 31, 2014
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 499,453		$ 449,507
Direct costs	385,591		348,056
Gross profit	113,862		101,451
Selling, general and administrative expense	44,398		41,440
Net loss (gain) on sale or disposal of assets	335		(1,221)
Operating income (loss)	69,129		61,232
Interest expense, net	4,837		4,167
Other expense (income)	66		(53)
Income before provision for income taxes	64,226		57,118
Provision for income taxes	24,673		22,203
Net income	39,553	[1]	34,915	[1]
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	1,252		872
Net income attributable to VCA Inc.	$ 38,301		$ 34,043
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.47		$ 0.39
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.46		$ 0.38
Weighted-average shares outstanding for basic earnings per share (in shares)	82,347		88,338
Weighted-average shares outstanding for diluted earnings per share (in shares)	83,373		89,421

[1] Includes approximately $0.8 million and $0.5 million of net income related to redeemable and mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.