Condensed, Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
		Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenue		$ 653,489	$ 548,785	$ 1,216,928	$ 1,048,238
Direct costs		489,541	407,938	916,200	793,529
Gross profit		163,948	140,847	300,728	254,709
Selling, general and administrative expense		48,190	44,485	98,318	88,883
Net (gain) loss on sale or disposal of assets		(271)	(819)	292	(484)
Operating income (loss)		116,029	97,181	202,118	166,310
Interest expense, net		7,867	5,104	14,962	9,941
Debt retirement costs		1,600	0	1,600	0
Other (income) expense		(600)	(37)	(864)	29
Income before provision for income taxes		107,162	92,114	186,420	156,340
Provision for income taxes		40,736	36,191	72,272	60,864
Net income	[1]	66,426	55,923	114,148	95,476
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests		2,376	1,624	3,871	2,876
Net income attributable to VCA Inc.		$ 64,050	$ 54,299	$ 110,277	$ 92,600
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)		$ 0.79	$ 0.66	$ 1.36	$ 1.13
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)		$ 0.78	$ 0.65	$ 1.35	$ 1.11
Weighted-average shares outstanding for basic earnings per share (in shares)		80,835	81,956	80,806	82,150
Weighted-average shares outstanding for diluted earnings per share (in shares)		81,729	83,084	81,630	83,227

[1] Includes approximately $2.1 million and $1.6 million of net income related to redeemable and mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively.