A 4-year-old dog tests positive on a heartworm antigen test, and microfilariae are seen in its blood. Once the dog is staged and stable, which drug is FDA-approved to kill the adult worms?FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, Keep the Worms Out of Your Pet's Heart, treatment in dogs. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Canine, Cardiovascular (heartworm disease).
A dehydrated dog is given a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and develops kidney failure. NSAIDs lower prostaglandins. Which job of prostaglandins explains the harm to the kidneys?FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, Get the Facts about Pain Relievers for Pets, side effects in the kidneys. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Canine, Urinary (acute kidney failure).
A dog ate a pack of sugarless gum sweetened with xylitol half an hour ago. Which effect can follow within 10 to 60 minutes?FDA, Paws Off Xylitol; It's Dangerous for Dogs, why xylitol is dangerous to dogs. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Canine, Multisystemic (toxicosis).
Show all 60 questions (57 more)
Canine, continued
A dog ate an anticoagulant rodenticide three days ago and its prothrombin time is now prolonged. Which clotting factors does this poison deplete, and what is the antidote?Merck Veterinary Manual, Anticoagulant Rodenticide Poisoning in Animals, Pathogenesis and Treatment. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Canine, Hemic and Lymphatic (coagulopathy, acquired).
A dog licked up antifreeze two hours ago. Which drug, given early, blocks alcohol dehydrogenase so that ethylene glycol is not turned into its toxic metabolites?Merck Veterinary Manual, Ethylene Glycol Toxicosis in Animals, Treatment. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Canine, Multisystemic (toxicosis, ethylene glycol).
A dog with fever and acute kidney injury is diagnosed with leptospirosis. The owner asks how the family could be exposed. What is the main source?Wikipedia, Leptospirosis, Transmission. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Canine, Urinary (leptospirosis).
A large, deep-chested dog has gastric dilation and volvulus. It has had fluids, the stomach has been decompressed and, at surgery, returned to its normal position. Which procedure is then done to decrease the risk of recurrence?Merck Veterinary Manual, Gastric Dilation and Volvulus in Small Animals, Treatment. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Canine, Gastrointestinal and Digestive (gastric dilatation/volvulus).
A middle-aged dog has hair loss over the trunk that spares the head and legs, a "rat tail" and a dull, dry coat. Blood tests confirm hypothyroidism. What does the owner need to hear about treatment?FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, Hypothyroidism in Dogs, signs and treatment. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Canine, Endocrine (hypothyroidism).
A one-year-old dog has a red fleshy mass at the inner corner of one eye: a prolapsed gland of the third eyelid. Why is the gland replaced surgically, not cut out?Wikipedia, Cherry eye, Treatment. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Canine, Special Senses (cherry eye).
A young adult dog has lethargy, vomiting and a slow heart rate. Serum chemistry shows high potassium and low sodium. Which test gives the definitive diagnosis of the suspected disease?Merck Veterinary Manual, Addison Disease (Hypoadrenocorticism) in Animals, Clinical Findings and Diagnosis. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Canine, Endocrine (hypoadrenocorticism).
A young adult German Shepherd is losing weight despite a ravenous appetite and passes large volumes of loose stool. Which blood test makes the diagnosis of the suspected disease?Merck Veterinary Manual, Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency in Dogs and Cats, Etiology, Clinical Findings and Diagnosis. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Canine, Gastrointestinal and Digestive (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency).
An 11-year-old dog is losing hair and has a pot-bellied look. Tests confirm naturally occurring Cushing's disease. What causes about 80% to 85% of these cases?FDA, Treating Cushing's Disease in Dogs, what causes the disease. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Canine, Endocrine (hyperadrenocorticism).
An intact 8-year-old female dog was in heat six weeks ago. She is vomiting, drinks and urinates more, and has a discharge of pus from the vulva. Once she is stable, what is the treatment of choice?Wikipedia, Pyometra, Treatment. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Canine, Reproductive (pyometra).
An unvaccinated 10-week-old puppy has vomiting and bloody diarrhea. Which test confirms canine parvovirus type 2 in the clinic?Merck Veterinary Manual, Canine Parvovirus Infection (Parvoviral Enteritis in Dogs), Diagnosis. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Canine, Gastrointestinal and Digestive (canine parvovirus).
An unvaccinated puppy has fever, nasal and eye discharge and diarrhea, then muscle twitching and thickened, hard footpads. What kind of virus is the cause, and how is it mainly passed on?Merck Veterinary Manual, Canine Distemper, Etiology and Clinical Findings. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Canine, Multisystemic (systemic viral infections, distemper).
Feline 15
A 13-year-old cat is losing weight despite an increased appetite, and blood tests show high thyroid hormone. Methimazole is prescribed. How does it work?FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, Hyperthyroidism in Cats, how methimazole works. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Feline, Endocrine (hyperthyroidism).
A cat fed a home-made diet for a year has dilated cardiomyopathy and degeneration of the central retina. Which nutrient must cats get from the diet because they lack the enzyme to make it?Wikipedia, Taurine, Animal nutrition, Cats. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Feline, Multisystemic (taurine deficiency).
A cat has a cough and fast, labored breathing. About three to four months after the bite of an infected mosquito, immature heartworms reached its lung arteries, and many died there. What is this response called?FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, Keep the Worms Out of Your Pet's Heart, heartworm disease in cats. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Feline, Multisystemic (heartworm).
A cat needs a transfusion. Why is every cat typed first, and which mismatch is the more severe?Wikipedia, Blood type (non-human), Feline blood types. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Feline, Hemic and Lymphatic (blood typing, transfusion reaction).
A cat with long-standing high blood sugar has weak back legs and now stands on its hocks instead of its toes. What causes this plantigrade stance?Wikipedia, Diabetes in cats, Symptoms. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Feline, Nervous (diabetic polyneuropathy).
A client phones: her cat licked pollen from a true lily off its fur an hour ago and seems fine. Which reply is correct?FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, Lovely Lilies and Curious Cats, true lilies and daylilies. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Feline, Multisystemic (ingestion of poisonous plants, including lilies).
A Maine Coon has a heart murmur, and an echocardiogram shows thickened heart muscle. Which heart disease is the most common one in domestic cats?Wikipedia, Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, Other animals, Cats. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Feline, Cardiovascular (cardiomyopathy).
A male cat keeps straining in the litter box and passes no urine. Why is this handled as an emergency?Wikipedia, Feline lower urinary tract disease, obstructive and non-obstructive disease. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Feline, Urinary (urinary tract obstruction).
A pregnant client asks why her cat matters for toxoplasmosis when the parasite infects almost all warm-blooded animals. What is special about cats?Wikipedia, Toxoplasma gondii, lead and Life cycle. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Feline, Multisystemic (toxoplasmosis).
A shelter houses cats in groups and asks how feline leukemia virus passes from cat to cat. What is the main route?Wikipedia, Feline leukemia virus, Transmission. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Feline, Multisystemic (feline leukemia virus).
A young cat from a cattery develops feline infectious peritonitis. Its housemates carry feline enteric coronavirus and stay well. What explains the disease in this one cat?Wikipedia, Feline infectious peritonitis, Cause. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Feline, Multisystemic (feline infectious peritonitis).
An intact male cat that roams and fights tests positive for feline immunodeficiency virus. How was he most likely infected?Wikipedia, Feline immunodeficiency virus, Transmission. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Feline, Multisystemic (feline immunodeficiency virus).
An obese cat stopped eating two weeks ago and is now diagnosed with hepatic lipidosis. What is the core of treatment?Wikipedia, Feline hepatic lipidosis, lead and Treatment. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Feline, Gastrointestinal and Digestive (hepatic lipidosis).
An owner gave a cat acetaminophen for a limp. According to the FDA, which form of harm from this drug are cats more prone to than dogs?FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, Get the Facts about Pain Relievers for Pets, Acetaminophen, a special case. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Feline, Multisystemic (acetaminophen toxicity).
Three kittens from an unvaccinated stray queen sway, have head tremors and walk with an uncoordinated, overreaching gait from the time they first walk. Infection with which virus before or around birth is the long-known cause?Wikipedia, Cerebellar hypoplasia (non-human), Cerebellar hypoplasia in cats. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Feline, Nervous (cerebellar hypoplasia).
Equine 9
A 24-year-old pony has a long, thick, wavy coat that fails to shed and has had repeated bouts of laminitis. Which disease is classically linked with these two findings?Wikipedia, Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, lead and Clinical signs. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Equine, Endocrine (pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction).
A healthy-looking horse has a positive Coggins (agar gel immunodiffusion) test for equine infectious anemia. What does the owner need to understand?Merck Veterinary Manual, Equine Infectious Anemia, Transmission and Diagnosis. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Equine, Hemic and Lymphatic (equine infectious anemia).
A horse has ataxia, a slightly asymmetric hindlimb gait and focal muscle atrophy. Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis is suspected. Which animal is the definitive host of Sarcocystis neurona in North America?Wikipedia, Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, Cause. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Equine, Nervous (equine protozoal myeloencephalitis).
A horse has episodes of muscle shaking and weakness with high blood potassium, and a genetic test confirms hyperkalemic periodic paralysis. Which channel in muscle cells does the mutation affect, and how is it inherited?Wikipedia, Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (equine), lead. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Equine, Musculoskeletal (hyperkalemic periodic paralysis).
A horse with severe colic and a fast heart rate is examined in the field. Why is passing a nasogastric tube a treatment and not only a test?Wikipedia, Horse colic, Nasogastric intubation and gastric decompression. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Equine, Gastrointestinal and Digestive (colic, medical/surgical).
A yearling at a boarding barn has fever, nasal discharge and swollen lymph nodes under the jaw that press on the airway. Which organism causes this contagious disease?Wikipedia, Strangles, lead. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Equine, Hemic and Lymphatic (strangles).
Gastroscopy of a racehorse in active training shows gastric ulcers. Where are about 80% of these lesions found in horses?Merck Veterinary Manual, Gastric Ulcers in Horses, Epidemiology. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Equine, Gastrointestinal and Digestive (gastric ulceration).
In late summer an unvaccinated horse dies of Eastern equine encephalitis. How does the virus reach a horse?Wikipedia, Eastern equine encephalitis, lead and Transmission. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Equine, Nervous (equine encephalomyelitis, Eastern).
Radiographs of a horse with severe laminitis show a bone rotated away from the hoof wall and sinking toward the sole. Which bone is it?Wikipedia, Laminitis, Rotation, sinking, and founder. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Equine, Musculoskeletal (laminitis).
Bovine 8
A 5-year-old cow has months of worsening diarrhea and weight loss, and now a swelling under the jaw from low blood protein. Which organism causes this chronic enteritis?Merck Veterinary Manual, Paratuberculosis in Ruminants, Etiology and Clinical Findings. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Bovine, Gastrointestinal and Digestive (paratuberculosis).
A client plans to sell raw milk from cows of unknown disease status. Which zoonosis, called undulant fever in people, spreads mainly through unpasteurized milk from infected animals?Wikipedia, Brucellosis, lead. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Bovine, Reproductive (abortion); competency: Veterinary Public Health.
A dairy cow is off feed ten days after calving, and a displaced abomasum is suspected. To which side does the abomasum more commonly displace, and when is the condition most often seen?Wikipedia, Displaced abomasum, lead and Causes. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Bovine, Gastrointestinal and Digestive (abomasal disease, displacement).
A dairy farmer asks you to prescribe phenylbutazone for a lame 4-year-old milking cow. What do the federal extralabel drug rules say about this use?21 CFR 530.41(a)(12), paragraph (a)(12). Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Bovine, Musculoskeletal (lameness); competency: Professionalism, Practice Management and Wellness.
A herd control plan for bovine viral diarrhea rests on finding and removing persistently infected cattle. When were these animals first infected?Merck Veterinary Manual, Bovine Viral Diarrhea and Mucosal Disease Complex, Etiology and Control. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Bovine, Nervous (BVDV congenital defects) and Respiratory (BVDV).
A high-producing dairy cow in her fourth lactation calved yesterday. She is down in sternal recumbency with cold extremities. The blood level of which mineral has fallen?Merck Veterinary Manual, Parturient Paresis in Cows, Etiology and Clinical Findings. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Bovine, Reproductive (periparturient hypocalcemia, milk fever).
Calves get pneumonia within four weeks of weaning, sorting and trucking to a feedlot ("shipping fever"). The disease is usually the sum of which three factors?Wikipedia, Bovine respiratory disease, Causes. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Bovine, Respiratory (bovine respiratory disease complex).
Two cows in a dairy herd have had hardware disease after swallowing wire. Which measure prevents it, and which compartment's wall does the wire usually perforate?Merck Veterinary Manual, Traumatic Reticuloperitonitis in Cattle, Etiology and Prevention. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Bovine, Gastrointestinal and Digestive (traumatic reticuloperitonitis).
Pigs, sheep, goats, poultry and camelids 7
A client with a small pig herd feeds kitchen scraps and asks about African swine fever. Which statement is correct?Merck Veterinary Manual, African Swine Fever, Etiology and Transmission. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Porcine, Multisystemic (African swine fever).
A ewe has a fatal, slowly progressive disease of the nervous system with weight loss, and scrapie is suspected. What kind of agent causes scrapie?Wikipedia, Scrapie, lead and Cause. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Ovine and Caprine, Nervous (scrapie).
A sow farm has a wave of abortions, stillbirths and mummified piglets, and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus is found. How does the virus reach the litters?Merck Veterinary Manual, Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, Clinical Findings. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Porcine, Respiratory (porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome).
An alpaca on a pasture shared with wildlife develops hindlimb weakness and ataxia from meningeal worm. Which animal is the normal host of the parasite, and what carries the infective larvae?Wikipedia, Parelaphostrongylus tenuis, lead and Life cycle. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Camelidae and Cervidae, Nervous (meningeal worm, Parelaphostrongylus).
Finishing pigs have red, diamond-shaped skin lesions, and some later have enlarged joints and lameness. Which organism is the cause?Merck Veterinary Manual, Swine Erysipelas, Etiology and Clinical Findings. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Porcine, Multisystemic (erysipelas).
In a warm, humid summer several goats are anemic and have fluid swelling under the jaw ("bottle jaw"). The barber pole worm is suspected. Where do its adults feed, and on what?Wikipedia, Haemonchus contortus, lead and Pathogenicity. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Ovine and Caprine, Hemic and Lymphatic (Haemonchus contortus).
Young unvaccinated backyard chickens develop paralysis of one leg or wing, and necropsy shows enlarged peripheral nerves and lymphoid tumors. What kind of virus causes this disease, and how does it spread?Wikipedia, Marek's disease, lead and Clinical signs. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Poultry, Nervous (Marek's disease).
Small mammals, birds, reptiles and fish 5
A cockatiel is diagnosed with avian chlamydiosis, and its owner has a fever and a cough. How do people usually catch this infection from birds?Wikipedia, Psittacosis, lead and Transmission. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Pet Bird, Infectious (psittacosis); competency: Veterinary Public Health.
A guinea pig housed with a rabbit and fed only rabbit pellets becomes ill. Which nutrient can rabbits make for themselves but guinea pigs must get from food?Wikipedia, Guinea pig, Diet. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Other Small Mammal, Guinea Pigs (malnutrition, including scurvy).
A pet ferret aged four is worked up for a tumor of the pancreas. Which tumor, the most common cancer of ferrets, arises from its islet cells?Wikipedia, Ferret, Health. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Other Small Mammal, Ferrets (insulinoma).
A pet shop asks whether it may sell hatchling turtles as pets. What does the federal rule on turtles say?21 CFR 1240.62, paragraph (b). Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Reptile, Chelonians (salmonellosis); competency: Veterinary Public Health.
Fish in a home aquarium have pinhead white spots on the skin and fins. The white spots are the feeding stage of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. Where does that stage, the trophont, live?Wikipedia, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, lead and Life cycle. Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Aquatics, Multisystemic (protozoal disease, Ichthyophthirius).
Non-species specific 1
A caller you have never met asks you to prescribe a drug extralabel for animals you have never seen. Under the federal definition, a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship can exist only when the veterinarian has done what?21 CFR 530.3(i), paragraph (i). Outline: NAVLE Species and Diagnoses, Non-Species Specific; competency: Professionalism, Practice Management and Wellness.
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the NAVLE exam blueprint of the International Council for Veterinary Assessment (https://www.icva.net/navle/, read 2026-10-11) and its Species and Diagnoses outline (https://www.icva.net/image/cache/NAVLE_Species_and_Diagnoses_0.026.pdf, read 2026-10-11). The blueprint's species weights: Canine 25.6%, Feline 24.3%, Equine 14.7%, Bovine 13.3%, Porcine 5%, Other Small Mammals 3.3%, Ovine/Caprine 3.3%, Pet Bird 2.3%, Poultry 2%, Non-Species Specific 2%, Camelid/Cervidae 1.7%, Reptiles 1.5%, Aquatics 1%. The bank holds 15, 15, 9, 8, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 and 1 questions in that order, 60 in all. Every fact was read on 2026-10-11 in the public source the question names: pages of the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine and FDA consumer updates, Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (ecfr.gov), the Merck Veterinary Manual and Wikipedia. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
This free ICVA practice test for the NAVLE has 60 veterinary questions of our own. It is unofficial, not affiliated with or endorsed by the International Council for Veterinary Assessment (ICVA).
Read the full guide
What the exam covers
The blueprint on icva.net, read October 11, 2026, weights the exam by species: canine 25.6%, feline 24.3%, equine 14.7%, bovine 13.3%, porcine 5%, then small mammals, sheep and goats, birds, poultry, camelids and deer, reptiles and fish. The 60 questions follow those shares.
Timing
Exam mode asks 30 questions in 33 minutes: one of the real exam's twelve blocks, at its pace.
Where the answers come from
Each question names the public page its answer was read in: the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, the Code of Federal Regulations, the Merck Veterinary Manual or Wikipedia.
About 15 to 20% of real questions include a photo or radiograph. These are text only, with four choices and one right answer.
The questions are exam practice, not veterinary advice. A sick animal needs a veterinarian.
The blueprint gives 15% of the exam to communication and professionalism. Only two questions here touch those: the federal rules on extralabel drug use.
Questions and answers
Is this the ICVA's own practice test?
No. The ICVA's own practice material is on icva.net. The questions on this page are a separate bank, built from the public blueprint and the public sources they name. None is taken from the ICVA's questions or from a review book.
Is there an ICVA free practice test?
The NAVLE tutorial on icva.net includes 20 practice questions, and the ICVA's FAQ links one more set of sample questions. Its NAVLE Self-Assessments are sold. The 60 questions on this page are free.
How many questions are on the NAVLE?
360 multiple-choice questions in 12 blocks of 30, with 33 minutes for each block and 50 minutes of break time in all. With the optional 10-minute tutorial the day runs about seven and a half hours, by the exam day page on icva.net.
What is the passing score on the NAVLE?
Scores run from 200 to 800, and the minimum passing score is 425. It is measured against a set standard and not graded on a curve. The scale is not a percent of questions right, so a result here forecasts nothing.