Senior Care For Your Pet

Senior wellness care for dogs and cats parallels the trend to senior care and wellness in human medicine. The media points our attention to living longer, happier, healthier lives through advertisements, news stories, special reports and articles on new exercise programs, pain management products, new tests, nutritional breakthroughs and disease prevention strategies. The needs of our best friends are no different. Just as humans reaching senior status need more frequent health checks and services from their physicians, so do cats and dogs. With improved veterinary medical care, disease prevention, and better nutrition pets are living longer and healthier lives. It’s a great time to be a family pet.

Recommendations For Senior Care

Keep vaccinations current. Your veterinarian, based on your pet’s physical condition and lifestyle will determine which vaccines are necessary as your pet enters her senior years. Some vaccines provide immunity for 2 to 3 years whereas others only 6 months to 1 year and may need to be given more frequently.

Groom your pet at home frequently. Brushing your pet will prevent matts that may contribute to skin infections. Frequent brushing will also allow you to check for skin tumors.

Clip toe nails often to prevent overgrowth that may result in pain and discomfort. Long toe nails may cause your pet to stand and walk abnormally and exacerbate discomfort from arthritis in your senior pet.   

Provide fresh water at all times and monitor consumption. Increased consumption of water can be associated with diseases such as diabetes, liver and kidney disease.

Provide proper nutrition for your aging pet. Nutritional needs of senior pets change so feed a high quality premium food formulated for senior pets.

Monitor your pet’s weight. Changes in weight can be an indication of disease and obesity can contribute to developing disease. Reports estimate upwards of 65% of all pets are overweight.

Take your pet to your veterinarian at least once a year for an annual check-up. Senior pets may require twice yearly exams. Your veterinarian may have a senior care program for your pet. It may include a physical exam, blood tests, and urine tests. Senior care testing allows early detection of disease and allows more effective and less costly treatment options. In addition, testing helps establish normal baseline values for your pet which creates a point of reference for the future.