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Our pets love us unconditionally and provide us (their humans) with companionship, love, fun, and exercise. Our pets are good for us in so many ways – mentally, emotionally, and it’s been proven over and over that even our physical health benefits from our relationships with our pet companions.
Senior Pets (defined as seven years or older for most dogs and cats, and 6 years in larger dog breeds) can experience many of the same problems seen in older people – such as:
• Cancer
• Heart Disease
• Kidney and Urinary Tract disease
• Liver Disease
• Diabetes
• Joint or Bone disease
• Senility
• Weakness
Your pet’s health in later years is not entirely under your control but with a regular health examination and simple diagnostic tests, many of the problems associated with aging can be spotted even before symptoms show.
The cornerstone of preventative care is a once-a-year, or ideally twice-a year health examination for your senior pet. During these visits, your veterinarian can review other preventative care strategies such as good nutrition, parasite control, and maintaining a healthy weight and an active lifestyle.
Due to improved veterinary care and dietary habits, pets are living longer now than they have ever before. There are many medication, supplement, and diet changes that can benefit your pet for senior issues including: Liver and kidney disease, cardiovascular and respiratory disease, diabetes, thyroid diseases, obesity, cognitive dysfunction (pet senility), and more. One result of this is that pets, along with their human companions and veterinarians, are faced with a whole new set of age-related conditions. In recent years there has been extensive research on the problems facing older pets and how to best address their special needs. Next week we will explore some ideas to do this!
