Senior Pets

Pets are living longer thanks to advances in veterinary care, diagnostics,and earlier intervention. But the key to enjoying our “senior” pets lies notonly in extending their life span, but in helping them enjoy their lateryears to the fullest.

Like people, dogs and cats are prone to debilitating ailments as they age.Kidney failure, heart disease, arthritis, dental disease, cancer, and cognitivedysfunction can occur during the normal aging process. In the past, becausemany diseases weren’t diagnosed until advanced stages, veterinarians coulddo little more than make a pet’s golden years a little more comfortable bytreating the symptoms of age-related illness. If the pet was lucky, the problemswould progress slowly. Most pet owners just accepted the fact that their fourlegged friends were just going to live a relatively short life, get old, and pass on.

But thanks to technical advancements in modern veterinary medicine, surgery,diagnostics and nutrition, not only do pets live longer but their quality of life hasincreased dramatically as well.

One example follows human medicine in the development and use of the newgeneration of non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs. These drugs help the achesand pains of many senior pets while keeping side effects to a minimum.

Many age related problems are still seen as inevitable, but the attitudes of bothveterinarians and pet owners have changed. The belief now is that “age is not adisease”, and veterinary medicine is putting increased emphasis on senior pethealth through preventative wellness programs.

“The earlier we can intervene, the better, says veterinarian Dr. John Phillips inNew York. “We now have greater knowledge, improved diagnostics and bettertherapeutics all of which mean we can effectively prevent or manage manysenior health care issues.”

Eighty three year old Sam Edwards was raised on a farm and has had pets allof his life. He has taken advantage of advancements in veterinary medicine toextend the lives of his pets. “As I’ve gotten older, I’m glad that some of thesame medical advancements that have helped me age well are good for mypets, too.”

Edwards shares his home with “Niki”, a 15 year old cat, and a 16 year oldterrier mix named “Bones”. “If you had told me twenty years ago that I would bebrushing my dogs’ teeth, I’d thought you were crazy. But I brush Bones’ teethevery night while we watch the news. It’s something we both enjoy and my vetsays it’s one of the most important things I can do to keep the old guy healthy.”

At what age is a pet considered a senior? Generally, smaller breeds of dogslive longer than larger breeds, and cats live longer than dogs. Life spans varywith individuals, and pets, like people, age at different rates, some moregracefully than others. Some smaller breeds of dogs, like Bones, areconsidered geriatric at fifteen. Large and giant breeds like Labrador retrieversand mastiffs are considered seniors as early as seven years old. Cats,especially if they are kept indoors, frequently live to their early twenties anddon’t reach their golden years until their teens.

The single most important step a pet owner can take to keep their pet happyand healthy as long as possible is to schedule regular veterinary exams. Aspets age, these exams are more important than ever, because as with people,early detection is crucial for disease and problem intervention. Young pets needregular exams once or twice yearly. But as dogs and cats approach middle age,these exams should be more frequent because every year in a pet’s life isequivalent to 5-7 human years.

“Keeping Niki and Bones healthy helps me stay young, too”, says Edwards. “Allof us have arthritis so exercise is important to stay in shape and keep fromgetting stiff. Years ago, when my pets got arthritis, I just accepted it as old ageand let them lay around. Now, we go for walks, and there are safer medicationsfor arthritis pain. They even get glucosamine and antioxidants in their senior petfoods!”

Veterinarians recommend regular lab work, electrocardiograms, blood pressuremonitoring, and x-rays to look for early problems like thyroid, kidney, heart, andliver disease. With early detection, pets with organ function problems can betreated with medication and special prescription diets that not only extend theirlife span but the quality of their lives. In some cases, medical problems caneven be reversed.

Dr. Leslie Maclean a Tulsa, Oklahoma veterinarian followed the advice shegives her clients and found a hormone problem in one of her own Scottishterriers. “I discovered a rare adrenal gland problem on Brin’s first seniorwellness exam. He was acting perfectly normal but his lab work picked up aproblem. Early detection meant early treatment and easy management of hisdisease.”

In general, some early warning signs that your pet may be having a problemare:

1. increased thirst and urination
2. loss of bladder control or breaking house training
3. repeated vomiting
4. bad breath, drooling or changes in appetite
5. excessive panting or exercise intolerance
6. lumps or changes in areas of skin color
7. change in appetite - eating more or less than usual
8. changes in behavior such as “spacing out” or excessive whining
9. unusual bowel habits - diarrhea or constipation.
10. changes in body weight - gaining or losing weight

Watch pets closely and report any unusual behavioral or physical problems toyour veterinarian immediately. Work with your veterinarian and develop aspecific senior wellness program for your pet’s individual needs so that yourspecial friend can enjoy aging gracefully.