The doctors and staff at the Pet Hospital want the best for our older patients. We advocate for monitoring for diseases before the patient shows clinical signs. One way to do this is by performing twice yearly physical exams (nose to tail evaluation) and ideally twice yearly blood work. At the Pet Hospital, we have specifically geared the blood panels to find diseases geriatric pets are predisposed to. Additionally, we recommend x-rays to help us screen for diseases that can affect the chest and / or the abdomen. We utilize both of these screening tools to provide the most comprehensive care for your pet and our patient.
At what age is my pet considered a senior or geriatric?
In general, we consider patients to be geriatric / senior when they are in the last 25% of their lifespan. This means for a giant breed dog (such as a great dane or english mastiff) would be around 6 years of age, and a small breed dog (miniature schnauzer or chihuahua) around 7-10 years of age. In general, cats are considered senior between 7-12 years of age, and geriatric after 12 years of age.
Behavioral changes may be one of the first changes noticed in senior pets.
While it is not uncommon for an older dog or cat to slow down from his/her puppyhood and start taking more naps, it’s wrong to assume all changes in your older pet are due to the natural part of the aging process. Changes like stiffness or difficulty rising, anxiety, aggression and other personality changes may mean there is something wrong. There are many health issues that can cause pain and discomfort in your pet which will lead to reluctance to move or increase irritability. This is an important exam room discussion with your veterinarian. Some of these conditions are treatable and can help maintain that good quality of life we all want for our furbabies.
Food for thought:
- 1 in 3 cats develop kidney disease.
- To learn the signs of kidney disease, click here: Chronic Kidney Disease in Dogs and Cats: Where to Begin – Veterinary Partner – VIN
- 14-35% of dogs over the age of 8 experience canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome. It is dementia in dogs and it is similar to early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
- To learn more click here: Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome in Dogs – Veterinary Partner – VIN
- 60-90% of cats over the age of 12 years have the debilitating and painful disease of osteoarthritis.
- To learn more click here: Arthritis in Dogs and Cats: What Can be Done? – Veterinary Partner – VIN
- Nearly 40% of dogs have osteoarthritis, and only half are diagnosed. Click on the links below to further investigate if your pet may be displaying signs of this painful and progressive disease. Dog Osteoarthritis Checklist | Zoetis Petcare | Zoetis Petcare
Osteoarthritis care
Just like us, our older pets develop pain and discomfort from joint disease. Both dogs and cats at older ages can show signs of osteoarthritis without clinical signs of moaning / crying out in pain. Multimodal treatment is typically best in alleviating our pets discomfort. Below discusses various treatment recommendations and why. Click on each link to learn more.
Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatories (NSAIDs): These are like us taking common over the counter pain medications, however safe for dogs and cats (such as galliprant, previcox). There are risks of side-effects from these medications, so prior to getting started, your veterinarian will recommend a blood panel and urge for routine screening (typically every 6 months) to ensure tolerance. Click here to learn more: VIN Veterinary Partner Pain Relief Facts
A new line of osteoarthritis treatments have become available for both dogs and cats! A once a month pain-alleviating injection for dogs (Librela) and cats (Solensia) has been specifically designed to block the pain using a specialized form of science – monoclonal antibodies. This form of therapy provides relief where the pain begins! These injections have even been shown safe in our older pets with underlying diseases.
Click these links below to learn more.
Solensia™ (Frunevetmab Injection): An Arthritis Medication Just for Cats – Veterinary Partner – VIN
To learn more directly from the company, Zoetis:
Zoetis Solensia: arthritis care for Cats
Zoetis Librela: arthritis care for Dogs
Other pain medications such as gabapentin can also assist in pain control as an adjunct treatment. Click here to learn about gabapentin: VIN Veterinary Partner Gabapentin
This is an article on the many multimodal therapies available for osteoarthritis care: Medications for Degenerative Arthritis in Dogs and Cats – Veterinary Partner – VIN
Quality of life
At some point, we as our pet parents, are met with the overwhelming decision of – is it time? Many diseases are progressive and chronic, resulting in a slow decline of our beautiful and loving furbabies. Ultimately, we are faced with the question of does he (or she) have a ‘quality of life’. But what is a quality of life? Click the link to further help you assess this daunting question: Lap of Love – how will I know it is time?
