Supporting Your Senior Pet: Tips to Help Them Age Gracefully
As your pet ages, their fur may turn grey, and they may walk slower or nap more often. Puppyhood and kittenhood are all fun and games, but senior pets prefer a slower pace. As an elder, your senior pet has earned the right to spend their days doing what they enjoy, and you will need to help them remain comfortable and healthy. Our Santa Monica Pet Medical Center team believes pet owners are instrumental in helping ensure their furry pal experiences a healthy aging process. Implement our simple tips to support your four-legged friend through their final life stage.
#1: Keep up with regular veterinary care
As a pet ages, they are generally more susceptible to disease, but through regular veterinary visits, our team can detect health changes before they become severe. When our team detects early disease signs or minor changes on screening test results, we can intervene to stop, reverse, or slow disease progression. Our team recommends twice-yearly wellness visits for senior pets, with annual screening tests such as blood work, urinalysis, blood pressure monitoring, and parasite screening. In addition, senior pets still need the same preventive care they required when they were young. Vaccinations, parasite preventives, and regular dental care remain crucial to wellness.
#2: Modify your home to meet your senior pet’s changing needs
Many seniors struggle with arthritis or develop vision or hearing deficits that limit their mobility. After our team formulates a treatment plan for these issues, you can make changes at home to help your furry pal continue to get around. Home modifications vary depending on your pet’s individual needs, but may include the following:
-Add comfortable and supportive beds in multiple locations.
-Add low-sided litter boxes to each house level.
-Use ramps or pet stairs to ease access to furniture or favored resting spots.
-Restrict visually impaired or severely arthritic pets to one house level to prevent stair-related accidents.
-Place rugs and runners on hard surfaces to improve your pet’s traction and prevent falls.
#3: Encourage regular pet exercise
Modify exercise intensity and duration to meet your senior pet’s fitness level and abilities. Short walks in moderate weather are ideal for most dogs, while play sessions with interactive toys are helpful for cats. Active or outdoor training sessions or assisted swimming therapy are some other exercise alternatives. Exercise can help maintain your pet’s physical and mental health in the following ways:
-Maintain muscle strength and joint mobility.
-Maintain a healthy weight.
-Reduce cognitive dysfunction (i.e., dementia) impact.
-Provide mental stimulation.
-Provide one-on-one bonding time.
#4: Reduce daily and long-term stressors in your pet’s life
As your pet gets older, they may have a more difficult time dealing with stressors, such as changes in their daily routine, staying with a pet sitter, or introducing a new pet to the home. Try to maintain a routine schedule so your elderly pet knows what to expect each day, which doubles as a helpful intervention for pets with cognitive issues. If your pet gets cranky or annoyed by younger pets or shows no interest in them at all, avoid bringing home a new puppy or kitten, which could cause your senior to withdraw emotionally from the family.
#5: Provide high-quality nutrition and maintain a healthy pet weight
A senior pet may have difficulty assimilating nutrients from their food and need a highly digestible diet. If they have a medical condition, a senior pet may also benefit from a prescription or nutritionist-formulated diet that assists in their treatment. Conditions that may benefit from a special diet include kidney, heart, and liver diseases, arthritis, cancer, and obesity.
#6: Monitor their quality of life if your pet has a chronic disease
A senior pet with a chronic disease often experiences a slow decline in their quality of life, such that you may have difficulty knowing when to intervene or say goodbye. Our experienced veterinary team can provide tips and objective numbered assessment scales for monitoring your senior pet’s quality-of-life.
A pet’s needs can change drastically throughout the years and life stages. During their senior years, your furry pal can benefit from extra love and care and a daily schedule that accounts for their activity, nutrition, and mental health requirements. Schedule your senior pet’s routine wellness visit with our Santa Monica Pet Medical Center team and learn more about helping your furry pal live their best life.