Nobody likes to think of their pets as getting old, but it’s important to start considering our older pets’ health as they start their senior years.

We generally start to think about dogs as ‘senior’ from 8 years of age, and in cats from 10 years, though obviously breed can alter these ages a little. As our pets become older we all notice the new white hairs or the blue hue to their eyes. However, there will also be changes to their internal organs that we cannot see, as well as behavioural changes. It’s important that we are aware of these subtle changes so we can help support them in their twilight years! 

Some examples of things you may notice at home and causes of these signs are:

• Increased Thirst: This could be anything from kidney or liver disease to Diabetes or Cushing’s disease.

• Increased Urination: Again kidney disease, Diabetes, Cushing’s or urinary tract infections can be the culprit.

• Increased appetite: Hyperthyroidism (Cats) or Diabetes again!

• Reduced appetite: dental pain or gastrointestinal problems, such as nausea or pancreatitis.

• Reduced Exercise: Arthritis, hypothyroidism (dogs), cardiac or respiratory disease.

• Increased sleeping: Cognitive dysfunction (Dementia), pain, or they just need more beauty sleep!

• Disorientation/Staring at walls: Cognitive dysfunction (Dementia) or brain disease.

• Inappropriate toileting: Cognitive dysfunction (Dementia), urinary tract diseases like cystitis or bladder stones, kidney disease or true incontinence 

 As you can see, there are many causes for subtle changes you note at home and as such it’s important to get your pet to us if you notice any changes. Cases can be frustrating where we are required to carry out blood and urine tests, but it is best to start at the very beginning with a full check up, including a physical exam. 

There are however, some very important things you can do at home to hep to keep your pet healthy: 

Avoid Obesity

Just like us, excess weight puts strain on your pets’ body - their heart and joints all have to work harder and they are at an increased risk of conditions such as Diabetes, which in some cases can reduce their life expectancy. If they are already suffering from arthritis, carrying extra body weight makes this much worse and increases the pain and lameness they experience. 

It’s important that we weigh our pet’s food and feed them according to their weight recommendations. Avoid excessive treats - especially human food, as this is very energy dense and will easily put weight on them, which can trigger conditions such as pancreatitis. 

It’s particularly important to note that as our pets’ age, they often require less food than they did when they were younger, so transitioning them on to senior diets is important, if possible. These senior diets are composed to ensure your pet still receives a balanced diet, but without excess nutrients, and often have added extras to help with conditions such as arthritis. 

As we mentioned above, our geriatric pets can develop age-related diseases and in these circumstances it’s important to use special prescription diets to help manage them. 

Please ring to speak to us if you would like more advice on feeding. 

Regular exercise

It’s important to note it is still important for our geriatric pets to exercise - the only changes being, they may prefer a shorter walk around the block instead of running a marathon!

Not only is exercise physically important, but also mentally. Encourage them to play with toys but instead of throwing a ball. For example, roll it along the ground to reduce the impact on their joints. 

Dental Care

It’s important to keep your pets teeth clean, as dental disease can be painful and the bacteria present in the mouth can spread in the blood stream to organs such as the heart or liver.

Dental care is ultimately best started when your pet is young by brushing daily to help reduced any plaque on their teeth. We can appreciate, however, that not all pets will allow you to brush their teeth. To help with this challenge, there are specific diets available to help reduce the plaque. Nevertheless, it is worth persevering in brushing their teeth, as this is the best! See our handy guide to brushing your pet’s teeth properly.

Even if you brush your pet’s teeth daily, they will sometimes still require a dental procedure. Here at Coquet Vets, we are keen on oral health as we recognise the impact it can have on your pet’s quality of life. All of our dental procedures are carried out under a general anaesthetic and include dental radiographs to fully assess each tooth’s health. Following this, the teeth will be descaled, polished and extracted, if necessary.

Please ring us if you would like advice on dental care in your pet or to book a free of charge dental check. 

Preventative Health Care

It’s still very important to vaccinate your older pet.  As they age their immune system will naturally become less able to fight infections and the diseases we vaccinate against can be life threatening. 

It’s also important to continue with worming, flea and tick treatments as, again, these parasites can transmit diseases to our pets and these pesky parasites don’t care how old your pet is!  

Report changes

Lumps and bumps are more common in our ageing pets and it’s difficult to know which ones require treatment and which don’t. Some lumps are insignificant where as others can be cancerous, so it’s important to investigate them all. 

We will often carry out a procedure in the consult room called a Fine Needle Aspirate to help gain an idea on the cell type, and so aid with diagnosis. Lumps that appear near the mammary glands are particularly important to act on quickly, as these can spread very rapidly to other organs even when they are small.

As mentioned already, any weight or thirst changes are significant in our older pets. Older cats can sometimes appear to be losing lots of weight despite eating excessively. These signs are often coupled with coat changes and increased vocalisation, which are hallmark signs of hyperthyroidism.

Other common changes in our geriatric pets are lameness and behavioural ones. Lameness is never ‘because they are old’ - it is a sign of pain, so it’s important we assess your pet as soon as possible to start implementing the appropriate treatment!

Behavioural changes have many causes and often require a lot of patience and time to fully investigate. The starting point in many of these cases is to exclude any medical reasons and to treat accordingly. For example, arthritic pain in cats often results in them jumping up less.

We want to help each individual pet live a long and healthy life, so if this article has raised any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01665 252 250 or email to info@coquetvets.co.uk.