Excalibur at 14 years old
Al is at least 12 years old
As dogs and cats get older, just like people, they need more attention and special care. Our senior wellness program can help your pet remain fit and healthy as he or she ages and help us catch any potential problems earlier, when they’re easier to treat or manage. Regular veterinary exams can actually help your pet live longer and enjoy a higher quality of life.
Diagnosing diseases and certain conditions early is important throughout a pet’s life, but it becomes even more critical when your dog or cat enters his or her senior years. The risks of arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hormone disorders, kidney and liver problems all increase with age. In addition, dogs and cats may not show any signs of even serious diseases until they are advanced.
Senior status varies depending on your pet’s breed and size. Smaller dogs tend to live longer than larger dogs, and cats generally live longer than dogs. We can help you determine what life stage your pet is in.
Before your dog or cat reaches senior status, we recommend that you bring your pet in for a baseline exam and diagnostic workup. This will give us a record of what’s normal for your pet so we can keep track of any changes. In most cases, we suggest this check-up for when your dog turns 7 years of age or your cat turns 8 years of age. Thereafter, your senior pet will benefit from more frequent veterinary exams and diagnostic testing.
We can treat many symptoms that are commonly attributed to age, including those associated with cognitive dysfunction syndrome (similar to Alzheimer’s in humans), kidney disease and painful arthritis. Almost all pets suffer from arthritis, which can be extremely painful and debilitating preventing your pet from enjoying life. Pets do tell us in subtle ways that they are in pain (panting, increasing their sleep to avoid pain, difficulty moving, stiff after resting but seem better after they are up, not following owners from room to room, avoiding stairs, heat seeking, avoiding deep bedding as they find it difficult to rise, sleeping on the floor rather than the bed, restlessness due to the inability to get comfortable). Pets don’t complain until there are in agony. Luckily, there are many ways to treat the diseases associated with a
We include blood pressure evaluation and intra-ocular (inside the eye) pressure as part of our senior exam. It is even more important to older pets as with age, the risk factors for high blood pressure and eye disease increases. Elevated blood pressure can cause heart conditions and continued elevated blood pressure can damage organs especially the kidneys resulting in kidney failure. Increased eye pressure are indicative of run the risk of lowered pressures in the eye which causes inflammation in the eyes damaging the glaucoma which is extremely painful and causes blindness unless well controlled. Older pets and those with cataracts will develop altered eye pressures, which are painful and if left untreated/undetected will result in secondary glaucoma and blindness.
Here at Campbell Road Veterinary Services, we can improve your pet’s quality of life in many ways: by identifying and preventing or reducing pain, recommending a nutrition and exercise plan, and suggesting environmental modifications.
We take pride in tailoring a senior wellness plan for your pet’s individual needs. If you have any questions, we can discuss our senior wellness program in more detail.
Call us today to schedule your pet’s exam!
ging and today many times nutrition plays a huge role in treating age related diseases.
