Customized Care for Your Senior Pet
Determining the age your pet becomes a senior is based on many factors, including breed, size of pet, lifestyle, and type of companion. As a general rule, when your dog turns 7 years of age or your cat turns 8 years of age, we consider them a senior.
We recommend senior pets undergo a senior wellness exam every 6 months. Catching a disease or health concern in the early stages makes the condition easier to treat and results in the best possible outcome for your pet. Senior pets are often skilled at hiding their ailments from their owners. Increased wellness exam visits can provide insight into your senior pet’s ailment progression. Great advances have been made in the treatment of many senior pet ailments. Some of these include:
- Arthritis care
- Mental alertness
- Loss of activity level
- Changes in eye sight
- Pain management
Additionally, we recommend a diagnostic workup once a year, including the following:
- Complete blood count—This common test measures the number of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in a given sample of blood. The numbers and types of these cells give the veterinarian information needed to help diagnose anemia, infections, and leukemia as well as to help monitor your pet’s response to some treatments.
- Blood chemistry panel—Blood chemistry panels measure electrolytes, enzymes, and minerals such as calcium and phosphorous. This information can help to determine how the kidneys, pancreas, and liver are functioning.
- Urinalysis—The analysis of urine is used to detect the presence of one or more specific substances that normally do not appear in urine, such as protein, sugar, white blood cells, or blood. Urinalysis can aid in the diagnosis of urinary tract infections, diabetes, dehydration, kidney problems, and other conditions.
- Fecal testing—Microscopic evaluation of your pet’s feces can confirm the presence of intestinal parasites such as roundworm, hookworm, whipworm, tapeworm, and Giardia.
Please contact us to schedule a senior pet wellness visit. If you have any questions or concerns, our staff will be happy to discuss them with you.