Like any other older member of your family, older pets may need a little more attention to their health care.
Senior pets are more prone to diseases of the heart, kidney, liver, joints, teeth and eyes, as well as cancer and behavioural changes. Unfortunately, many of these diseases are very far progressed before your pet will show any obvious symptoms.
A good example of this is kidney disease where up to 70% of kidney function may be lost before the you see the typical signs of drinking more, eating less and weight loss. A lot can be done to help with these conditions, and the earlier they are detected the more chance we have of helping. It may only require something as minor as changing the diet or adding a joint supplement, but we need to diagnose the condition before we can treat it. For this reason we recommend that any dog or cat of eight years or older should have a thorough examination and a urinalysis every year, and a screening blood test a minimum of every two years – that translates roughly into every 14 years in human terms!!
Please ask us about health screening for your senior pets – they deserve it!