Senior Health Care

Breed, genetics, metabolism, veterinary care, nutrition and your pet’s lifestyle all influence the aging process. While there is no set age when your pet officially enters his or her senior years, pets age faster than humans, many are entering their senior years by age seven.

At any age, but more commonly when older, senior cats and dogs can develop chronic medical conditions that may come on gradually and that are difficult for owners to detect, we recommend regular examinations and screening diagnostic tests to help detect changes before they become problematic for your pet. » View chart “Age of Onset for Various Diseases” on our Wellness Care and Disease Prevention page

Our pets, despite their status in our families, are very good at hiding the symptoms of disease until well established. This instinct can make it difficult for a pet owner to detect problems until quite severe.  Modern veterinary medicine allows us to counteract many age-related diseases with medications and other supportive care, specialized nutrition in order to not only prolong life but maintain a good quality of life for as long as we are able.

For our senior pets, we recommend a thorough physical exam every six months along with tailoring blood work and other diagnostics to each pet’s needs.  Every senior pet should have blood work analysis, urinalysis, thyroid function testing, blood pressure screening, tonometry (checking intraocular pressure to screen for glaucoma) and an electrocardiogram (monitoring the electrical function of the heart at least once yearly after age 7. We will discuss any additional diagnostic tests as particular to your individual pet. These diagnostics allow us to diagnose medical conditions early enough to offer changes in care to benefit your pet.

For more detailed articles about senior pets, visit HealthyPets.com, an AAHA website.

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