Caring For Your Older Pet
Providing The Quality Care Your Pet Deserves

Old Age is not a disease!

However, there are many diseases, syndromes, and other problems that are seen with increasing frequency as pets become older. Many of these can be managed to improve your pet’s quality of life, especially if detected early.

Pets age much faster than humans. Changes can occur in a short period of time. For this reason, it is important to have your older pet examined more frequently. Twice a year is a good place to start. During a “Geriatric Exam”, the veterinarian will ask questions about your pets appetite, water consumption, bathroom habits, ability to get around, mental attitude, and many other things. The physical exam will include, but not be limited to, listening to the heart and lungs, examining the eyes, looking in the mouth and ears, feeling (“palpating”) the abdomen, and a dermatological exam. We may do a prostate exam in certain male dogs. We will often recommend certain diagnostic tests. These may include blood tests, urine tests, radiographs (“x-rays”), and blood pressure checks, among others. Diagnostic tests allow us to catch some diseases before there are outward clinical signs, or they may confirm or exclude suspected problems.

The following are some disease processes seen in older pets:

Arthritis

Many older pets develop degenerative joint disease, or arthritis, just like people can. Often, owners notice that a pet is “slowing down”, or acting stiff, having trouble with steps, getting into a vehicle, etc. Are these animals in pain? Some people think, no, because they aren’t crying or whining. How do people act with arthritis? They usually do things slower and carefully, and adjust their activities around the discomfort. That’s what the animals do, too. And, just like for people, there are many medications available to help ease the discomfort. (NOTE: never give your pet medicine made for people without checking with us first. Some human medicines can be very dangerous for our pets, even in small amounts). Some supplements may help slow down the degeneration that is occurring in the joints. These treatments can significantly improve your pets quality of life. If medications are used to help manage arthritis, it is important to have your pet monitored regularly for any changes that may occur in their internal organs, since the kidneys and liver are important in breaking down these drugs for removal from the body. If changes are detected, it does not necessarily mean that we need to discontinue the medication, but we may need to change the dose or switch to a different type of drug. This is especially important when animals are on more than one medication for different problems, as often happens in the older pet.

One thing to be cautious of regarding arthritis...many other diseases can also cause an animal to “slow down”. We do not want to assume automatically that it is arthritis when there may some other problem occurring that needs to be treated entirely differently. This is why a full exam with blood tests and radiographs may be indicated before starting a treatment program.

Cognitive Dysfunction:

Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome is caused by physical and chemical changes that affect brain function in older dogs, and probably cats too. These changes can lead to an older pet acting confused, not interacting with the family as much, having “accidents”, and changes in their sleep/wake cycle, among others. This is not a part of normal aging. The first step is to decide if the problem truly is Cognitive Dysfunction, or if there may be some other cause. In addition to an exam, we will ask some specific questions regarding your pet’s behavior, and we may need to do blood tests as well. There are some medications and supplements that may help reduce or relieve the symptoms.

Diabetes:

Diabetes can occur in animals of all ages, but it becomes more frequently seen as they age. Obesity significantly increases the likelihood of it developing also. Diabetes Mellitus (or DM) is the scientific name of “sugar diabetes”. DM occurs when there is an insufficient amount of insulin in the body. Insulin is a hormone that is produced by the pancreas. Insulin normally helps transport glucose (sugar) from the bloodstream into the body’s cells, where the glucose provides energy for the cellular functions. When there is not enough insulin, the glucose has a very hard time getting into the cells, and the sugar level in the bloodstream rises to dangerous levels. This then effects the entire body in many different ways. The most common signs that a pet owner notices include an increase water consumption and urination, weight loss, and initially an increased appetite, but then the pet may become very ill and not want to eat as the disease advances. Blood and urine tests help to diagnose DM. Treatment usually involves injections of insulin given once or twice daily by the owner. Special diets are often utilized as well. Monitoring the blood sugar/glucose at the hospital is needed to regulate the insulin dose and blood sugar level.

Heart Disease:

Older pets often develop heart disease. The things a pet owner may notice include coughing, exercise intolerance, and general weakness. Sometimes a heart murmur is present, but not always. Radiographs (“x-rays”) will help us decide how advanced the disease is, and the treatments that are needed. Blood tests can show if there have been secondary effects on other organs. Like many diseases, early detection and prevention is much more effective than treating and advanced case. Regular check-ups may reveal a murmur or lung congestion before you notice any obvious signs. Good preventive dental care is also very important! Many cases of heart disease occur on older pets because of infections of the heart valves. These infections can arise from bacteria entering the bloodstream through inflamed gums when there is periodontal disease. Regular teeth cleanings help prevent this.

Hyperthyroidism

As cats age, they often develop a problem with the thyroid gland where too much thyroid hormone is produced. This increases the metabolic rate of the body beyond normal. A hyperthyroid cat will often eat ravenously, but still be losing weight. This is the most frequent sign noticed by owners that indicates something is wrong. Hyperthyroidism affects many other systems in the body also, including the liver, the eyes, the heart, and the kidneys.

The level of thyroid hormones can be measured, which helps to determine if a cat is hyperthyroid. A general blood chemistry panes is also important, to see if damage to other organs has occurred.

One treatment option is an oral medication called Tapazole. This medication helps to control the overproduction of thyroid hormone. The level often needs to be adjusted based on monitoring of the thyroid hormone blood levels. Tapazole will need to be continued throughout the cat’s lifetime.

Another option is a radioactive iodine treatment. This is a permanent treatment; generally no further medication is needed afterward. However, the treatment can only be performed at specially licensed facilities ( http://www.catsvet.com/hyper.html), which makes it more expensive in the short term. (When compared to Tapazole treatment and monitoring over several years, the costs can be similar).

A final option is surgery to remove the thyroid gland itself. This requires referral to a specialty practice. This treatment option is not very common, as there are increased risks when compared to the radioiodine treatment, and costs would be similar.

If your cat is found to have hyperthyroidism, we will discuss the specifics of your pet’s case, and determine which treatment option is right for you.

Kidney (Renal) Disease (Chronic Renal Failure)

The body makes many waste products throughout the day. The kidneys filter many of these waste products from the blood into the urine. As the kidneys age, sometimes they lose the ability to do this. It is usually a slow process, worsening as more of the kidney structure becomes affected. The kidneys need water to filter the wastes. As they become more inefficient, they need more and more water to try to keep up with the wastes that are produced. One of the first signs noticed in the pet is increased water consumption and urination. Sometimes, pet owners will notice urinary “accidents” in their pet who has not had a problem before. Over time, the pet will not be able to drink enough water for the kidneys to eliminate all the waste, and those wastes will build-up in the body. When the wastes build-up beyond a certain level, the pet will feel ill (loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, etc).

We can measure some of the waste products in the blood, to tell us how the kidneys are functioning and how advanced the disease may be. We often need to do urine tests also. If these tests indicate chronic renal failure, there are certain treatments we can do to help manage the disease (unfortunately, chronic renal failure is not curable). By treating with a combination of special foods, medications, and fluid administration, we can often slow the progress of the disease, and increase quality of life.

Kidney disease varies greatly between individuals, and each case will need to be treated differently. If your pet is diagnosed with kidney disease, be assured that we will work closely with you to determine the most appropriate treatment regimen.