Senior Pet Care Helps Pets Live Long, Healthy Lives

Proactive veterinary care is essential to your pet’s well-being. While healthy adult pets may only need to see the vet once every year, as our pets age, they need additional care to live a long, healthy life. At Audubon Animal Medical Center and Cherokee Animal Clinic, our veterinary care team is committed to helping all pets age gracefully. As your pet enters his golden years, we recommend semi-annual wellness exams, dental care and nutritional counseling to ensure your pet stays healthy and active.

Senior Pet Wellness Care, Nutrition & More!

Senior pet wellness exams are critical for all older pets. In general, large breed dogs are considered seniors by the age of six or seven, since their life span is shorter than smaller breed dogs, who may not be considered seniors until age eight or nine. With proper care, a housecat can live into his teens or early 20s, although most house cats are considered to be seniors once they reach their earlier teen years. If you notice a general “slowing down” in your pet’s behavior, along with a diminished sense of sight, smell, hearing or taste, your pet may be a good candidate for our Louisville senior pet wellness care program.

Older pets are more susceptible to injury, illness and infection. Older pets are also at increased risk of developing kidney, heart, and liver disease; diabetes; certain cancers; and a thyroid imbalance. A semi-annual wellness exam is critical to identifying the warning signs for these diseases and taking proactive action to manage these health problems. Both dogs and cats are experts at hiding the symptoms of disease and illness. Even diligent pet owners may “miss” the symptoms of illness until a disease has become seriously advanced and difficult to treat. This is why regular exams with our veterinarian are so critical.

During a senior pet wellness exam, our Louisville veterinarian will perform a full physical and conduct diagnostic blood work. Diagnostic blood work is essential to identifying the early “warning” symptoms of illness, such as changes in white blood cell count, decreased liver and/or kidney function, diabetes, signs of internal infection, or abnormalities of blood platelets which could be an early indicator of cancer. The earlier our veterinarian is able to identify these health problems, the more we can do to proactively treat your pet’s health condition. This is especially important for health conditions that cause your pet pain; proactive care will minimize your pet’s physical discomfort.

A carefully balanced diet is an important part of senior pet wellness care. A balanced diet is essential to preventing weight gain. Pets who are overweight are at increased risk for diabetes, heart disease and other health problems. However, due to a loss in their sense of smell and taste, some pets actually lose weight as they age and are consequently at risk for nutritional deficiencies. Our vet will work closely with you to design a balanced diet that meets your pet’s specific nutritional needs.

Contact our Louisville vet today to learn more about senior pet wellness care.