Old Age Is Not a Disease

Sitting over coffee Susan grimly turned to Melanie and said “I took Deogee to the veterinarian today.  He was diagnosed with <GASP> Old Age Disease!”   Melanie clasped her hand to her chest and said sadly “I’m so sorry, Susan.  There’s nothing that can be done.”

I don’t know how many times clients have brought their pets in only to tell us the diagnosis is “He’s just old, Doc.”  Certainly aging brings about new aches, pains, and challenges, but we are NOT helpless and can do much to improve the quality of life in our senior pets! 

It is this time of life where bi-annual examinations become very important.  Veterinarians have the opportunity to catch many real diseases in the beginning stages where we can intervene and offer hope.  Your veterinarian may offer blood work to test the health of the kidneys, liver, look for thyroid dysfunction, or diabetes.  At this time in life we start watching for glaucoma, heart disease, and tumors.  Senior pets often will begin to exhibit behavioral change such as anxiety, destructiveness, or Alzheimer’s like symptoms that we may be able to manage.

Dental care is one of the major areas of importance that often gets neglected as a pet ages.  Tarter, gum disease, and painful cavities all may shorten your pet’s life.  Tarter is pus-ewwww!  Every time your pet swallows it swallows infection.  Every time its heart pumps it bathes the internal organs in bacteria leading to kidney or cardiac disease.  Yet, we pet owners get squeamish about anesthesia and may deny life-extending procedures.  Do not think for one second that medical professionals downplay the seriousness of any surgery, but there are reasonable fears and there are unreasonable fears.  We can’t play ostrich and just hope dental disease goes away.  Special precautions such as pre-surgical blood work, cardiac evaluations, IV catheters, and surgical monitors help us minimize risk and maximize safety.

Senior pets especially need good nutrition and nutritional supplements since their bodies are more vulnerable.  Advancements in supplements help us reduce medication usage and are fantastic for reducing pain from arthritis, newly developed fears of storms, or even digestive issues. 

Probably the biggest over looked area is pain control.  Most senior dogs and many senior cats will suffer from some joint discomfort as they age.  Pet owners often don’t understand what they are seeing.  “He’s just slow to get up” “She doesn’t come to meet me at the door any longer” “He’s stiff when he first gets up” are all common signs that your pet is experiencing pain!  If you think it is hard to know if a dog is in pain, forget the cat hopping up and holding a sign for you.  They hide their pain like treasure.  Luckily there are many pain medications that we can use to help both have much improved quality of life. 

Household modifications are very helpful for older pets.  Foam stair type ramps assist pets getting on and off of furniture and ease stress on little achy joints.  It may be necessary to put down rugs for traction on slippery floors.  Older pets also have special grooming requirements.  Long haired cats may not be able to clean themselves properly anymore or may start developing hairballs.  These cats may benefit from having a short trimmed coat.  Long haired dogs with heavy coated rears definitely benefit from having those feathers trimmed so feces does not collect and attract maggots.

There is no such thing as “He’s just old.”  Certainly we are going to have to take extra care and provide extra TLC, and we aren’t promising any “Cocoon” moments.  Painful as it is, yes, there does come a time when nothing we have in our medical arsenal will work.  But there is so much that we can do to give our seniors the quality of life that they deserve.  Isn’t that what we promised them when we made them family members; love, protection, and comfort?  Talk to your veterinarian today.