Senior Pet Care
How your pet's needs change.
Our loyal senior companions require special care to maintain health and vigor. Independence Equine and Small Animal offers years of experience in caring for your senior dogs and cats. Our progressive approach is all-inclusive, addressing your senior pet care needs from disease prevention to early diagnosis. We offer the most current treatment modalities available in veterinary care.
Senior Pets Deserve Quality Care
Our canine and feline companions enter the senior stage of life at varying times depending upon breed, type, and size. As a rule, dogs enter the senior stage at about age 7 and cats at age 9.
While every patient differs in the aging process, regular wellness exams and lab work will guide us in recommending senior health protocols for your pet. Special health care services for seniors may include certain medical tests, dental exams, prescription diets, nutritional supplements, modified activities, and medications.
Yearly Exams & Laboratory Testing
As aging accelerates, it is important to identify any developing problems at the earliest possible stage, for appropriate and timely treatment. We recommend once a year examinations with annual laboratory testing for every senior or junior dog and cat.
A Junior Wellness Panel is advised for regular health monitoring of all pets less than 6 years of age. Junior Wellness testing allows our doctors to detect problems before becoming a major concern or greater threat to your pet’s health. Junior Wellness also establishes baselines that are important in monitoring your pet’s health trends. Junior Wellness testing includes:
- Dogs & Cats: Kidney and liver values, blood protein levels, red blood cell, white blood cell and platelet levels.
- Outdoor cats: In addition to the above, cats that visit outdoors are advised to have a Feline leukemia (FeLV) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) test performed every 6-12 months.
Senior Wellness Panels should be performed annually on all pets over 7 years of age for routine monitoring. Testing for dogs and cats includes: kidney and liver values, pancreas, electrolytes, protein levels, thyroid, blood pressure and urine. Senior comprehensive exams include the above-mentioned blood tests plus thoracic and abdominal radiographs to check for possible organ enlargement or tumors.
Depending on your pet’s condition and symptoms, we may order other tests, such as urinalysis, parasite screens or ultrasound imaging tests.
Blood Pressure
Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a significant health concern for cats and dogs. There are many underlying causes of hypertension including specific disease conditions, certain medications, and age. Blood pressure screening is routinely recommended for senior pets.
Comfort & Support
We are dedicated to keeping your senior pet comfortable and happy throughout the golden years. Our care is tailored to meet your pet’s specific needs and conditions, for contentment and well being.
If you have questions about how often we should see your senior pet or you’d like to schedule an appointment, please call us at (940) 668-8282.
