Senior Pet Care

Special Care for Older Pets:

• A physical exam twice yearly
• Screening blood tests
• Regular dental care
• Special diets to control illness and obesity
• Nutritional support for arthritic joints

Pets can live long, productive lives and bring endless joy and companionship to their families. The doctors at Cherokee Animal Hospital are dedicated to ensure that your older pets receive specialized care designed to meet their changing needs. It may be hard to believe, but many animals as young as 7 years of age are considered to be seniors and require specialized care. Even if your pet does not look old, they do have increased needs from age 7 and on. Remember, our 7 year old pets are the equivalent of a 49 year old person.

It is crucial to catch any changes in your older pet's health as early as possible. Early detection allows us to intervene with treatments that can significantly improve the quality of your elderly pet's life. For this reason, Doctors Bryant and Jenkins recommend twice per year physical examinations for your senior pets. During these examinations, a complete history of your pet's health will be taken so as to uncover any for signs of illness in your pet. The doctors will ask questions regarding appetite, sleeping, barking, behavior, elimination, and play to make sure that your older pet is still acting and feeling well at home.

In addition, the doctors will recommend annual blood tests specific to the needs of your pet. These screening tests check for illnesses that are common in older animals. For example, older pets are more likely to suffer from kidney disease, thyroid problems, and diabetes than young pets. Screening tests can identify these problems early enough so that medications, foods, and life style changes can be recommended to limit the impact of theses illnesses and help your pets feel better, longer. Taken in just a few minutes in the office, the blood is then sent to a laboratory that specializes in the blood of pets. Within 24-48 hours results are returned and the doctors can discuss them with you. We can also run lab tests in house for those cases where more immediate results are required.

Remember, older pets need just a little bit of extra care to feel great. Physical examinations 2X PER YEAR and blood tests 1X per year are a great basis to keep your older pet healthy.