Senior Pet Care Month

September marks National Senior Pet Care Month.  I love puppies and kittens, who could possibly resist those cute furry faces and puppy breath!  However, my heart really goes out to my senior patients.  These guys have so much personality in their faces, years of experiences and love written all over them.  My aim as a veterinarian is to help you, as a pet owner, keep these endearing older guys/gals as healthy as possible and to help make their 'golden years' fulfilling and of good quality.  As as with their human counterparts, there are many health issues your senior pet faces during this phase of their lives.  There are a variety of conditions and diseases facing your senior citizen; including weight and mobility problems due to osteoarthritis, kidney, heart and liver disease, tumors and cancers, hormonal distrubance such as diabetes and thyroid imbalances.  While I cannot always cure what ails them, often times I can help slow the progression of a many ages related diseases.

The first step in helping your pet during their golden years is a good physical examination by your veterinarian.  These exams give your veterinarian the opportunity to catch and delay the onset or progression of many problems, such as osteoarthritis and cognitive dysfunction.

In addition to a good physical, laboratory testing through blood work (CBC & Chemical Profile), intestinal parasite check and a urine analysis can give your veterinarian a picture of what is going on inside your pet that cannot be measured through a general physical examination.  These tests warns you and your veterinarian of potential problems since as anemia, infection, kidney and liver disease, diabetes, hypothyroidism/hyperthyroidism, etc.

The old saying, 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure' is never so true as it is for our older pet family members.  Check out this link for great helpful information on how to help your senior pet.  http://www.healthypet.com/PetCare/PetCareArticle.aspx?art_key=1973ee87-a0d7-4f77-a930-1824ffcf8eda