Our ‘senior’ patients generally need more care and maintenance than when they were in their prime, but enjoy life as much as always as long as their special needs are taken care of.
Yearly checkups are very important as many diseases of old age can be detected on a routine physical examination well before they start causing problems. A few common disorders are outlined below, but the full list is endless!
Arthritic treatment
Many older pets experience pain caused by arthritis, but less than half of these receive treatment. The reason for this is that animals tend to hide chronic pain- they will yelp or cry if trodden on or hurt, but they know no better than to try to cope with slowly worsening pain. We estimate that 20% of dogs develop arthritis, usually in middle or old age. While all dogs can be arthritic, large breeds are especially at risk.
The signs of arthritis are:
1. Difficulty getting up after rest
2. Falling behind on walks
3. Limping or favouring a leg
4. Stiffness after exercise
5. Difficulty running, jumping or climbing
6. Changes in personality, e.g. aggression or lethargy
If your pet is showing any of these symptoms, he or she is best seen by a vet. The vet will determine the cause of the problem, and if it is arthritis, possibly be able to make a diagnosis on the spot. Often it is necessary to take radiographs (xrays) to rule out other causes of lameness or discomfort.
There is no cure for arthritis, but with careful management patients can experience an improvement that seems to take years off their lives. Management involves the following steps:
1. Weight control. Overweight animals must regain their normal body weight, and other dogs need to avoid the weight gain that often comes with lower activity.
2. Moderate exercise. Leash walking as much as a dog can cope with is recommended; high-impact exercise such as chasing sticks, running or jumping is definitely out.
3. Warmth, especially at night. Beds should be well padded, insulated and not directly on the floor but at least with an air gap beneath.
4. Anti-inflammatory drugs. NEVER use drugs made for humans- these are highly dangerous and their use can cause fatalities. Veterinary anti-inflammatory drugs have been made with these problems in mind, and especially the newest drugs are very safe and make a huge difference to the well-being of the pet.
5. Pentosan injections. Pentosan polysulphate, also called Cartrophen is a drug that reverses arthritic changes directly, by improving the health of joint cartilage, reducing inflammation and increasing joint fluid volume and viscosity. Its use will often cause dramatic improvement and lessen the need for high doses of other drugs.
6. Diet. Arthritic dogs benefit from diets high in a specific omega 3 fatty acid called eicosapentaenoic acid, and low omega 6 levels. The diet, called j/d, helps protect the vital articular cartilage from damage, and also relieves the symptoms of arthritis. It also contains glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate and L-carnitine.
7. Other remedies. Many alternative products exist, and while people can find these have little benefit, some dogs seem to improve on one or other of the many options available. Please ask us for more details, and for what may be compatible with your dog's other treatments.
Cardiology
Heart disease is a very common cause of poor health in older dogs, and also in cats. Signs of cardiac disease are often only lethargy and tiredness and slowing down on walks. Some animals could also lose weight or have a soft cough or have unexplained abdominal enlargement or difficulty breathing. Generally owners have no idea their pet’s problems could be caused by heart disease until we tell them. Most heart problems are detected on a routine yearly health check long before they become significant.
Heart disease can usually be diagnosed on the first visit after a thorough examination. In order to provide best treatment options, a specific diagnosis is usually sought via further testing, using radiography (x-rays), ultrasound or electrocardiograms (ECGs). Common reasons for heart failure include valve leakage (mitral or tricuspid insufficiency, commonly known as "murmurs"), heart muscle disease (dilated or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) or rhythm disturbances (atrial fibrillation, atrioventricular block, ventricular premature contractions). These disorders all generally lead to congestive heart failure, and so in addition to specific treatments, general treatments include salt restriction, diuretics, ACE inhibitors and possibly positive inotropes.
Nutrition
By age seven for cats, five for larger dogs, or seven for smaller dogs, diets should contain less protein and fewer calories. They should also be fed controlled phosphorus levels. Some diets also have increased fibre levels to promote proper gastrointestinal function in older dogs, or additives to promote improved joint health and mobility, such as chondroitin, glucosamine or omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which also help the coat. Diets should also be highly digestible to improve nutrition, and faecal consistency and odour. Cats may require increased levels of taurine and arginine, and older cat diets should produce less acidic urine.
Some older animals may have more specific nutritional needs due to health problems such as obesity, diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, or arthritis to name a few. Prescription diets are readily available to assist in controlling many common disorders, and are used following veterinary advice.
Oncology
Most people are surprised when told that tumours are common in animals. Older animals are especially likely to develop growths which, if treated early, can be removed successfully. Unfortunately, we often see lumps after they have been present for too long, perhaps because people think they are something else (like cysts) or possibly because they underestimate their seriousness. At this late stage removing them can become difficult or impossible. Therefore we encourage owners to get lumps checked early, even if they are not certain.
Most tumours can be permanently removed surgically. Sometimes we will perform needle- or surgical biopsies first in order to better plan our surgical method, and submit the excised lump for laboratory examination to check the margins are clear.
Other procedures we commonly perform on more difficult tumours include cryosurgery and chemotherapy. Cryosurgery (freezing) is most commonly used in treating skin cancers of pink skin, especially on sun-loving cats. These cats should have a maximum factor sunscreen applied to the pink skin on their ears or nose every day before they go outside, but are probably best kept out of the sun as much as possible. Chemotherapy is reserved for cancers we are not able to treat any other way, and is aimed at giving the patient hopefully more than 6 months of healthy life. The dose is deliberately kept low in order that the animal does not become sick, even though this means a cure is unlikely.
Our aim is to extend good quality life rather than causing additional illness.
