Our pets are living longer than ever and although Old Age is not a disease, older pets can have more problems that affect their quality of both their  life and that of their owner.

 The annual health check and booster  is a golden opportunity for your pet to get examined and for any problems you have noticed to be discussed with the vet.  However our standard 10 minutes appointment means that it can sometimes be a bit rushed to deal with everything.

In view of this we have decided to run double appointment slots (for our standard appointment charge) for elderly pet check ups. That would give us time, should we need to, to take blood, look at fine needle aspirates from suspect lumps, to measure blood pressure, or just to talk about both what we and you can do to help your pet.

 These appointments are intended for dogs over 10 years and cats over 12 years and for appointments booked between 10.30 and 4pm Monday to Friday (not the 9-10 open surgery or evening surgery when it can be busy). If you can bring a urine sample with you to these appointments and  fill in a questionnaire before you see the vet, this can help us get to the bottom of any problems you and your pet have.

Often we can identify problems that are treatable or manageable either by medication or environmental modifications leading to an improvement in your pets (and your!) quality of life.

The sorts of problems you may be noticing as your pet ages are

Changes in weight

Changes in appetite

Increased thirst

Mobility issues

Coughing or breathlessness

Reduced ability to exercise

Behavioural changes

Poor vision

Lumps and bumps

Halitosis

Continence issues.

Please ask for a ‘double senior pet appointment’ when booking and please bring a urine sample.

Here is a link to a leaflet produced by the British Small Animal Veterinary Association to enable owners to assess how their older dog is coping with aging changes. It has a 'traffic light' system to help you know when veterinary is likely to be needed.

There is more information on our website on assessing arthritis & pain in older pets on the following pages

www.crablanevets.co.uk/client-information/arthritis-how-you-can-help-your-pet/has-my-dog-got-signs-of-arthritis

www.crablanevets.co.uk/client-information/arthritis-how-you-can-help-your-pet/has-my-cat-got-signs-of-arthritis

There is a wealth of useful information produced by Canine Arthritis Management to help you manage your dogs arthritis - it's not just medication - there are many lifestyle modifications that can halp your pet cope & improve their quality of life. In addtion there are things you can avoid to help your pet. See these sites http://www.caninearthritis.co.uk/managing-arthritis/home-environment-adaptations and http://www.caninearthritis.co.uk/managing-arthritis/what-to-avoid

There's a link here to a webinar (online lecture) by an experienced cat vet on some of the problems common in older cats - and how you and we can help them         http://www.workcast.com/?pak=5987555426523228

Another useful site on recognising the signs of arthritis in older cats is http://www.catfriendly.com/feline-diseases/degenerative-joint-disease-arthritis