Senior Wellness Program For Cats

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:10 pm

Did you know that approximately 10% of pets presented to veterinary clinics for annual check-ups have some underlying disease or abnormality?

Due to advances in veterinary care and increasingly educated owners, cats today are living longer than ever before. This means that more cat owners will be faced with the special demands and problems that become apparent with age. Understanding the aging process and the most common problems that face the geriatric cat is the first step in providing the best possible care to geriatric patients.

Did you know that approximately 10% of pets presented to veterinary clinics for annual check-ups have some underlying disease or abnormality? Most of these pets are normal on their physical examination, and therefore, their abnormality is undetected without a wellness health screen. Disease processes can be slow and insidious. When an organ starts to fail, the body tries to compensate to return function back to normal. Over time, this compensating mechanism fails, and your cat can become quite ill. Your cat is in organ failure, treatment options are limited and the prognosis is poor. Practicing prevention is always better than treating a disease already present. In the long run, preventive medicine improves quality of life and is more cost effective than waiting for problems to appear. A well-educated and proactive owner is the first step in optimal senior cat care.

A Senior Wellness Program consists of…

-complete medical history

-complete physical examination

-complete blood count

-Serum biochemical panel

-Thyroid hormone evaluation

-Urinalysis

-Fecal examination

These simple tests can check your cat’s liver and kidneys, white cell count and red cell count, blood sugar, electrolytes, and thyroid status. They can also alert to hidden infections, inflammatory disease, anemia, and sometimes cancer. Once the problem is identified, appropriate treatment decisions can be made. Many times, a simple change in diet is all that is needed to avoid major health problems in your pet. Click here to read more about geriatric wellness.