Tips for keeping your senior pet happy and healthy

Tips for keeping your senior pet happy and healthy
Provide a nutritious and balanced diet, most importantly to maintain kidney and heart
health. Pet foods for senior cats and dogs should have reduced levels of phosphorous
and sodium.
To aid digestion, consider feeding several meals a day, rather than one big serving.
Maintain regular exercise to keep muscle tone, and keep bones and joints strong.
Make sure they have comfortable and warm bedding. Many older pets suffer from
arthritis and muscle stiffness.
Control fleas proactively.
Brush and groom your pet to help stimulate the skin to produce natural oils. Senior
cats often have difficulty grooming
themselves.
Bladder muscles can weaken too. Make sure your pet is let outside promptly and
frequently to avoid accidents.
Make sure there is lots of clean, fresh water.
Diseases are more prevalent in senior pets, and the earlier they are detected the better the
chances of successfully managing them. Ask your vet about scheduling a twice yearly
physical examination and lab tests to screen for common diseases.
Look out for symptoms such as those below, and make sure they are attended to as soon as
possible:
Pain
Weight gain or loss
Increased drinking or urinating
Reluctance to exercise, climb stairs
Reduced appetite
Coughing, difficulty breathing
Hearing loss, poor vision
Difficulty chewing, poor digestion
Poor coat, brittle nails
Confusion or disorientation
Remember prevention is better than cure!

Tags: Care for your cat, Care for your dog, Natural remedies for osteoarthritis in dogs,
Responsible pet ownership, What to feed your pet

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