El Camino Vet

El Camino Veterinary Hospital

Zack R Morgan, DVM

Yes, sadly, pets get old. After what seems like such a short time together—seven to ten years for dogs and a mere seven years for cats—your family’s four-legged members enter their “golden age”. Taking care of senior pets has its challenges, both emotional and physical. But it’s also an opportunity to cherish each other. Here are some tips for improving that last chapter of your pet’s life.

Older animals fear slipping on hard surfaces. Covering those surfaces around the house with mats or non-slip rugs will ease their fears. It can also prevent falls and injuries. A harness can also help, especially when used to get a dog up and down the stairs or in and out of the car. At some point, ramps and customized stairs should be considered.

Another priority is comfort. Make sure your pet’s sleeping area includes a soft or orthopedic bed that offers support for aging joints. And when it comes to feeding, be sure to use raised water and food bowls to ward off unnecessary neck and back strain. Sometimes it’s better to forego food bowls altogether and “scatter feed” your pet. This entails distributing portions of its meal across a room or yard in a haphazard pattern. You then free your “beast” to forage its food in a way that provides as much mental and physical stimulation as it does calories. For pets that still gulp down their chow, scatter feeding has another benefit. It turns one-stop eating frenzies into leisurely and movable feasts.

The key here is to minimize boredom. For cats stuck indoors, sensory gardens filled with catnip and silver vine can deliver healthy doses of olfactory stimulation. To keep them moving, shining a laser light against a wall never fails to engage. The best source of engagement, however, will always be you. I used to take my elderly dog on what I called “sniff walks”—daily outings where she knew she was the boss. When she stopped to sniff, I always let her. Sometimes it was a second or two, other times for several minutes, but because she enjoyed it so much, I never cared. It was a matter of exploring the scents rather than covering the distance. Yet, as I think back on those walks, I have no doubt they added greatly to the distance we covered together.