Senior/Geriatric Patient Care

In broad terms, dogs and cats are usually considered to be “seniors” at about 7 years of age and “geriatric” at about 10-14 years of age.

With the advancement of medicine comes the benefit of our pets living a longer life than previously known. Unfortunately, the drawback is that though they live longer, certain illnesses can occur, mainly due to their body aging/ “tiring out” (examples of this include: canine cognitive dysfunction, arthritis, chronic kidney disease, certain cancers, and more). This aging is compounded by the fact that pets age faster than we humans do, so 6 months or a year is like 5-10 years have passed for your pet (depending on their breed).

There are, however, numerous treatments that we can perform to extend both their “quantity” (life span) and their “quality” (comfortability) of life. The way that we determine what treatments are most appropriate for your pet is with diagnostics such as geriatric labwork every 6 months (which includes bloodwork, urine testing, and blood pressure monitoring), as well as radiology and ultrasound if needed.

Depending on the organs affected and the disease process, we provide long-term pain medication, multiple special diets, supplements, and other therapies to help your pet feel its best for as long as possible!

One key aspect of our geriatric care is dental hygiene. All too often older pets suffer from painful mouths because people mistakenly believe that their pet is too old to have their teeth cleaned. Dr. Abdel-Malek is very passionate about dental care in older pets, and she has taken great care to implement geriatric anesthesia protocols in the treatment of these pets that could use a better quality of life for the time that they have left. If your pet suffers from bad breath (a sign of infection), large amounts of tartar, and red/irritated gums, we recommend that you bring your pet in for an examination so that we can discuss your pet’s options.

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