Top 4 Common Senior Pet Health Issues

Indoor lifestyles, nutritional and medical advancements, and routine preventive care have extended the lifespans of our pets. Age is not a disease. But as pets get older, they are more likely to deal with senior pet health issues. In honor of our senior pets, we’re going to highlight the top 4 common senior pet health issues – plus tips on keeping senior pets comfortable and healthy.

Top 4 Common Senior Pet Health Issues: Arthritis

Arthritis, or degenerative joint disease, is joint inflammation characterized by the loss of cartilage and the development of bone spurs (osteophytes) and fibrosis. Arthritis develops in response to trauma, heritable conditions like hip or elbow dysplasia, or the wear-and-tear that happens in joints with use over time. Stiffness, limping, difficulty rising, and other demonstrations of pain are typical symptoms. The disease is progressive, and clinical signs tend to worsen over time.

More than 25 % of dogs are diagnosed with arthritis at some point in their lives.  However, this disease is much more common than that, with one study showing that 60% of dogs eventually will have evidence of arthritis on radiographs (X-ray images). Arthritis is woefully underdiagnosed in cats, but it’s estimated that 90% of cats over the age of 12 are affected.

Arthritis in dogs and cats is diagnosed based on a pet owner’s reports of symptoms, a thorough physical examination by a veterinarian, and evaluation of radiographs.

The treatment of arthritis needs to be multifaceted and individualized to the specific needs of senior dogs and cats.

1. Pain Management: Pain must be managed for dogs & cats with arthritis. In dogs, this is typically accomplished with long-term use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) along with other ancillary pain medications like gabapentin. Commonly prescribed NSAIDs for dogs include carprofen (Rimadyl), firocoxib (Previcox), and deracoxib (Deramaxx). In cats, we’re wary of using the currently available NSAIDs long-term due to the risk of kidney dysfunction but a short course of an NSAID like robenacoxib (Onsior) will likely be part of treatment. Recently, biologic treatments for the management of chronic joint pain have become available. These are injections that block one of the pathways responsible for joint pain in arthritis. In dogs, the only such product is Librela (bedinvetmab) while the cat product is called Solensia (frunevetmab). Both are labeled for once monthly administration.
2. Joint Health Supplements: Joint supplements are recommended to help support and protect the joint cartilage that hasn’t been lost to arthritis. We generally recommend Dasuquin or Cosequin for oral supplementation. In dogs, we often discuss Adequan, a product that is administered by injection.
3. Pet Lifestyle Changes: Lifestyle improvements, including weight loss, low-impact exercise like swimming, and rehabilitative therapy also may be recommended.

Top 4 Common Senior Pet Health Issues: Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome

Sometimes, aging takes a toll on your pet’s brain, resulting in a set of behavioral changes that we collectively call cognitive dysfunction syndrome. This happens in both senior dogs and cats. Common symptoms include the following: acting disoriented, changes in the way your pet interacts with you or other pets, sleep pattern changes, urinating and/or defecating in the home/outside of the litterbox, and/or signs of anxiety or stress.

Sadly, there is no cure for this syndrome nor is there a “one size fits all” approach to these cases. Our goal is to provide the best quality of life we can, understanding that as the disease progresses, we may need to shift our focus to end-of-life care. In the meanwhile, a prescription food that provides omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants to protect the nervous system might be appropriate. Hill’s Prescription Diet Brain Aging Care (b/d) is one such diet. Medication(s) to manage anxiety (e.g. trazodone) will likely be prescribed. Selegiline is a medication that increases dopamine levels in the brain and is commonly prescribed in these cases. There also are a variety of supplements and enrichment activities that could provide benefits in some pets with cognitive issues.

Top 4 Common Senior Pet Health Issues: Systemic Diseases

Dysfunction of various body systems may develop as our pets age. In dogs, we commonly diagnose hypothyroidism, chronic kidney disease, heart disease, and Cushing’s syndrome in our senior patients. In older cats, hyperthyroidism, chronic kidney disease, and/or heart disease often are found.

Each of these conditions could be a post of its own, but the diagnosis of each always starts with a thorough physical examination and the submission of a Senior Profile. At Alford Avenue Veterinary Hospital, we recommend wellness exams be performed every 6 months. This is especially important for senior pets. Those visits let us discuss concerns you have and help us detect diseases early. Lab work is usually recommended annually. Our Senior Profile includes the following:

1. Complete Blood Count (CBC) – This test tells us whether a patient is anemic or significantly dehydrated. It also tells us whether there is systemic inflammation as might be expected with infection.
2. Chemistry Profile – This test evaluates the health of the liver and kidneys and measures electrolytes, blood sugar, and proteins.
3. Total T4 (Thyroxine) – This is a screening test for hypo- or hyperthyroidism.
4. Urinalysis – This is a urine test that lets us know how well the kidneys are conserving water, how well the kidneys’ filtration system is working, and whether a urinary tract infection is present.

Top 4 Common Senior Pet Health Issues: Cancer

 Cancer occurs when uncontrolled multiplication of abnormal cells is occurring, and these cells have the potential to spread, or metastasize, to other places in the body. Cancer can range from a locally invasive skin tumor to a systemic disease affecting multiple organ systems.

In some cases, there is a visible mass or tumor present, but in others there is no outward indication of cancer. If present, clinical signs are highly variable and often vague, perhaps including weight loss, poor appetite, or lethargy.

As pets age, the potential for cancer increases, but our options for diagnosis and treatment are rapidly improving as well. Once again, early detection is key, and that starts with regular physical exams and communicating concerns to your veterinary team.

At Alford Avenue Veterinary Hospital, we have a suite of diagnostic tests that can aid us in detecting cancer:

1. Fine needle aspirate (FNA) – This involves collecting cells from a mass to prepare on a microscope slide for a clinical pathologist to review. The needle is no larger than that used to give a routine injection. Results often return within 72 hours.
2. Digital Radiography – We can take high quality digital images that are immediately ready for in-house review and can easily be emailed to specialists for interpretation as needed.
3. Ultrasound – We can ultrasound both the chest and abdomen and can perform ultrasound-guided aspirates of some internal masses.
4. Surgical Biopsy and Mass Excision – In most cases, removal of a mass suspected to be cancerous is recommended. The excised tissue is submitted to our reference laboratory, and a pathology report typically is returned within 10 days of submission.

Treatments range from surgery to chemotherapy to palliative care. Once a diagnosis has been made, our veterinarians can help you determine which is the right path for your pet.

Contact Us For Expert Senior Pet Care For Your Dogs & Cats

Senior pets have spent their lives as our close companions, and we owe it to them to look out for their health. That’s why it’s important to keep an eye out for senior pets, particularly for the most common senior pet health issues. Let the experts at Alford Avenue Veterinary Hospital help you do that. Contact Us to set up an appointment.