My Cat Is Just Old...isn't he?

At Wascana Animal Hospital the health of our older patients is just as important to us as in our cute fluffy kittens!  Most veterinarians will consider cats to be senior at 10 years of age.  As cats age, owners may notice decreased luster and increased dandruff in the hair coat.  They may also notice a decrease in muscle mass or weight loss.  Cats at this age may start to have changes in their behaviour, perhaps becoming more moody or aggressive.  Sometimes there are changes in appetite and drinking behaviour to both extremes (eating and drinking notably more or less than usual).  Vomiting, diarrhea, and urinary accidents may become more prevalent as well.   During wellness exams, many owners may mention these symptoms in their pet and chalk it up to "old age".....but is that really all it is?  

Certainly some changes in muscle mass and hair coat can be part of the normal aging process such as in humans.  However, old age in itself is not a disease!  Many times in older cats, these subtle changes in appetite and drinking and the intermittent vomiting, diarrhea and urinary accidents are the first signs of an underlying systemic disease process.   Aside from musculoskeletal issues like arthritis, the most common senior cat diseases we see are chronic kidney disease (when the kidneys are not filtering the blood, excreting wastes and concentrating the urine as they normally should), hyperthyroidism (when the thyroid gland is producing too much thyroid hormone for the body) and diabetes mellitus (lack of or resistance to insulin resulting in high blood and urine sugar levels).  At our hospital, our veterinarians are always trying to be proactive in the management of your pet's health.  For this reason, we recommend that senior cats have a blood and urine analysis performed at the time of their annual wellness for early detection of these underlying diseases.  If the results are normal and the patient is not showing any abnormal physical symptoms, we recommend repeating the panel every other year unless they become ill at which time another panel may need to be run.  At Wascana Animal Hospital, we can collect the blood and urine samples from your pet and analyse them in our in-house lab for fast, convenient results.   

Picking up on these diseases early is key!  Although most of these diseases cannot be "cured", they can be managed using a combination of appropriate diet, specific supplements, and medications.  Not only is this important for your pet's health, comfort, and longevity, but also as owners you may no longer have to clean up the vomit, diarrhea, and urinary accidents that can be a result of uncontrolled disease! So next time you catch yourself looking at your favourite feline and thinking "Oh dear, Fluffy is sure looking older these days", consider scheduling a wellness exam with your veterinarian just to be sure it isn't something more...

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