Scottsdale & Fountain Hills Senior Pet Care
Everyone ages — but not everyone ages gracefully. That’s true for many humans who don’t take care of their health, but it’s just as true for pets whose owners don’t accommodate for the specialized needs associated with aging. Senior pets are more vulnerable to certain health issues and typically require even closer veterinary monitoring than younger animals. If your pet is starting to reach the geriatric stage, you’ll be relieved to know that Friendship Pet Hospital is standing by to provide top-quality Scottsdale and Fountain Hills senior pet care.
Pets get old surprisingly quickly, at least by human standards. While larger breeds tend to age faster than smaller ones, a typical cat or dog is treated as geriatric starting around the age of 7. A geriatric pet faces an elevated risk for many health disorders, including:
- Osteoarthritis and chronic pain problems
- Tooth loss from periodontal disease
- Many forms of cancer
- Diabetes
- Thyroid disease
- Liver, kidney and/or congestive heart failure
- High blood pressure
- Impaired hearing and vision
- Dementia
In some cases, one age-related problem can trigger a cascade of others. For example, an arthritic pet may become sedentary, leading to obesity — which in turn promotes diabetes, hypertension, cancer and even worse joint pain. The cumulative effects of these various impairments can drastically erode your pet’s quality of life.
Schedule Senior Pet Care with Your Veterinarian in Fountain Hills
What makes our Fountain Hills and Scottsdale senior pet care different from other veterinary health and wellness services? For one thing, the preventative care schedule is necessarily more intensive. Instead of a standard annual wellness exam, your Fountain Hills veterinarian will recommend at least two exams per year for senior pets. This allows us to perform extra lab tests and other evaluations to catch signs of organ failure, systemic diseases or cancers as early as possible for optimal treatment. It also gives owners more opportunities to chat with their veterinarian in Fountain Hills, Dr. Hoban or Dr. Dumphy, about any recent changes in their pet’s behavior, eating habits or other health indicators.
Learn more About How we Can Help You & Your Pet!
If our pet is suffering from age-related health challenges, your Fountain Hills veterinarian can help. Obese older pets may respond favorably to dietary modifications and light exercise. If joint pain and stiffness are a problem, we can prescribe anti-inflammatory medications and/or nutritional supplements that ease inflammation and support joint health. Medications may also be needed to get diabetes, hypertension and other chronic problems under control. If your pet is having trouble getting around or seems confused, we can check for cataracts, deafness or cognitive deterioration that may call for lifestyle or household changes. When the time comes to say goodbye to your beloved pet, your Fountain Hills veterinarian can even provide compassionate, comfortable at-home euthanasia.
Make sure your pet’s senior years are happy, healthy ones. Call (480) 889-0881 to learn more about our Fountain Hills and Scottsdale senior pet care services!
Contact the office at (480) 889-0881 for availability.