The Golden Years:
How to Love a Geriatric Pet
Our sweet pets. They love us unconditionally through all of our family
expansions, strange hair-dos and weight gains. We’re quick to place
them into the arms of strangers when we go on extended trips, arrogant
in our expectations of them to behave. They move with us from one
state to the next and never ask why. We, in turn, expect them to
adjust without questions. They buffer our irritable moods with sloppy
face licks. They yearn secretly for our arrival home in the form of
neat meows. Pets are a reflection of the best parts of our humanity.
Eventually, it will come to pass ... the time in their lives that
we’re never prepared to face. The first signs can be anything from a
waning appetite to not coming immediately when we call them. The signs
are often subtle at first, so subtle that we look the other way hoping
that it’s nothing major, that our pets are entitled to having a bad
week just like us. Then we notice that singular bad week stretching
into a string of bad weeks. We soon realize that what we thought was
disobedience is in fact hearing loss and the lack of grooming is not a
manifestation of laziness, but just plain weariness.
This month’s issue of the HealthyPetNet News is dedicated to our
senior dogs and cats, pets that have spent their entire adult lives
caring for us in their own special ways. Through early detection of
age-related problems and successful management of illnesses, it is now
our turn to care |
unconditionally for them so that they can age as painlessly as
possible.
The Age Barometer
Any creature, whether it is a cat, dog or human, attains geriatric
status when 75% of its life span has elapsed. Therefore, according to
this equation, when a cat reaches 10-13 years of age, it has
officially become a senior citizen of the cat world. However, not all
cats (or dogs for that matter) age at the same rate. A cat’s
biological age depends on its breed, genetic background, the quality
of diet and the overall quality of environment throughout his or her
life. Research suggests that old age for cats occurs somewhere around
the 8th or 9th birthday. The following is an overall guide that
veterinarians use to determine aging, regardless of genetics or
environment.
Small Dogs
(less than 20 pounds)
9-13 years
Medium Dogs
(21-50 pounds)
9-11.5 years
Large Dogs
(51-90 pounds)
7.5-10.5 years
Giant Dogs
(over 90 pounds)
6-9 years
Cats (Most Breeds)
8-10 years |
