Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Methods for Correctly Taking Care of Your Aging Animals

By Shelia M. Wright


Just like human beings, our pet animals experience changes in the body as they grow old. Being mindful of this, they thus also need adjustments in the care they receive from their masters. Senior pets need more attention and care as compared to younger animals. However, the additional care and adjustment don't always have to be extremely hard to do provided you know what to anticipate among elderly animals and you offer the ideal care. By efficiently giving care which is suitable for senior pets, these animals even have the ability to double their average life spans. You also have the possibility of spending more fantastic years with your favorite pet as he/she ages.

Pets go through physical changes as they grow older and which can either be gradual or fast. Nevertheless, these changes are not the same for all forms of pets - every type has a specific pattern on physical changes. Among canines, the changes also depend upon the breed. Most dogs are in their later years at the age of seven. The little breeds, however, can still reach more years before they are in the geriatric stage of their lives. Meanwhile, cats are also considered to be elderly when they reach 7 to 10 years old.

Aging pets have decreasing capability to move; and this is among the most common features among them. A lot of animals encounter arthritis, thus causing their legs to become too stiff and painful for them to move. If this condition has not took place to your family pet yet, you can try to delay it from taking place by letting your pet regularly do appropriate forms of physical exercises. If the floors at home are made of slick tiles or wood, you might observe that your pet will avoid passing on these types of floors. Because this type of floor material can raise the pain for pets, you can cover the area with an area rug. If you opted to provide your pet with assistance in performing certain activities like climbing up the stairs, you might want to consider having a pet gate set up and locked. This will ensure that your pet will not be tempted to climb up the stairways on her/his own without your aid and end up falling and getting hurt.

There is a possibility for older pets to go outside the house more often so they can relieve themselves. So make sure that you give them ample time to spend outside the house. Aging animals, nevertheless, would also lose the desire to go outside the house specially when their joints are stiff and unpleasant from arthritis. You can give your cats with several kitty litter boxes at home, or your dog with portable indoor "doggie potties."

If your pets are familiar with going anywhere with you in your automobile, they could also have trouble jumping to get in the vehicle when they're old. You could simply just have a small pet to get him/her in the car. But if your animal is large or you just want your puppy to still be able to get in the automobile on his/her own, you can provide pet stairs for your pet to climb on to get in the car.

Providing your pet with heated and therapeutic foam bedding and diapers for dogs is also a great idea because this will assist soothe their hurting and swelling joints particularly during cold times.

Aging pets are also prone to experiencing dryness on their skin and coat. To help relieve or prevent this issue, you can groom your family pet regularly. Regular grooming will also enable you to instantly identify early indications of the development of tumors and other severe abnormalities.

Aging animals are also very much susceptible to obesity due to less quantity of activities. You must thus also make adjustments on their eating habits to prevent the diseases associated with getting too fat.

Most essential of all, do continue to shower your senior animals with love and attention so they can still meet their emotional stimulation needs.




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