Whether your New Year’s resolutions include getting fit, reorganizing your closets, or drinking a gallon of water each day, don’t forget to include your senior pet in your initiatives. Your pet relies on you for their health and happiness, and chances are their daily routine could be improved. A new year is a perfect time to evaluate your pet’s diet, activity, mental enrichment, and health and wellness care, to see if you can better care for them during the year. Here are four resolutions that can help improve your senior pet’s quality of life.
1. Raise the activity level of your senior pet
Your senior pet may no longer hike long trails or run miles by your side, but that doesn’t mean they should spend their days napping on the couch. Older pets need regular exercise to maintain muscle mass, stave off extra weight and remain mobile. Consider your senior pet’s comfort level, and tailor an exercise program appropriate for their abilities. Exercises your senior pet may enjoy include:
- Taking leisurely walks around the block
- Navigating an easy obstacle course
- Swimming
- Playing with another senior pet
- Learning a new trick
- Chasing a feather wand down the hall
- Pouncing on a robotic mouse or bug
Continually monitor your senior pet for signs they are becoming tired and need a break from exercising. They may do better with several short exercise bouts than one long play session.
2. Help your pet lose a few extra pounds
Older pets are prone to a number of health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure, that extra weight can affect. Extra weight also strains degenerating joints and can contribute to pain and mobility issues. In addition to adding regular exercise, evaluate your senior pet’s diet. Pets require different nutrients during their various life stages, and your senior pet’s needs differ from when they were younger. In general, senior pets require less fat and calories and may pack on extra pounds if they ingest more than they need. A diet change is likely in order if you are feeding your senior pet the same diet—and amount—they have eaten for years. Ask your family veterinarian to calculate your pet’s daily calorie needs and recommend a senior diet, to ensure you are feeding an appropriate food and amount.
3. Engage and enrich your senior pet mentally
In the same way regular exercise benefits your pet’s physical health, mental stimulation will help keep their brain healthy. Cognitive dysfunction is common in older pets, affecting 28% of pets 11 to 14 years old and more than 50% of pets older than 15. As cognitive function declines, senior pets may experience disorientation, increased anxiety, and altered sleep-wake patterns, which can manifest as odd behavior changes. To keep your pet’s mental acuity sharp, provide them with mental enrichment activities, such as:
- Feeding them from a food puzzle
- Hiding treats around the house for them to find
- Rotating toys to prevent boredom
- Stuffing a Kong with a mixture of canned food and kibble, or fresh fruit and yogurt
Many physical activities, such as navigating an agility course or mastering a new trick, play double duty by exercising your pet’s mind and body.
4. Keep up with your senior pet’s wellness status
Regular health and wellness visits are important through every life stage but become increasingly critical as your pet ages. Older pets are more likely to develop medical problems and need more frequent health checks to detect potential problems. They should be seen by a veterinarian every three to six months—more often if they develop a medical problem and require palliative care. A thorough physical exam and blood work can detect subtle signs you may miss, and allow your veterinarian to diagnose diseases in their early stages when treatment is generally more helpful. In addition to your pet’s wellness exams, ensure you keep up with their vaccines and parasite preventives. While you may assume your pet’s infectious disease risk decreases with age, their immune system is likely weaker, leaving them more susceptible to infection.