Many diseases and illnesses may go undetected in animals since their survival instincts require them to conceal their illnesses from natural predators. We recommend screening for common diseases of our senior companions.
Dogs age 6 years and older or cats 10 years and older could benefit from a routine yearly urinalysis. We may detect early signs of kidney disease or diabetes with a first morning catch of your pet's urine. If your dog drinks a lot of water during the day (i.e. after exercise) this may falsely dilute the urine. It does not matter what time of day a urine sample is collected for cats. Place the urine in a clean container and refrigerate if you are not able to bring it to the clinic immediately. We are able to get urine from cats at the clinic if you are unable to at home.
By changing the diet to a food formulated for kidney disease we may be able to slow down the natural progress of kidney disease.
Animals with kidney disease are also more susceptible to urinary tract infections since they are not able to concentrate their urine as well as younger animals. Kidney disease may cause other diseases such as high blood pressure and heart disease. Routine bloodwork may also aid in the diagnosis of kidney or liver disease and diabetes.
As with people, hypertension occurs as animals get older. We now have the capability of measuring blood pressure for animals here at the clinic. This is especially important to measure in older cats since cats will eventually get kidney disease if they live long enough and high blood pressure can lead to sudden blindness.
Another cause of hypertension in cats is a common disease of older cats called hyperthyroidism. Hyperthyroidism may cause your cat to lose weight even though he or she has a good appetite. Hyperthyroidism may cause heart murmurs in older cats as the thyroid affects many organs of the body. This may be detected by a simple blood test and there is effective treatment for hyperthyroidism.
Early detection and prevention are always better than treating illness. Since animals cannot speak to us literally, we have to rely on diagnostic tests to determine underlying disease. Please ask us about our geriatric profiles which can say you money now and in the long run. By addressing any impending disease you can help your pet live a longer, healthier life.
