Geriatric Medicine

Senior Pets Get Special Care

Loomis Basin appreciates how pets find their ways into our hearts over the years, becoming faithful companions and members of the family. If your pet is older than 6 years of age, he or she is considered a Senior Pet and therefore deserves and requires more care and attention when it comes to veterinary care. As your pet ages, we recommend he or she sees one of our veterinarians for a wellness exam every 6 months. Six months may seem like a short time until we recall that pets age, on average, 5 years for every chronologic year. Six months for your pet is like 2 to 3 years for you.

These vitally important semi-annual wellness exams, along with blood work, will screen for kidney and liver function, heart disease, diabetes, thyroid problems, and hypertension. The majority of age-related problems in pets can be remedied or eased with early detection and can be treated effectively before they cause too much pain.

Not only do we believe in the importance of comprehensive, regular veterinary care in extending the life of your pet, we believe it is equally important to help provide your pet with a good quality of life overall. Consistently, we find that obesity is a major contributing factor to many age-related joint problems and arthritis. Exercise and diet become even more important as your pet grows older. We are happy to provide recommendations to you on how to keep your senior pet physically fit and at an appropriate weight as he or she ages.