September 2011

As we move into fall it makes me think about all our senior and geriatric patients.  I'd like to point out a few areas that you
as their kitty parents want to pay particular attention to as your cats age and start to develop age related health complications. 

     1) Has your cat started to slow down on moving up and/or down stairs?  Has he or she become less active? 
         Does your cat take the round about route to high places rather than making the usual single jump?
         All of these can be signs of early arthritis pain.  There are supplements and pain medications available that
         can aleviate their pain and increase their mobility.  Cats generally don't just slow down due to age.

     2) Have you noticed any increase in your cat's water consumption or urine output?  This one sign can alert us to
         many age related diseases such as kidney insufficiency, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, hyperadrenocorticism and
         and even urinary tract infection.  If your cat is exhibiting these symptoms then please make an appointment so
         that we can determine the cause and start appropriate treatment.

     3) Has the frequency, consistency or amount that your cat vomits increased?  Let's face, in general cats are vomiting
         creatures but if there is a change then it can alert us to primary gastrointestinal disease such as inflammatory bowel
         disease, GI lymphoma and adenocarcinoma to name a few.  It could also be as simple as a food intolerance or
         difficulty processing hair.  A complete evaluation is recommended if your aging cat is experiencing these changes.

     4) Has your cat's mental state changed?  Do they vocalize inappropriately, seem disoriented or lost at times, have
         litterbox habits changed, are they up and aroused at night, has their social behavior with the family and other pets
         changed?  As cats age they can experience cognitive disfunction in addition to age related health problems
         contributing to changes in their daily patterns.  Some behavior change can be related to organic causes such as
         meningiomas(a brain tumor), stiffening of vessels in the brain, small hemorrhages, etc.

For all of these issues there are medications, supplements and environmental modifications that we can recommend to
improve your aging cat's quality of life and make your life a little easier as well when dealing with some of these issues.

We are always trying to find ways to improve the level of care that we offer our patients.  We are currently implementing a
program that assigns each hospitalized or surgical patient their own advocate for the day.  That person is responsible for
monitoring and documenting the needs of their assigned patient.  Their duties include but are certainly not limited to insuring
that their patient's litterbox, food and water are appropriate to their needs and fresh throughout the day.  Each advocate also
rates their patient's level of comfort based on an established pain scale.  In addition they rate their assigned cat's stress level
and implement whatever measures are necessary to minimize each patient's stress.  This could include covering the front of
their cage, giving them a box to hide behind, making them a towel tent to burrow under or giving them a soothing massage.
They must also insure that the cat itself is clean throughout the day and are be responsible for making sure any kitty hygiene
issues are addressed quickly.