Senior Pet Care With Our Troutdale Veterinarian Team

Pets may get older with surprising speed, but that doesn't mean their quality of life has to go downhill at the same rate. Senior pets can retain their health and comfort well into their golden years, especially if they're patients at Paws & Claws Pet Medical Center. Our Troutdale vet center offers high-quality senior pet care for animals just like yours.

Challenges Faced by Aging Pets

Different types of animals age at various rates and sometimes faster than their owners anticipate. For most average-sized dogs and cats, the geriatric years are considered to begin around the age of 7. (If you have birds, reptiles, rodents or other less traditional pets, we can educate you on these various creatures' stages of life.) Just as older humans become more prone to certain health challenges, so do many pets face elevated health risks. Senior pets become increasingly vulnerable to issues such as:

• Periodontal disease
• Cardiovascular problems
• Kidney, liver, thyroid or other internal organ dysfunction
• Cognitive decline
• Vision and hearing loss
• Digestive and urinary issues
• Degenerative joint diseases such as arthritis
• Cancer

Your Troutdale Veterinarian Can Help You Keep Your Old Friend Well

Any veterinarian on our skilled team can help your best friend enjoy his senior years through optimal health and wellness. Dr. DeRemer, Dr. Huntsinger or Dr. Pollock can provide twice-yearly senior wellness exams, as opposed to the annual exams we generally recommend for younger adult animals. The extra frequency allows us to catch age-related health problems as early as we can, enabling us to initiate treatment right away and get the ailment under control. Senior pet exams place extra emphasis on checking for abnormalities in internal organ function, which can reveal chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. We will also observe your pet's alertness, stance, physical appearance and behavior while asking you about any changes you may have noticed. Weighing your pet can confirm whether he is suffering from obesity.

If your senior pet is experiencing health challenges, rest assured that he's in the right hands. Your Troutdale veterinarian can administer a great many treatments and recommendations to make things better. These may include anti-inflammatory drugs and nutritional supplements to ease chronic pain, opioid medications for more severe pain problems, and prescription drugs to combat systemic diseases ranging from diabetes to hypothyroidism. Gentle exercises can help a sedentary pet enjoy better health and range of motion. We can also put your pet on a special diet to support treatment for these issues and/or control his weight.

The Place to Go for Troutdale and Gresham Senior Pet Care

If you want to make sure that the second half of your Troutdale or Gresham pet's life is as enjoyable as the first, Paws & Claws Pet Medical Center wants to help. Call 503-661-1833 to schedule senior pet exams, pain management and medical treatment for your elderly family member!