Senior Pets

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Aging:

• Aging is not a disease itself. The rate of aging may be influenced by many factors, including genetics, environment and nutrition. As a pet grows older, its immunity becomes weakened, therefore it is doubly important that your pet has its annual vaccination, to boost its immune system, but also to have a thorough health check by your vet. On average your pet's one year of life is equivalent to seven human years, and many changes happen in this time.

Common problems:

• Common ailments that affect older pets include heart problems, joint disease, dental disease, gastrointestinal and urinary problems, kidney disease, obesity and skin growths. Feeding your pet the correct diet can dramatically reduce the incidence of these. "Senior" diets are specially formulated to care for the older pet. They are low in fat to counteract their less active lifestyle, high quality proteins prevent further kidney disease, restricted sodium and chloride prevents hypertension, heart and kidney problems, and correctly balanced phosphorus and calcium levels also assist the kidneys. They also have added vitamins and antioxidants to fight against free radicals and help prevent some cancers. To promote healthy joints, glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate is supplemented. Fatty acids are also important to promote healthy skin and coat.