Issue Date: May 15, 2001
New Tricks for Old Cats and dogs, too.
Amazing advances prolonging your life now also help your beloved pet.
By Peggy Noonan
We're not the only ones living longer, our pets are, too.
About 40% of the nation's dogs and cats are "seniors." That's 18 million dogs and 22
million cats beyond the ripe old age of 7 (about 50 in their years). Advances in veterinary
medicine and pet nutrition, coupled with more involved pet owners who demand better care for
their animal companions, are adding years of frisky life.
"The 18- to 20-year-old dog or cat will be a relatively common occurrence in the next 10
years," says Greg Troy, an internist at Virginia Tech's College of Veterinary Medicine.
But wait. Consider the potential: The oldest dog on record lived to be 29; the oldest cat lived to age 34.
Who's counting? You are. About 70% of pet owners celebrate the animals'
birthdays, a sure sign that canines and felines are family. And just as watching your parents
grow old is unsettling, it may be painful to notice your pet's graying muzzle and other signs
of aging. But take comfort. Your pet isn't fretting about the future. "They don't know they're
getting old," says Chris Walkowicz, co-author of Old Dogs, Old Friends. "They only know the
present."
But the present has plenty to keep you and your old pet busy. Chronic diseases that hound older
people, such as arthritis or arteriosclerosis, also hurt older animals. Because of the aging pet
population, vets now see more cases of metabolic disorders, such as kidney disease, liver
disease and diabetes, as well as cancer and orthopedic problems.
Today, pets undergo many medical procedures and treatments once only available to humans:
They get pacemakers installed, have organ transplants, get joint replacements and undergo
chemotherapy. (And we're not even going to mention all those CAT scans.)
New vet guidelines recommend taking senior pets in for a checkup at least twice a year.
Remember, dogs and cats age roughly seven biological years for every calendar year. So between
annual checkups, your pet has grown seven years older. Often, changes occur so gradually that
owners don't notice them. And animals are great at hiding ailments, it's nature's way of
protecting them from predators that go after the sick, weak or old.
The father of geriatric pet care is Richard T. Goldston, an internal medicine vet in Florida
who co-wrote the top textbook on old dogs and cats.
"A lot of veterinarians still treat a 10-year-old dog the same as a 5-year-old dog," he says.
"Get it in for vaccinations, check it and send it home for a year.
Somebody in a good [geriatric] program will ask for a blood chemistry profile, a complete
blood count, a thyroid test. If those are normal, then a couple of weeks later, chest and
abdominal X-rays and a urinalysis. If that's normal, great. But in 25%, we find something wrong.
And this is before it's externally obvious, so we can start treating early.
We may not be able to cure it, but we can control it and slow down its progression considerably."
This "routine evaluation" costs $200 to $300 in Goldston's area.
Caring for a senior pet costs $450 to $500 a year on average, he says, four times the
cost for an adult pet.
If those per-pet costs surprise you, you'll be shocked at the total amount Americans
lavish on pets: $28.5 billion this year, according to the American Pet Products
Manufacturers Association. That figure, up 24% since 1998, is more than Americans
spend for such important items as books, funerals or private schools.
With some veterinary procedures costing upwards of $2,000, more owners buy pet insurance
offered by a number of companies, veterinarians and animal hospitals, even a pet HMO.
But cost simply isn't a big bone of contention.
"People are more concerned with quality of life," says Linda Ross, associate professor at
Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine.
Buying quality of life for Tigger, a 16-year-old cat in Arlington Heights, Ill., puts a
$2,000 annual dent in the family budget for Craig and Jennifer Bloomfield. But so what?
"He's worth every penny," Jennifer says. The cost comes from dealing with Tigger's diabetes,
once treated only by euthanasia. Twice-a-day insulin injections are necessary, a task that
sounds nerve-racking for scaredy cats and owners alike. But Jennifer used "affection training"
to teach Tigger not to fear his injections. "When I call him and tap on his needle and say,
"Time for your medicine,' he comes and sits down next to me." Then he waits patiently for his
quick and virtually painless shot. (If it hurt, Tigger would fear and avoid the needle.)
Tigger is doing so well, his vet says, he could live to be 22. Still, Jennifer is realistic
about her cat's future. She learned a hard lesson caring for the cat she owned before Tigger.
When that cat developed cancer, Jennifer wanted the vet to go to any length to save its life.
But cancer won. Now she realizes going all-out isn't always the right thing. At some point,
it's time to say "no more suffering" and let the pet go peacefully.
Every owner in a treat-or-don't-treat dilemma wonders, should I put my dear one through this?
Or let go? Vets we talked to offered two rules of thumb:
-- If your pet's doctor says your dog or cat has only six months to live, don't put the animal
through surgery or uncomfortable treatment. But if he or she could have two or three more years, do it.
-- As long as your pet's good days outnumber the bad, aggressively give your pet the best care
you can. When most of the days are bad, let go.
"In the past, we put a lot of dogs to sleep because of arthritis," says William Fortney of
Kansas State University's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. "But there's been a tremendous
growth in options. We can improve an animal's quality of life immensely due to advances in
medication and other treatments."
Won Ton, a 13-year-old red Chow owned by Lori and Russ Bledsoe of Laguna Niguel, Calif., is a
good example. As the Chow grew older, she had a hard time standing up and moving. "A lot of
people aren't in tune when their animals hurt," Lori says, but Won Ton's crankiness showed
she was in great pain. When milder remedies didn't help her osteoarthritis, it looked as though
she might have to be put to sleep.
Then their vet suggested a new drug called Rimadyl. In two weeks, they saw improvement, but
Won Ton had "tummy upsets" as a side effect, so she's on the lowest possible dose and before
each meal takes Tagamet (a drug humans use to soothe their stomachs).
Giving Won Ton her medicines is no problem, she doesn't mind a bit, but it's not cheap.
The Bledsoes figure the drugs alone cost $30 to $40 a month. On top of that, they pay for
twice-yearly vet checks, blood tests and other health care. And then there are the Bledsoes' cats,
each with health problems. Toodles, 15, has arthritis and a thyroid problem that requires
twice-a-year blood tests and daily medication. Middle cat Snickers is a nervous hair-puller.
Baby cat Boomer has irritable bowel syndrome.
"We budget money for the vet each month," the way other people budget for vacation
trips or a new car or luxuries, says Lori Bledsoe. "If you're going to have pets, you've
got to take care of them."
Peggy Noonan, a Colorado writer, gives her geriatric German shepherds, Bonnie and Wendy,
daily doses of vitamin E and glucosamine-chondroitin for joint pain.
Tips for caring for your older pet
 Put safety gates across stairways so arthritic pets don't try to climb up or down stairs where their stiff and painful joints could cause a fall and serious injury.
Wipe up spills around water bowls so your pet won't slip and fall.
Feed senior pet foods (unless your vet recommends a prescription diet) so the animal gets the right nutrition for his or her age, without overeating.
Remember older pets are more sensitive: Use gentle shampoos (or dry-shampoo on days when they aren't feeling well or it's cold outside), senior toothpastes and other senior grooming products that are gentler on older cats and dogs.
Elevate food and water if your pet has trouble bending to eat or drink.
Use pet snowsuits, slickers, sweaters and booties to protect your pet from harsh weather.
Give your pet lots of attention.
Source: American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA) in Greenwich, Conn.
Cover photograph by Robert Sebree for USA WEEKEND
Dogs courtesy of Kim's Exotic Critters
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