Have you been thinking about adopting a furry companion lately? Close to one in five households adopted a pet at some point during the pandemic. If you weren’t one of those, we highly recommend thinking about adopting a senior pet.
Did you know that pets offer companionship and combat loneliness? Dogs that need even short walks can encourage us to stay active and improve our health. And having a pet has even been shown to lower blood pressure and reduce cardiovascular issues.
Plus, a lot of senior pets get passed over because they’re past the heavy playing, “cute” puppy and kitten stages. But that’s perfect for us Third Agers! That lower activity level might be just right for a home with us because our desire to spoil, love and simply spend time with a senior pet is actually what many senior dogs and cats need. Senior pets’ personalities are also fully developed, so what you see is what you get.
Taking Care of a Senior Pet
If you do decide to adopt a new pet this Christmas season, but especially a senior one, we have just the books for you! The downside to caring for a senior pet is of course they might need just a bit more love. We’ve found two books that cover all you need to know for caring for a senior pet, and if you head over to our products section, we’ve got some great products for senior pets as well.
Old Dog Love
Written by BBC-featured veterinarian Dr. Joanna de Klerk, Old Dog Love is literally a common-sense guide to caring for your senior pet. Whether you’ve had an older dog before or you never have, she created this book to be a helpful, go-to guide for all senior dog care information.
Some of the topics she covers include:
- How Old is Old?
- Adopting a Senior Dog
- Loss of Senses
- Adjusting Your Senior Dog’s Living Space
- Preventative Veterinary Care
- Nutritional Adjustments
- Common Senior Ailments and Care
- Making the Hardest Decision
Older and senior dogs need different care to younger dogs and are prone to age-related ailments. But with this book you’ll be ready to take care of anything that comes your way!
Complete Care for Your Aging Cat
If you’re more of a cat lover, Amy Shojai has the Old Cat Bible for you! Her Complete Care for Your Aging Cat is filled with comprehensive reference materials, including interviews from over 100 veterinary experts. This book will give you the information you need to keep your senior cat vital, happy, and active.
In her book, she shares:
- How to entice your older cat into getting more exercise
- What changes to expect as your cat ages–and which changes are natural and which are warning signs that should send you to the veterinarian
- Which pet-specific over-the-counter cat medications every owner should keep on hand
- How to use the L.O.V.E. Program to keep your cat loving longer and living better
- Tips on everything from choosing the right products and cat foods for your aging cat
- How to offer old cats nursing care at home for common old cat conditions
- Information about cat symptoms and feline treatments for cat kidney disease, hyperthyroidism in cats, cat urinary tract infection, cats and diabetes, blind cat, deaf cat, cat stroke, feline diarrhea, cat constipation, old cats not eating, litter box problems and more
This is the perfect book if you want to turn the clock back on your cat’s aging and help them live a long, happy life.
