The Basics of Elderly Pet Care
Adding adorable and dependable pets as a member of the family will always be a great decision for most households. You will have a companion and a source of joy at the same time. But as an owner of older, you must also guarantee the healthy state of both body and mind of your pets and you should make sure that their happiness gauge is always full.
You must take care of your elderly pet to the best of your ability. You must ensure the best health and longevity for your cats, dogs, etc. And with this, we suggest giving older pets wholesome nutrition and avoiding unneeded exposures to particular types of vaccines, heartworm, and flea and tick preventives. You must as well avoid chemicals which can include fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides.
Together with the smart advises of a few experts we have prepared prepared the following to help you keep the best condition of your elderly pets.
Fresh diet
You’d probably know about this but remember to give a fresh diet to your elderly pets often. You can feed them a variety of whole, fresh and nutritionally dense foods. The best diet always includes properly prepared and balanced raw food diets which may consist of fresh, freeze-dried or dehydrated foods. This of course depends on the type of pet you have. But a diet that includes homemade, cooked diets as well as premium grain-free and gluten-free commercial foods.
Nutritional Supplements
In addition to ensuring the best health for your pets, include good nutritional supplements on their diet as well. It is essential to intake proper amount of fatty acids such as omega 3 and omega 6 and other vitamin/mineral mixture often, along with prebiotics and probiotics. In case you have cats at your home, know that they need more taurine and not too much iodine, unlike dogs.
Both humans and animals produce cellular, harmful free radicals every day, and supplements stated above can help lessen it since they provide crucial antioxidant effects. Taking a good amount of such supplements can minimize the risk of chronic tissue and cellular stress, infections, and even cancers.
Proper Vaccination
Do not over-vaccinate elderly pets as per the advice of vets, and it should have proper timing to do core vaccinations. It is very important for your adorable pets to have initial vaccines for core diseases to ensure they’re properly protected throughout their lives. This particular shouldn’t be done at a very early stage before six weeks and not until 8.5 to 10 weeks for the reason that the puppy or kitten’s leftover maternal immunity will most likely neutralize the vaccines. For older pets it might not be a bad idea to skip most vaccinations. You really should consult your vet.
Possible Vaccination Hard to Elderly Pets
There were damaging effects to other vaccines such as killed vaccines since this can have some components and preservatives like mercury, fetal calf serum, and additives. You should also depend on the exposure risk level of the place you live in and your overall lifestyle to the decision of getting other non-core vaccines for your pets. Don’t get easily swayed by a few news and media hype. Rabies vaccines, on the other hand, are vital and your pets should take it as early as 12 weeks or as late as 24 weeks as said by the law.
If your puppy or kitten had been truly immunized, then annual booster vaccines were not that necessary to avoid having over-vaccinated pets. In order to determine the level of your pet’s immunities, it is advised to make it take serum antibody vaccine titers through a blood draw.
Energetic Mind for the Elderly Pet
Your pets should also have an active mind since physical activities and mental stimulation are both essential for humans and animals. Always add a few tasks, praise and a basic training every time you’re doing a regular exercise or playtime with your pets. With our current busy world and society, it is understandable that you won’t spend a lot of time with your pets, so whenever you’re leaving them alone at home, leave the TV open or make a playlist of good music for them. You still have the weekends to make up for your lost time so make sure to do activities together.
Grooming
Grooming of older pets is very important. They may not have the energy or ability to do it themselves. For dogs we recommend a gentle dog clipper. For cats or other animals a soft grooming glove a couple of times a week should be more than sufficient.
Holistic Approach
You should go with natural approaches and products, and avoid chemicals. You must also do some research to determine the most natural and safest options for your pets. Most vets recommend an integrative and holistic approach when it comes to ensuring the best medical care and health for your loved animals. We suggest seeking the professional service of a vet to further guarantee the best condition of your pets.