Animiyo guides

Caring for senior pets

Caring for a senior animal means managing several variables at once. These guides provide repeatable measurement tools and record templates to bring to the consultation.

20 guides

Open the guideBeginner30 min
Using ramps and support harnesses for a senior dog
A practical guide to mobility aids for the senior dog: choosing the right ramp and harness, introducing them gradually and using them safely every day.
Dog
Open the guideBeginner25 min
Adapting movement and walks for a senior dog
A senior dog still needs to move, but differently. Shorter, more frequent walks, the right surfaces and attention to the signals make the difference.
Dog
Open the guideBeginner30 min
Adapting the litter box for an ageing cat that struggles
A senior cat that misses the box rarely does it out of spite: often it can no longer reach or climb in. Here is how to adapt trays, litter and locations.
Cat
Open the guideIntermediate30 min
Helping a senior pet losing its sight or hearing
Losing a sense slowly does not cost an animal its quality of life, as long as the environment stays predictable and communication moves to the senses that remain.
DogCat
Open the guideBeginner25 min
Caring for the mouth and teeth of a senior pet
Dental pain in an older pet is nearly always silent. Here is how to look for it, how to keep up hygiene without a fight, and when the vet is needed.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate35 min
Managing disturbed night sleep in a senior dog or cat
Night waking in an older animal is not stubbornness: it almost always has a cause. Here is how to look for it methodically before giving up.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate35 min
Managing at home subcutaneous fluids for a senior pet
Home subcutaneous fluids frighten the person giving them more than the animal receiving them. With tidy preparation it becomes a well tolerated routine of minutes.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate30 min
Monitoring weight and muscle mass in your senior pet
In older dogs and cats, weight loss and muscle wasting are often the first sign of illness, and catching them at home can buy precious weeks.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate35 min
Preventing pressure sores in a pet that stays lying down
When a pet spends many hours lying down, the skin over bony points is the first to give way. Preventing it is doable with a simple routine of position, surface and daily checks.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate35 min
Spotting and managing chronic pain in the senior pet
A method for catching the pain that hides behind the idea that it is just age, turning it into useful data and building a management plan with your vet that lasts.
DogCat
Open the guideBeginner15 min
Spotting and managing dehydration in an older pet
In an older animal dehydration creeps in slowly and stays hidden until it drags on the kidneys and heart. Here is how to catch it early and what to do before it worsens.
DogCat
Open the guideBeginner25 min
Protecting a senior pet from heat and cold at home
With age, temperature control falters: a few tweaks at home stop a heatwave or a cold snap from turning into an emergency for a senior pet.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate35 min
Setting up home palliative care for a senior pet
Palliative care is not giving up, it is a plan. Here is how to organise the environment, the treatments and daily observation to give a senior comfort without improvising.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate50 min
Planning geriatric check ups and screening for a senior pet
A surveillance plan that turns the yearly visit into a regular system of targeted checks, so problems surface while they can still be managed.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate25 min
Manage meals for the senior pet that eats less
A senior that eats less is not always just old. Environment, texture and small touches help, but a drop in appetite should first be understood with the vet.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate20 min
Recognising and managing cognitive decline in senior pets
Cognitive decline shows through subtle signals easily mistaken for normal ageing. Here is how to observe them, log them and adapt the home, while leaving the diagnosis to the vet.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate40 min
Giving several medicines a day without making mistakes
Once there are four dosing times and two people in the house, an error stops being a possibility and becomes a statistical certainty. This is the system that catches it.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate25 min
Managing incontinence in a senior pet with dignity
A daily routine that protects both skin and dignity, with the table of causes to distinguish and the data your vet will use to reach a diagnosis quickly.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate15 min
Assessing a senior pet's quality of life
Seven domains observed the same way each time, a repeatable weekly score and the good days versus hard days rule, so decisions rest on facts rather than memory.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate15 min
Helping a senior pet that struggles to stand up
Assisting a stand without hurting yourself or the animal: traction before force, support under sternum and hips, and three daily numbers that make the trend visible.
DogCat