Health Maintenance Programs in Companion Animals

The focus in medicine, both human and veterinary, has evolved so that the effort of practitioners is now being directed towards health maintenance, enabling patients to live a longer, more enjoyable life. We recognize that we have the ability to influence our own health through choices we make, including proper diet and exercise. We also realize that regular screening tests are important to detect sub-clinical signs or early indicators for the future development of specific diseases. With our pets becoming integral members of our families, we want to provide the same benefits to our pets.

The goals of a well-designed health maintenance or wellness program include: identifying health risk factors for the patient; taking steps to eliminate or minimize their future impact on health; and detecting diseases at an early stage. Health risk factors include heredity, past medical history, chronological age, and environmental influences. Health maintenance services for pets have traditionally included vaccinations and control or prevention of internal and external parasites. Comprehensive wellness programs place more emphasis on the specific life style and life stage of the patient, allowing the veterinary team to tailor programs towards the individual. For example, a cat that lives in a high rise apartment and spends most of its day as a guardian of the couch has entirely different set of risk factors than a purebred Labrador retriever puppy that is in training for field trial competitions. Well designed health maintenance programs not only include the traditional vaccination and parasite control components, but also incorporate components such as prophylactic dental care, nutritional recommendations (including life stage diets), behavioral modification programs, and screening tests to detect specific individual risk factors.

Using the examples above, the indoor cat has specific life-style risk factors that predispose it to obesity, the most significant malnutrition problem seen in North American cats and dogs (studies suggest that more than 25% of pet dogs and cats are overweight or obese). Obesity can cause or worsen conditions such as arthritis, heart and lung disease, endocrine diseases such as diabetes mellitus, to name a few. It is well established that obesity shortens lifespan. The Labrador pup is at risk for developing orthopedic disease during rapid growth stages, especially if he is fed a high-energy diet or is given calcium supplementation. For both animals, as they age they may be at risk for developing kidney disease if they regularly consume excessive phosphorus in their diets. Wellness programs for these pets would include nutritional management and regular physical examinations.

As the pet ages, the recommended wellness program may be expanded to include other screening tests such as radiographs, blood tests, urinalysis, and fecal examination. Since pets age more rapidly than humans, it is important to monitor older pets more frequently. Thus, veterinarians now recommend that geriatric cats and dogs have a physical examination at least twice a year. As a general rule, senior cats are over 8 years of age, while dogs are considered to be senior at 5 years of age in certain large breeds and 8-10 years in smaller or mixed breeds.

As your veterinary health care providers, we encourage you to contact us so that we can develop a wellness program for your family pet.

Caution: These news items, written by Lifelearn Inc., are licensed to this practice for the personal use of our clients. Any copying, printing or further distribution is prohibited without the express written permission of Lifelearn Inc. Please note that the news information presented here is NOT a substitute for a proper consultation and/or clinical examination of your pet by our clinic veterinarian.