“Aging is not lost youth, but a new stage of opportunity and
strength.”
~Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan, a writer, a feminist and an
initiator of women’s movement in America had mentioned the above words, meaning
that aging is not about losing youth, but is a stage of living new opportunities
and experience the strength. Although these lines must have been directed to
humans, it also relate to pets. Aging can be equally exhausting for your furry
friends as it is for humans.
However, you can always make your furry friends
feel young and exuberant. Instead of making them feel that they have joined the
category of “cannot climb or run”, you need to act in such a way that
situations favor them. Generally when a pet is aging, he may start having joint
aches, ignore food plates, lose their sight and hearing abilities, and have
urinary accidents. If you succeed in helping your pets with these fading
abilities, you may also succeed in making them feel young.
Let’s check how you can help your pets with these
things while he is aging!
Painful
joints- Try to subdue the ache
Arthritis is a major issue in aging pets. This
condition may make your pet’s bones brittle and its inflammation induces pain
while moving, jumping, running, or doing any physical exercise. It may happen
that your pooch may not climb up or down the stairs in a single leap. Or, your
kitty may not be able to climb her favorite counter.
What you can do to help your pets in such
situations is that create an easy way for their activities. For an instance,
keep a box or chair for your kitty to give less stress to her joints while she
attempts to sit on her favorite counter. There are pet products available like
pet ramps that give an easy access to beds and other places. Apart from these,
you can keep your pets on joint care supplements like Glucosamine Chondroitin
tablets, Canine joint support tablets, etc.
Lost
appetite- Trigger their cravings
There can be various reasons for your mature pet
to deny the plate of food. In this golden age, their teeth become weak or may fall.
To overcome this situation, you may need to make their food easy to chew. Their
sense of smelling may decrease with increasing age, and this may not allow them
to find the food appealing. To solve this, heat his food in microwave for 10
seconds. This has a two-way benefit- first, it will soften the food, and
second, it will work as a smell enhancer.
If your pet cannot chew the kibble, blend it with
water. The other thing that you may need to keep in mind is that if he avoids
eating; do not keep the food filled bowl near him. This may kill his appetite.
Many felines prefer to have the owners beside them, stroking. Do as much is
needed to keep your aging friend healthy. Sit with them while they are gulfing
their meal.
Dotage-
Boost their mental abilities
Being slow is natural in old age. Though, there
are no limitations on your pet’s mind by his age. You can fill the gaps of hard
physical exercises with mental workouts. Puzzle toys, training games, etc. will
boost his mental abilities and keep the dotage behind. Make them practice the
obedience drills often to let them feel that they are winners. Appreciate their
success in what may sound naïve to you, like killing the toy mouse or doing a
puzzle right. This will give them confidence and there is chance that they live
longer with your love.
Weak
senses- Signals and trails may be equally efficient
Blindness and deafness are two definite things
that old age brings. With the ripening of age, your pooch or feline may go
blind or deaf. Calling him for dinner, telling him to sit, finding the way to
litter box, etc. may become difficult during your companion’s golden age.
However, there are ways to make things right.
For your deaf pets, teach them hand signs that
would suggest what they are supposed to do. Blind pets usually rely on their
memory, so it is advised not to rearrange the furniture. You can use the signs
like stomping your foot to call your blind pets. Help them find their way to
litter boxes or food bowl by leaving certain trails that hint them. Being
patient with the urinary accidents is a must when your pet starts getting old.
To conclude, unlike
humans, pets do not need anti-aging creams and beauty products to age
gracefully. The only thing that they may need from you is love and patience.
Follow these tips and help your pets growing old beautifully.
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