I think exercise is important in all species and all kinds of animals. So, yes, I would encourage exercise, if possible. And I know people are probably looking at the screen like, "Yeah, you come to my house and make my senior cat exercise." But anything you could do to get them moving. If they're food motivated, tie that little food to a string and track it along and have them taste it. But it is important to try to get some physical activity. The more stationary they are, the more weight they're going to gain, and the more there are possibilities of other diseases manifesting themselves. Please try your best to exercise your senior cats.

A couple of health needs that your senior cat may require are just regular vaccines, depending on the lifestyle, dewormings, preventative care testings, such as blood works, and urine testing. Sometimes x-rays and diet changes are needed. As they age, senior cats need specific changes in their diet to meet their nutritional needs. Exercise is still a big one in all cats and dogs as they age. So, those are some of the health needs.

Cats are technically considered a senior around 11 years old. We tend to do a little bit more care and follow up after the age of seven, though, because a lot of times we can detect early changes as they age, and we want to trend things. So, even though 11 is considered senior, we should be doing at least annual but hopefully biannual as they age over seven years of age.

A lot depends on what your senior dog is exhibiting. If they're fairly healthy and they're running around, still playing, great. But some dogs tend to slow down because of that arthritis, which is a common illness in senior pets, and you've probably heard me mention it many times during the questions. But they used to jump off that couch; now you’ve got to get some steps to help them step up. Maybe your food bowl was on the floor. Let's get a raised platform so they don't have to bend down to eat it. If they're having some vision problems, just be careful if you have a pool or anything else so they don't fall in. Try not to move things around the house too much. Sometimes if they do have arthritis and they're slipping, you should put runners on laminate or tile floor so they don't slip as much.

A lot of times you'll need to add some glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, MSM—these are all good for the joints. Sometimes fish oils are needed, as they are used for the joints and brain health. And calorie restriction should be considered because, as seniors, we don't need as many calories as a growing puppy. We've reached our full potential.