Complete Care for Your Aging Cat

by Amy Shojai

  Protect carpet and furniture by putting down sheets of plastic

  and spreading disposable diapers or products like Depend

  Undergarments to catch the urine.

  Bath Wipes for are alcohol-free pre-moistened wipes with skin

  conditioners. They are soothing to inflamed skin, and come in

  resealable packages.

  3M Cavilon No Sting Barrier Film is a liquid barrier that dries

  quickly to form a breathable, transparent coating to the skin.

  This human product is designed to protect intact or damaged

  skin from urine, feces, other body fluids, tape trauma, and

  friction—and it is also ideal for pets with incontinence problems.

  Products such as Dri-Dek elevate the pet from the floor to keep

  her away from “accidents.” The waffle-shaped material comes in

  sheets that can be fitted to your size needs.

  CHAPTER 5—ADVANCED CARE OPTIONS

  According to the American Animal Hospital Association, 84 percent

  of owners surveyed said they refer to themselves as their pet’s “Mom”

  or “Dad,” and 74 percent would go into debt for their pet’s wel being.

  Because so many of us consider cats to be part of the family, we want

  to prolong that relationship for as long as possible. To do that, more

  and more owners seek a very high level of care thereby spurring

  veterinary medicine to ever greater heights to answer the demand.

  The local veterinarian has al the necessary training and skil s to

  care for your aging cat throughout a healthy old age. Specific health

  problems of geriatric cats, though, often benefit from the expertise of a

  veterinary specialist.

  Veterinary Specialists

  After eight to ten years of study to attain their DVM or VMD (general

  practitioner’s degree), veterinarians can continue with three to seven

  or more years of further study to qualify as a “board-certified

  specialist” in a particular health discipline. There are more than twenty

  specialty boards, referred to as “col eges,” which provide certification.

  A veterinary specialist is said to be a “diplomate” of a particular

  col ege specialty. The designation for a cat specialist, for instance,

  would be Dr. Stephanie Lord, DVM, DABVP (feline), which stands for

  diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, with a

  feline specialty. Feline specialists have a particular expertise in cat

  care.

  In general, veterinary specialists typical y have a wider range of

  equipment, such as ultrasound and MRI (magnetic resonance

  imaging) for diagnosing and managing health problems. Specialized

  equipment and treatment techniques are often too expensive for every

  local veterinary office to afford. Therefore, most advanced treatments

  are available only at veterinary teaching schools—there are 27 in the

  United States—or at multidiscipline specialty practices usual y located

  in larger cities. Oftentimes, mobile practices bring specialists and

  their advanced technology, such as cardiac Doppler ultrasound and

  orthopedic surgery, to the general practitioner's office.

  The specialists’ training provides them with the skil s necessary to

  perform advanced surgical techniques and treatments, from

  radioactive iodine therapy (for hyperthyroidism) and kidney dialysis to

  chemotherapy and cataract surgery. You wil find the same kinds of

  specialists in veterinary medicine as practice in human specialty

  medicine.

  There are currently only three certifications available in

  complementary

  alternative

  veterinary

  medicine:

  acupuncture,

  chiropractic, and homeopathy. “A new certification program in

  physical therapy was just started at the University of Tennessee,” says

  Dr. Beebe. The American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association

  provides a list of qualified complementary alternative practitioners on

  their website.

  People now recognize veterinarians are physicians practicing in a

  medical field, and understand why a general practitioner would want to

  refer them to a veterinary specialist. Dr. Marks says it’s quite common

  for people to tel him, I wish my grandmother had gotten the care that

  you’re providing for my cat. There are a few differences, though, that

  you might not expect. “People have no problem cal ing me at three

  o’clock in the morning, which they would never do with their physician,

  even for their child!” says Dr. Marks.

  The strong correlation between human and veterinary medicine also

  has some negative effects when a human family member’s medical

  experience has been less than pleasant. “When I say chemotherapy

  they say, Oh no!” says Dr. Kitchel . Pets treated with chemotherapy

  rarely have the side effects we’ve come to expect with the human

  treatments. They don’t lose their fur, for example.

  Specialty care tends to be more costly, just as it is in human

  medicine. Surgery or radiation therapy can be expensive, while herbal

  medications and diet changes might be comparatively less. Never

  hesitate to ask your veterinarian about options. Universities may be

  seeking candidates to participate in reduced-cost experimental trials,

  or they may offer delayed payment plans. Dr. Kitchel says some

  drugs are no longer under patent, which makes them not only

  affordable alternatives but also offer very similar results to the

  patented drug. Any therapy you choose must be right for you and your

  cat, including the state of your pocketbook.

  Specialties for Aging Cats

  · Behaviorists (American Col ege of Veterinary Behaviorists, or

  ACVB)

  · Dentists (American Veterinary Dental Col ege, or AVDC)

  · Diagnostic imaging specialists, including cancer radiologists

  (American Col ege of Veterinary Radiology, or ACVR)

  · Eye specialists (American Col ege of Veterinary

  Ophthalmologists, or ACVO)

  · Feline specialists (American Board of Veterinary Practice-

  Feline, or ABVB (feline)

  · Internists, including cardiologists, neurologists, and cancer

  specialists, (American Col ege of Veterinary Internal Medicine, or

  ACVIM)

  · Nutritionists (American Col ege of Veterinary Nutrition, or

  ACVN)

  · Skin specialists (American Col ege of Veterinary Dermatology,

  or ACVD)

  · Surgeons (American Col ege of Veterinary Surgeons, or ACVS)

  Geriatric Research

  Veterinary science is constantly changing. Medicine evolves as

  past breakthroughs become old news and fresh information is

  discovered. Sometimes doctors find that information they’ve relied on

  for years is incorrect. Other times new research builds on the past to

  give a more complete understanding of medical issues.

  Today, we know more about caring for senior cats than ever before.

  Much of that has to do with our new perception of pets. According to

  surveys, more than 84 percent of pet owners consider their cats as

  their children. This unique relationship means cat lovers yearn to

  preserve their relationship for as long as possible, and therefore they

&
nbsp; take better care of their cats than in the past. Today, owners want a

  comparable level of veterinary care for their pets to that which is

  available for their human family members. That drives veterinary

  medicine to ever greater heights to answer the demand.

  While younger felines more typical y develop acute (sudden)

  diseases and conditions, such as a broken leg or cat bite abscess,

  older ones more typical y suffer from chronic, long-term health

  concerns. Acute problems are often best addressed by surgery or

  other “al opathic” treatments, but chronic disease doesn’t always

  respond as wel to these traditional Western medical therapies. Some

  “old-fashioned” method such as herbal treatments, acupuncture, and

  nutritional supplements offer great potential for maintaining quality of

  life. “Acupuncture and herbs, the two mainstays of Traditional Chinese

  Medicine (TCM), work together to achieve healing in the elderly cat by

  improving the homeostasis of the body, rebalancing it, and helping to

  stabilize and slow down the degeneration of body systems,” says Dr.

  Beebe.

  “Western medicine is very powerful and effective for certain things.

  If you’re bleeding to death, you can’t give herbs and acupuncture. You

  need Western medicine for that,” says Dr. Beebe. Yet when surgery

  and state-of-the-art diagnostic tools are combined with alternative

  methods, that offers the best of al worlds, says Dr. Beebe. Alternative

  approaches are often ideal for keeping the old cat feeling wel during

  chronic problems like cancer or arthritis. “Most of these holistic

  systems have been around for several thousand years. Western

  medicine has been around for 150,” says Dr. Beebe. “There doesn’t

  have to be a choice between them.”

  A 2003 survey by the American Animal Hospital Association

  (AAHA) indicated that 21 percent of respondents used some form of

  complementary and alternative veterinary medicine (CAVM),

  compared to six percent in 1996. Today, many veterinary schools

  include education in CAVM that may encompass acupuncture,

  nutraceuticals, nutritional supplements, and physical therapy. Owners

  and veterinarians agree that CAVM has a place in the care of our

  pets.

  Research is an ongoing process that is never complete. Feline

  geriatric research is particularly daunting because it requires large

  numbers of cats to study over a great many years. This is not only very

  expensive, but finding large populations of old research animals is

  nearly impossible. Instead, researchers often contact veterinarians

  and ask for volunteers from among their senior cat clients. Because

  there are fewer studies conducted, research that is available has a

  much greater impact on the health of aging felines.

  Nutrition Research

  The major commercial pet food companies maintain their own

  colonies of animals specifical y for answering questions about feline

  health. A number of changes are now being made to “senior” cat

  foods to address the needs of aging felines.

  When senior cat foods were first developed, the focus was on

  reduced calories, based on the premise that older pets don’t require

  as much energy. They aren’t as active, many have been spayed or

  neutered which may slightly decrease their metabolism, and often

  they’re overweight. “We can replace those fat calories with some fiber

  and slap a label on it, and you’ve got a whole new realm,” says Sarah

  K. Abood, DVM, a clinical nutritionist at Michigan State.

  Consequently, the label “senior” has been regarded as more of a

  marketing ploy than being particularly helpful to older cats.

  One of the biggest changes in the past three or four years in

  understanding senior needs is new thinking on protein requirements.

  “Dietary protein has absolutely no role in causing kidney disease, so

  there’s no benefit to reducing protein,” says Dr. Carey. “It wasn’t as

  big an issue in cats, because you can’t reduce protein in cats very

  much because of their high requirements.” Studies by many nutrition

  scientists indicate our older animals are at risk for developing other

  problems if they don’t eat enough protein.

  “Cats tend to break down protein at a steady rate whether you feed

  it to them or not,” says Grace Long, DVM, a veterinarian at Nestle

  Purina Pet Care Company. If they don’t get enough protein, they burn

  their own muscles for fuel. For this reason, DM Diabetes Management

  Feline Formula, introduced in July 2000, combines very high protein

  with low carbohydrate content to al ow some diabetic cats to live

  normal lives without insulin injections.

  Dental health also benefits from nutritional research, says Bil

  Gengler, DVM, a dentist at University of Wisconsin. Plaque is a

  scummy material that col ects on teeth and eventual y crystal izes into

  calculus or tartar. Once calculus mineralizes, it cannot be brushed way

  —it must be scaled away with dental instruments by the veterinarian.

  “If we can prevent or at least delay this biofilm from crystal izing, we

  have more opportunity for it to be brushed away or worn away by

  chewing,” says Dr. Gengler.

  Sodium hexametaphosphate (sodium HMP) helps fight crystal

  formation and is now added to some cat foods and treats. Another

  dental innovation in food incorporates a woven edible fiber that makes

  up the kibble. “It doesn’t break apart as quickly so the tooth goes in

  and out of it several times. That has a mechanical abrading or

  scrubbing activity,” says Dr. Gengler.

  The most important nutrient of all is water. Cats tend to

  drink less water than they need for their health, and many are

  drawn to running water. Rather than leaving the faucet running,

  a commercial "water fountain" such as one from Veterinary

  Ventures pictured here, often stimulates the aging cat to drink.

  Food Restriction

  No long-term feline longevity studies have been conducted, but

  research from the dog side has implications for cats. A canine

  longevity study, conducted by Nestle Purina PetCare Company,

  fol owed Labrador Retrievers over fourteen years as they matured.

  Basical y, the research looked at the effect food restriction has on

  dogs over their natural lifetime. “Food restriction is the only nutritional

  manipulation that is known to extend life,” says Dr. LaFlamme. The

  study involved two groups of 24 six-week-old puppies, each fed

  identical diets. One group was fed 25 percent less of the food for their

  entire life, says Dr. LaFlamme. This resulted in a significant reduction

  in orthopedic problems in the group fed less food, and these dogs

  also lived longer.

  The dog results appear to paral el the results of an earlier study

  in rodents, and researchers believe that staying thin throughout life

  also would improve longevity in cats. “One would expect that, because

  obesity is linked to a large number of problems,” says Dr. LaFlamme.

  Antioxidants—Vitamin Age Protection

  In the past few years, antioxidants have been found to offe
r great

  benefits. Influencing the immune system using diet is a new frontier.

  “As cats age, the immune function declines,” says Dr. Carey.

  “However, if you use the correct blend of antioxidants, you can actual y

  reverse some of that.”

  Antioxidants are vitamins that protect the body against oxidation.

  “Oxidation is the metabolic version of rust,” he says. “For example,

  sun exposure is the result of ultraviolet radiation causing oxidation and

  damage.”

  Our bodies use oxygen to help release energy. By breathing, we

  constantly bath al of our tissues in oxygen. Yet oxidation byproducts

  are responsible for damage to the tissues. The youthful body is able to

  keep oxidation and its byproducts in proper balance. “With age, the

  ability to manage those oxidative processes decreases,” says Dr.

  Carey. This balance tends to tip towards increased oxidation, which

  further speeds tissue damage, hinders the immune system function,

  and increases the effects of aging.

  By giving the cat the right balance of vitamins, the oxidation process

  is put back in balance and aging is slowed. “Vitamin E is one of the

  antioxidants that do this. In cats it works quite nicely,” says Dr. Carey.

  Research that measures the immune response on the cel s

  themselves has shown that 250 mil igrams per kilogram of vitamin E

  in the food can give the cat the immune competence of a much

  younger cat. “But if you go too high, you lose the effect,” he says.

  In experimental studies, antioxidants lessened the severity of age-

  related hearing loss in rats. Wil iam W. Ruehl, VMD, says antioxidants

  may also prove useful for senile cataract treatment or prevention.

  “We’re going to see research just explode with regard to the

  antioxidants and cytokines and interleukins and these immune

  stimulators,” says Dr. Abood. She predicts that as pet food

  companies wil apply al of this research even beyond “senior cat”

  diets. In other words, if it’s good for old cats, why not feed it to younger

  cats so they also get the benefits?

  Since certain cancers show oxidation damage to DNA,

  theoretical y, antioxidants should also help protect against cancer.

  Early studies seem to indicate that antioxidants reduce DNA damage,

  but it’s stil too early to say for sure.

  Brain Research