As cats get older they are prone to a number of conditions that may be difficult to spot at home but which may be very serious if left undiagnosed.

When an older cat comes in for its regular booster injections we will always give it a thorough examination to try and detect any problems it may have. However there are some conditions that require more detailed tests to be detected.

That’s why we have put together our Senior Cat Package.

If you have a cat over the age of 7 it is recommended that we perform one of these special examinations at least once a year. By doing so we can prevent a lot of serious health problems before they start to affect your cat.

These are a few of the conditions we will specifically check for in the senior package:

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“Useless”

Steve’s 13 year old cat

High Blood Pressure

Cats, like humans, can get high blood pressure. In fact one in four cats over seven will have this condition and it can lead to sudden onset blindness (from burst blood vessels in the eye) and is implicated in kidney failure.

We measure blood pressure in the same was as humans by inflating a cuff around the cats front leg and listening for blood flow further down the limb. Because cats blood vessels

Dental Disease

Dental disease is very common in older patients and can result in chronic pain and nasty infections.

We have many, many cases of older cats having their teeth sorted out and the owners remarking that they are a different cat. Its very important that we keep our cats mouths clean and pain free. For more details on dental work see out DENTAL PAGE.

Hyperthyroidism

Enlarged

Thyroid Gland

Kidney Disease

Again another common disorder, but one that cannot be easily diagnosed without specific blood and urine tests. The kidneys filter the blood, removing the waste products of metabolism and other toxins. If they stop working properly

A cat will only show symptoms of kidney failure when 75% of the kidney function has been lost so early detection is paramount to preserve the remaining tissue.

Routine blood and urine tests can help identify which cats are starting with kidney problems and if diagnosed early enough we can protect them from further deterioration by simple medication and a change of diet.

Diseased

Kidney Tissue

Healthy

Kidney Tissue

Arthritis

Arthritis is much harder to spot in the cat and therefore it is under-diagnosed resulting in a lot of cats having chronic joint pain and stiffness without treatment.

Because cats don’t have regular observed exercise many can develop joint problems without showing obvious lameness. Signs to look for are irritability (from pain), lack of grooming, lack of activity or hiding away / refusing to go outside. We will check the range of movement in a senior cat’s joints to try and identify any source of pain or stiffness. Cats with arthritis can be helped with medication and dietary management.

The Package

To try and make things easier for you and your pet we have put together the following tests:

Full Health Check

Blood Pressure Measurement

Urine Collection and Testing

Blood Sampling and Testing

Normally this would cost around £80 but we have reduced the cost to £61.30 to try and help as many older cats as we can to live long happy lives.

are much smaller than humans we have to use a doppler ultrasound machine to detect the flow. Its a painless procedure that only takes a few minutes.

We understand that stressed cats blood pressure can go up so if we get a high reading without other signs then we repeat the test in 2 weeks to confirm it.

High blood pressure can be easily controlled with appropriate medication.

This is a very common condition in the older cat. It is caused by the overproduction of thyroid hormone that regulates metabolism. Affected cats usually are eating a lot yet losing weight, have a very fast heart rate and irritable behaviour. Left untreated, these changes can become very marked resulting in serious life-threatening heart disease. If a senior cat has any symptoms of the disease we will recommend blood tests that will confirm it.

There are a number of methods of controlling the condition once diagnosed, but our current recommendation is removal of the affected glands.