Senior health clinics

Just as with their human owners, old age in our pets brings with it a number of changes.

From a veterinary perspective, cats and dogs are considered to be entering old age from 8 years onwards and just like humans, all pets benefit from regular Health Checks. These allow us to manage age related changes in your pet ensuring that you are able to enjoy their companionship for many years.

Although we see your pet yearly for a booster, 6 months of their lifetime is equal to 5 years in our lifetime and a lot can change in this period of time.Unfortunately the symptoms of age-related illnesses often develop slowly and can be easily missed, which may mean that the ideal time to start treatment is missed. To combat this we offer Senior Health Clinics for pets aged 8 years and over.

The Senior Health Clinics are run by our Advanced Pet Health Counsellor Carola Leman and we provide 3 levels - Bronze, Silver and Gold.

Bronze

This is free of charge and involves a check over by one of our trained nurses. They are checking for dental disease, weight gain or loss, ear and eye problems and will discuss diet, arthritis care and preventative medication for older pets.

Silver

This includes a nurse check and a urine check, then a veterinary 12 point physical exam including a heart check. The cost is £25.

Gold

The gold level will include everything from the bronze and silver levels but will also include a wellness blood test and blood pressure measurements (if your pet allows this). For cats we will include a thyroid blood test. The cost is £50 for dogs and £65 for cats.

Our simple urine tests help monitor your pet’s health. We are looking for signs of diabetes, renal disease and urinary tract infections. The samples will be processed at the practice and the results are generally available that day. If you require a sample pot, please contact the practice and we will send it you prior to your visit. For cats, you can use a special cat litter in a tray overnight.

The blood tests are checking in more depth for renal and liver disease, anaemia, electrolyte imbalances and thyroid levels in cats.

Blood pressure checks are very important, especially in cats, as elevations can indicate early heart disease and renal problems. Undiagnosed high blood pressure commonly leads to blindness and worsening of any underlying disease.