It can be heartbreaking when your senior pet is getting older or in pain. Luckily, there are a few things you can do at home to get your older, sick, or injured pet more comfortable. Here are a few tips to keep a welcoming, secure, and safe environment.
Non-Slip Flooring
Make sure your pet is able to easily walk around the home and not slip on hardwood or tile floors. Some of these options include:
- Carpet and area rugs with non-skid backing
- Floor runner
- Yoga mats, which can be used on stairs and under food and water dishes if necessary.
- Rubber-coated squares that interlock – these usually come in packets of 12″ x 12″
- Dr. Buzby’s toe grips – this will give them the traction they require when walking on slick surfaces
Bedding
There are numerous commercial pet beds; nevertheless, you should always purchase the bed in person in order to feel it and determine whether it will fit your pet:
- Your dog’s bed or bedding needs to be thick enough to prevent your dog’s body from touching the floor.
- Memory foam or egg crates make excellent bed bases and typically supply enough bedding.
- Some animals like a bed that resembles a nest or a tunnel
- Mattresses from cribs make excellent pet beds.
- Mesh beds with short PVC legs work well for dogs with urinary incontinence since the urine can flow through the mesh and collect underneath your pet while they’re sleeping.
- To prevent your pet from lying directly on the plastic, waterproof the beds by placing a plastic bag over the interior core and covering them with a blanket.
Food
For some animals, it’s crucial to keep them eating. Consult your veterinarian to ensure that you’re giving your pet the right foods in the right quantities at the right intervals.
- Keep providing new and diverse foods
- Provide small, regular meals to prevent overeating and unhappy stomachs
- Bring the food to room temperature
- Low-sodium broths to help get your pet to eat or drink, including chicken broth without onions
- You can lift food bowls for some dogs to a height between the elbow and the shoulder
- Grind or blend their preferred canned food or kibble if needed until it resembles baby food
- To encourage drinking, install water fountains or add broth, tuna water, or clam juice to the water
These are merely some simple adjustments you can make to improve your senior pet’s comfort and happiness.
Contact The Pet Farmacy to see how we can help your senior pet live their best life!
