Diseases of Senior Cats and Dogs. Diagnosis and Therapy

1. Ageing in small animals Ageing in numbers

• Definition of ageing and preliminary clarifications
• Physiology of ageing: why do we age?
• Consequences of ageing in cats and dogs
• Consequences for owners and veterinary surgeons
• The owner’s perspective
• Key points veterinary practitioners should bear in mind

 

2. Nutrition in elderly patients Assessing the nutritional status of geriatric patients

• Effects of age on nutritional needs
• Diets for nutrition-sensitive diseases
• The owner’s perspective
• Key points veterinary practitioners should bear in mind

 

3. Pharmacological treatment of geriatric patients

• Basic concepts in pharmacology
• Dose adjustments for geriatric patients
• Pharmacological changes in patients with chronic kidney disease
• Pharmacological changes in patients with liver disease
• Pharmacological changes in patients with heart disease
• The owner’s perspective
• Key points veterinary practitioners should bear in mind

 

4. Anaesthesia in elderly patients

• Anaesthesia: secrets, magic protocols, and other myths
• How to design a personalised protocol for each case
• The owner’s perspective
• Key points veterinary practitioners should bear in mind

 

5. Environmental enrichment for cats and dogs

• Species-specific objectives of environmental enrichment
• Animate enrichment
• Inanimate enrichment
• When should an environmental enrichment plan be implemented?
• How can we tell if environmental enrichment is working correctly?
• The owner’s perspective
• Key points veterinary practitioners should bear in mind

 

6. Chronic pain. Arthrosis Introduction. Definitions and basic concepts Pathophysiology of pain Identifying pain

• Treatment of chronic pain
• Analgesic agents Osteoarthritis
• The owner’s perspective
• Key points veterinary practitioners should bear in mind

 

7. Orodental problems in elderly animals Considerations before starting The orodental exam

• Preparing patients for anaesthesia
• Dental prophylaxis
• How to complete a patient’s dental file
• The owner’s perspective
• Key points veterinary practitioners should bear in mind

 

8. Chronic kidney disease Definition and prevalence Renal physiology

• Diagnostic techniques and early diagnosis
• IRIS classification
• Evidence-based treatment of CKD
• The owner’s perspective
• Key points veterinary practitioners should bear in mind

 

9. Liver problems in geriatric patients

• Inflammatory liver diseases
• Infiltrative liver diseases
• Canine hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis
• Hepatocutaneous syndrome Liver tumours
• Hepatic encephalopathy
• The owner’s perspective
• Key points veterinary practitioners should bear in mind

 

10. Endocrine problems in senior patients

• Diabetes mellitus Hyperadrenocorticism or Cushing’s syndrome
• Feline hyperthyroidism
• The owner’s perspective
• Key points veterinary practitioners should bear in mind

 

11. Reproductive diseases in senior patients

• Benign prostatic hyperplasia Pyometra
• Mammary tumours
• The owner’s perspective
• Key points veterinary practitioners should bear in mind

 

12. Senior cardiovascular disease

• Cardiovascular physical examination
• Mitral valve endocardiosis or degenerative mitral valve disease
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy phenotype in cats
• Feline hypertension
• The Owner’s perspective
• Key points veterinary practitioners should bear in mind

 

13. Most frequent neurological problems in senior patients

• Cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS)
• Vestibular system involvement in senior animals
• Degenerative myelopathy
• The owner’s perspective
• Key points veterinary practitioners should bear in mind

 

14. Health plans in senior animals

• Approach to the senior health programme
• Helpful advice in difficult situations
• The owner’s perspective
• Key points veterinary practitioners should bear in mind

 

15. Bibliography

This book comprehensively covers geriatric medicine of dogs and cats, and provides readers, whether veterinary surgeons or students approaching the end of their veterinary medicine degree, with a different approach to clinically useful information on. All chapters have been rigorously reviewed and updated, with a particular emphasis on pharmacological protocols and dosages and new therapies. An entire new chapter on endocrine problems in senior pets has been added.

 

AUTOR

 

Salvador Cervantes

Sala Salvador Cervantes Sala received his degree in veterinary medicine from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Spain, in 1998. Between 2000 and 2002 he completed courses in feline medicine and surgery at the European School for Advanced Veterinary Studies (ESAVS) at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. In 2009, he completed the Feline Internal Medicine course taught by the Centre for Veterinary Education at the University of Sydney, Australia. In 2001, together with his wife, Anna Calvet, he founded S&A Veterinaris, a veterinary clinic in Barcelona. In 2016, he founded Clínica Felina Barcelona, a veterinary hospital specifically for cats, located in the same city.

Salvador is a member of the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP), the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM), and the Feline Medicine Study Group of the Spanish Association of Small Animal Veterinary Specialists (GEMFE–AVEPA). He has participated in several congresses and is the author of multiple articles on feline medicine published in international journals, including an article on feline hypertension titled “ISFM consensus guidelines on the diagnosis and management of hypertension in cats”, published in 2017 in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. In addition, he has co-authored the European edition of the GRAM (Guidance for the Rational use of Antimicrobials) guide, published by Ceva Santé Animale in 2016.