Long Live Pets

As pets live longer than ever before, veterinary medicine is being challenged to rethink what preventive care really means across every life stage — especially the senior years. That shift requires moving beyond reactive treatment toward earlier, more intentional strategies that support long-term health, comfort and function.

In the following series of articles, Vet-Advantage explores how science, structure and simple tools are reshaping the way veterinary teams support longevity and quality of life in aging dogs and cats.

“A Proactive Approach to Pet Nutrition” highlights the latest veterinary nutrition research showing that proactive, preventive feeding — especially maintaining an ideal body condition — can significantly extend pets’ lifespans and delay chronic disease, yet nutrition remains under-discussed in many clinics despite high owner trust and demand.

“Redefining the Golden Years” looks at the Senior Dog Veterinary Society’s work to address a long-overlooked gap in veterinary medicine: structured, evidence-based care for senior dogs in the years before end-of-life.

While osteoarthritis pain in cats is often overlooked because subtle behavior changes are mistaken for normal aging, leaving the condition widely underdiagnosed, “Uncovering OA Pain in Cats” explains how a validated Feline OA Checklist gives veterinary teams and pet owners a quick, behavior-based screening tool that helps uncover hidden pain.

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A Proactive Approach to Pet Nutrition

Despite overwhelming owner trust, only 22% of veterinary teams proactively discuss nutrition. Purina’s Dr. Catherine Lenox explains how evidence-based nutrition can prevent disease, strengthen client relationships and improve lifelong wellness.

Over the last one to two decades, veterinary nutritional science has evolved significantly, revealing how diet affects pets’ health and longevity. Catherine Lenox, DVM, DACVIM (Nutrition), senior specialist in technical publications at the Purina Institute, highlighted the importance of preventive nutrition.

“Thanks to the Purina Lifespan Study, which followed two groups of dogs throughout their lives, we know a lot more about the importance of preventive nutrition,” Dr. Lenox said. In a recent study, one group of “control dogs” was maintained at a body condition score of 6-7/9, while a group of “lean-fed” dogs was maintained at a body condition score of 4-5/9. “This was the first study that showed the health benefit of maintaining an ideal body condition throughout a pet’s life, with the lean-fed dogs living almost two years longer than the control dogs and having a later onset of chronic diseases such as osteoarthritis.”

The study and others like it highlight the benefits of being proactive with nutrition. “This also applies to utilizing nutrition to support other systems of the body to maintain health, including dental, digestive and skin and coat health,” Dr. Lenox said.

Despite the evidence, nutrition conversations remain limited in veterinary clinics. Dr. Lenox explained that only a fraction of veterinarians actively discuss nutrition with clients. “Our survey showed that 96% of pet owners trust their veterinary health care team for nutrition advice, while only 22% of veterinary health care team members are having proactive nutrition conversations at every appointment. In addition, 78% of pet owners stated that nutrition expertise is an ‘important’ or ‘extremely important’ factor in their satisfaction with their veterinary clinic.”

She noted that these conversations can be challenging. “Nutrition conversations can be difficult and emotional. For example, many clients feel that giving their pets treats and human food equates to giving them love, and decreasing the number of treats given to the pet means they are not showing their dog or cat as much love. In addition, veterinary health care professionals can be nervous that the conversation will not go well because clients often have strong opinions about their own nutrition, which can translate into difficult questions about their pet’s nutrition.”

Recognizing this challenge, the Purina Institute provides resources to support veterinary teams. “The Purina Institute creates resources to facilitate nutrition conversations for this reason, and we aim to provide veterinary health care teams with the tools they need to initiate these difficult conversations,” she said.

With the right guidance and proactive nutrition strategies, veterinarians can help pets live longer, healthier lives while supporting owners in making informed dietary choices.

Balancing ideals with real-world constraints

Providing ideal nutrition for pets often requires balancing scientific recommendations with real-world considerations such as owner budget, ingredient availability and individual pet preferences. Dr. Lenox outlined how veterinary teams navigate these complexities.

“The primary goals when selecting a diet for a healthy dog or cat are that the patient eats a diet that is complete and balanced for their life stage, and that the diet is safe to feed,” she said. Complete and balanced nutrition appropriate for a specific life stage is not reserved for one price point. Purina, for example, offers safe and nutritious diets at different price points for this exact reason.

When evaluating a diet’s nutritional value, Dr. Lenox emphasized the importance of essential nutrients. “When thinking about the nutritional aspect of the diet, as a board-certified veterinary nutritionist, I want to make sure the diet provides all essential nutrients that the pet needs in the proper amounts and proportions. Different life stages (including puppy and kitten growth, adult maintenance and reproduction (gestation/lactation)) have different nutritional needs, and it is important to select a diet for the appropriate life stage for that reason.”

Quality control and manufacturer reputation also play a critical role in diet selection. “In addition to nutritional content, it is important that the manufacturer is reputable and implements good-quality control practices that can deliver a safe and consistent product every time,” she said.

Dr. Lenox stressed that nutrient profiles outweigh individual ingredients in importance, except in cases of food allergies. “When I am selecting a diet for a dog or cat, the most important thing is the nutrient profile of the diet. As long as the ingredients are safely sourced and nontoxic to the dog or cat, and the diet is produced by a reputable manufacturer, I care much more about the nutrients the diet provides versus the ingredients that provide those nutrients.”

An exception would be for pets with food allergies, she said. For pets with selective eating habits, she recommends practical resources like the Purina Institute Handbook of Canine and Feline Well-Pet Nutrition. “There is an excellent practical tool in the Purina Institute Handbook of Canine and Feline Well-Pet Nutrition on feeding the finicky feline — this offers a lot of practical ways to encourage food intake in a healthy, but picky, cat with specific food preferences.”

Multiple factors influence nutritional recommendations, including animal factors (including age/life stage, activity, BCS, and genetics), dietary factors (including food form and nutrient composition), environmental factors (including how many pets are in the household or if a cat has outdoor access), and pet owner factors (including if the owner prefers to feed dry versus canned and treat timing). The different categories are outlined in the 2021 AAHA Nutrition and Weight Management Guidelines.

Life stage plays a primary role in diet selection, but activity, body condition, and genetics also affect caloric needs and nutrient requirements. “One important example would be an adult male neutered dog weighing 50 pounds who is relatively inactive, versus an adult male neutered dog weighing 50 pounds who does long distance runs with his owner,” she said. “The inactive dog would require significantly fewer calories (including fewer treats) to maintain his weight versus a dog of the same age and weight who is very active. Diet selection would also be different — a highly active dog would require a more energy dense diet (containing more calories per gram) so he can meet his energy needs, and he would require more protein for muscle maintenance and fat for energy.”

Other factors for sporting and working dogs are reviewed in the Purina Institute Handbook for Canine and Feline Well-Pet Nutrition. An inactive dog would require a diet lower in energy density and lower in fat, since fat provides the most calories out of the macronutrients.

Supporting lifelong pet health

Proactive nutrition is reshaping how veterinarians approach pet health, emphasizing prevention rather than reaction. Dr. Lenox said that “proactive nutrition refers to the important role nutrition plays in maintaining pet health. Giving the right diet at the right amount can mean that a pet lives a healthier and longer life.”

According to Dr. Lenox, proactive nutrition encompasses multiple aspects of wellness. “Things like proactive maintenance of ideal body condition; providing nutrients to support gastrointestinal health, and skin and coat health; and keeping dental health in mind before dental disease even develops, can improve the pet’s quality of life and even help them live longer.” By addressing these needs before issues arise, veterinary teams can help pets avoid chronic problems and maintain optimal health.

While nutrition is a powerful preventive tool, Dr. Lenox noted that other factors also play a role. “While nutrition can be a preventive tool for some conditions (obesity is a perfect example), other factors do play a role, including genetics and environmental factors. Providing the pet with a complete, balanced and safe diet, and providing that diet in the right amount, is a really good starting point. It will not prevent all health issues from occurring, but it helps set the dog or cat up for success.”

Despite its benefits, proactive nutrition is not always easy to implement. “One common limitation can be time,” she said. “A lot of practitioners do not initiate nutrition conversations because they take time.” For example, it can take a bit more time to get a comprehensive nutritional history, which includes all foods and treats that the animal consumes on a daily or weekly basis and what the pet has eaten in the past, versus simply asking what the owner feeds the dog or cat and moving on. The handbook is “formatted to be very practical … to allow it to be a quick reference for busy practitioners.”

Another barrier to nutrition conversations can be a lack of comfort with nutrition. The Purina Institute has two e-books, one on management of clinical conditions and one on management of healthy pets, to help practitioners gain comfort with nutrition and to help increase the number of nutrition conversations the veterinary health care team has on a daily basis. These e-books are free for anyone who signs up to receive the Purina Institute Scientific Communications email.

Looking ahead, Dr. Lenox identified potential game-changers. “It would be great to see the veterinary health care team having nutrition conversations at every visit. Nutrition conversations can be initiated by the entire team, including veterinary technicians/nurses, veterinarians and others. It would be great to see every patient have a body condition score, muscle condition score and comprehensive diet history (including all treats and human foods) at every visit.”

Another emerging tool is biological age. “Chronological age refers to the number of years, months and days an individual has been alive, while biological age refers to how well the body is functioning and aging compared with individuals of the same chronological age. … Considering these factors when managing healthy pets may help improve overall health, quality of life and longevity, and may encourage pet owners to make positive changes for their pet. It will be exciting to see how this tool can be used in veterinary medicine going forward.”

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Redefining the Golden Years

Inside the Senior Dog Veterinary Society’s effort to create evidence-based guidelines, tools and training for the fastest-growing pet population.

Dr. Lauren Adelman was dealing with an odd mixture of frustration and hope. Several years ago, she saw more and more senior dogs coming into her internal medicine service — often with multiple chronic issues — but realized how little structured guidance existed for this population.

“We have excellent frameworks for puppies, adults and even end-of-life care, but the “in between” years — when dogs are slowing down but not yet terminal — have been largely overlooked,” she said.

Fellow Drs. Monica Tarantino and Lisa Lippman also recognized the need to do more for senior dogs. The colleagues came together online through Instagram, where they shared a common affinity for senior dogs.

Out of that shared affinity, the doctors co-founded the Senior Dog Veterinary Society to bring that missing structure, education and collaboration to senior care.

“There was no shared language for things like frailty, functional decline or cognitive change,” said Adelman, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM). “We needed a community where veterinarians, technician and industry could come together to set standards, share tools and elevate the quality of life for older dogs in a consistent, evidence-based way.”

Setting new standards

The Society has created a standard of care for the industry rooted in proactivity, predictability and partnership. The Society co-founders want veterinarians to shift from reactive disease management to structured senior wellness that includes baseline diagnostics, mobility and pain assessment, cognitive screening, and quality-of-life monitoring, “essentially not waiting until there’s a crisis,” Dr. Adelman said.

The Society is building that framework through practical tools: pre-visit questionnaires, screening forms, checklists and continuing-education programs. They launched a senior dog certification program last year which includes 14.5 RACE approved CE credits that provide the fundamental educational tools to help veterinarians and veterinary professionals advance their senior dog care. As part of this membership, veterinary professionals also have access to monthly RACE approved webinars and intimate rounds with specialists focused on senior-dog specific topics. Additionally, new CE is released annually for re-certification of current members. In 2025, the Society’s program was focused on chronic pain management in senior dogs.

“These resources help teams identify early decline and communicate findings clearly to owners,” Dr. Adelman said. “The idea isn’t to create more work for busy clinics, but to help them deliver senior care that’s systematic, compassionate, and rewarding — for both the veterinary team and the client.”

Defining a senior dog

The population of senior dogs is growing rapidly — and with it, the need for more precise and compassionate care strategies. In veterinary medicine, the term “senior” has typically been tied to age alone, Dr. Adelman said. The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) suggests dogs enter their senior years once they reach the final 25% of their expected lifespan, a milestone that varies widely by breed and size. But as Dr. Lauren Adelman noted, “geriatric,” on the other hand, implies more than age. It suggests functional decline, comorbidities, or reduced physiologic reserve. However, there remains no strict, universally accepted definition for when a dog becomes geriatric.

That lack of clarity can lead to under-recognition of important changes in older pets. Veterinary medicine has increasingly embraced the concept of frailty — a measurable decline in physiological reserves — adapted from human healthcare. It shifts the focus from birthdays to function. “Ultimately, reframing aging through a functional and frailty-based lens enables more tailored, proactive care for pets and more meaningful conversations with families. Aging is not a diagnosis, but a context — and one that deserves nuance, sensitivity, and strategy,” she said.

When veterinarians focus only on obvious disease, they may miss what Dr. Adelman called the “silent trio” of chronic pain, cognitive decline and frailty. “Many of these dogs are subtly withdrawing, sleeping more, or struggling with stairs — and we chalk it up to ‘old age.’ But often it’s treatable discomfort, mobility loss or early dementia.”

Many senior dogs also live with multiple overlapping conditions — such as osteoarthritis, endocrine disease and chronic kidney disease — that complicate treatment. That’s when “a ‘thinking like an internist’ approach helps: looking at the whole patient, not just the organ system that’s screaming the loudest.”

As dogs age, diagnostics and communication also evolve. “Geriatric medicine is less about single abnormalities and more about patterns — trends, tolerance and trajectory,” Dr. Adelman said. And for pet families deeply bonded to their older companions, veterinarians serve as their guides, helping them balance uncertainty, quality of life and shared decision-making rooted in compassion and data.

Making senior care essential

Veterinary teams across the country are recognizing a powerful opportunity in senior-dog care — but many still struggle to take the next step. According to Dr. Adelman, the biggest challenges aren’t technology or cost, but mindset. “Time and confidence are the biggest barriers. Many teams want to do more for senior dogs but feel overwhelmed by where to start or how to price it. Training, team buy-in and communication are critical — it’s about shifting the mindset from ‘extra work’ to ‘better workflow.’”

Contrary to concern, enhancing senior care can strengthen a clinic’s financial health. When structured proactively, “senior-care programs can actually be very sustainable,” she said. “Structured senior visits generate consistent follow-ups, diagnostic opportunities, and client loyalty. Once teams see that it’s not just ethically right but operationally smart, the momentum builds quickly.”

Communicating the value of proactive senior care starts with shifting how veterinary teams engage pet owners. For example, visuals can be powerful drivers of understanding and action. “When practices use visual tools — like body condition charts, pain scores, or frailty indices — clients can see change happening, even before a crisis,” she said. “That transforms senior care from optional to essential.”

Just as important is the language practices use. Dr. Adelman encouraged veterinary teams to reframe aging as a stage worth celebrating rather than fearing. “Your dog is entering the golden years — let’s make them comfortable, confident and mobile,” is the kind of supportive messaging she promotes. Empowering clients with a framework for what their senior pet needs — and reassurance that proactive decisions truly matter — can strengthen the bond between families and their aging companions while improving outcomes.

Embracing the future of senior care

Emerging innovations are reshaping how veterinary teams support aging pets. “We’re at the beginning of a really exciting era,” said Dr. Adelman. Canine geroscience — the study of aging biology — is opening the door to therapies aimed at slowing or even reversing functional decline in senior dogs. Treatments that target inflammation, mitochondrial function and cellular repair are already under exploration, offering hope for healthier, more resilient older pets.

While these advancements evolve, the most immediate impact is coming from tools that help evaluate everyday well-being. “But the biggest immediate gains are coming from quality-of-life assessment tools,” Dr. Adelman noted. “Instruments like VetMetrica or caregiver QOL surveys help quantify what used to be ‘gut feeling.’ When you track mobility, mood, and cognition regularly, you can catch decline early — which is where all the progress happens.”

As research into canine aging accelerates, industry support will be crucial. Dr. Adelman sees significant room for innovation: “We need more data and product design focused specifically on the aging process — not just repurposed adult-dog products. For example, mobility diets that address sarcopenia, pain control that accounts for comorbidity and diagnostics that measure functional aging rather than just disease.” She also stressed that collaboration around education and owner engagement is an under-utilized opportunity: “When industry partners support veterinarians with clear messaging and tools around proactive senior care, everyone wins — especially the dogs.”

Looking ahead, Dr. Adelman envisions a new standard of care driven by personalization and continuous monitoring. “Imagine pairing your standard senior screen with a frailty score and a home activity tracker that updates in real time — that’s where we’re heading.”

For practices that fully embrace this future, the benefits are already clear. “The most inspiring clinics are the ones that fully commit to a team-based senior program,” she said. These hospitals are seeing more senior-dog visits, stronger follow-through, and deeper relationships with pet families.

“The bright spot is this: When we prioritize senior care, everyone benefits. The dogs live better, the clients feel empowered, and the veterinary team feels proud of the difference they’re making. It reminds us why we all got into this profession in the first place.”

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Uncovering OA Pain in Cats

How a validated Feline OA Checklist is giving veterinary teams a practical, behavior-based way to spot subtle signs of chronic pain that owners often mistake for normal aging.

Spotting osteoarthritis (OA) pain in cats isn’t easy. Cats are masters at hiding discomfort and pain and pet owners may miss subtle signs, which makes feline OA hard to detect, and as a result, vastly underdiagnosed, said Dr. Margaret Gober, associate director of global medical affairs clinical studies and outcomes research at Zoetis.

Indeed, cats rarely limp, cry out or show obvious signs of pain. Instead, they may sleep more, hide or stop jumping, which are changes many owners assume are part of aging.

“Compounding the challenges to diagnosing, only about a third of cats visit a veterinarian each year, and middle-aged cats (6-12 years old), those at highest risk for OA, are seen even less often,” Dr. Gober said.

While traditional tools like radiographs and orthopedic exams are valuable, they don’t always capture the big picture. To address these issues, the Feline OA Checklist was created to offer veterinarians a practical, behavior-based tool that can be implemented in general practice and encourages pet owners to be involved in the observation process.

This checklist focuses on six everyday activities that owners can assess at home, where cats behave most naturally. Its purpose isn’t to replace diagnostics, but to reveal what’s often invisible in the clinic and prompt earlier conversations about pain management. In fact, when the Feline OA Checklist was used as a screening tool in cats coming into the veterinary clinic for a sick or well visit, 39% of cats were identified as demonstrating at least one behavior consistent with OA — highlighting just how many cases might otherwise go unnoticed.

“One of the strengths of this tool is its simplicity and efficiency,” said Dr. Gober. It can be completed by the pet owner online prior to the appointment or even in the waiting room and takes less than two minutes to complete.

The checklist is designed to capture subtle behavioral and mobility changes that owners may otherwise dismiss as normal aging. These changes often signal underlying pain that can significantly impact a cat’s quality of life if left unaddressed.

“Difficulty jumping up or down, slowing down or hiding were among the most reliable indicators of feline OA,” Dr. Gober said. “In our study, 71% of cats over 12 years old demonstrated at least one of these activities consistent with OA pain.”

Increasing awareness is important because some signs are easily missed such as changes in toileting behavior, like reluctance to climb into the litter box, which can also signal discomfort. “Many owners report this as a ‘litter box issue,’ when in fact it’s pain related,” Dr. Gober said. “Raising awareness about these subtle mobility and behavioral changes helps ensure that pain is recognized and addressed, since those nuances truly matter.”

Team approach

The checklist’s impact extends beyond the exam room, actively involving the entire veterinary team. Front-desk staff and technicians, often the first point of contact for concerned pet owners, play a critical role in initiating conversations about mobility and behavior.

“This tool empowers the entire veterinary team to take an active role in recognizing pain. Front-desk staff can start the conversation by providing the checklist, while technicians can use the results to guide a more focused visit,” Dr. Gober explained. “Rather than waiting for owners to volunteer signs of discomfort, the team can ask, ‘Have you noticed any changes in how your cat moves or plays?’ That simple question can spark meaningful dialogue, leading to earlier intervention and fostering a shift from reactive to proactive care.”

Advances in the understanding of OA pathophysiology have also influenced treatment approaches. Previously viewed primarily as joint stiffness, OA pain in cats is now recognized as a more complex condition involving neurological changes that can intensify over time.

“We now understand that OA pain in cats isn’t simply about stiff joints; it also involves changes in their nerves that can make pain worse over time. This means early recognition and intervention are critical to prevent the pain from becoming chronic and harder to manage,” Dr. Gober said. Treatment typically includes a multimodal plan that may combine medications — such as NSAIDs or anti-nerve growth factor monoclonal antibodies — with environmental modifications like weight management strategies and home adjustments, including ramps or steps to reduce strain.

Ultimately, the goal is to improve recognition and treatment of feline chronic pain — a challenge that often begins with noticing subtle changes at home.

“Recognition is the first step in pain management, and in feline medicine it can be the most challenging one. We owe it to our patients to recognize that slowing down, hiding, or jumping less are not just signs of normal aging; they can also be signs of pain,” Dr. Gober said. “By using simple, validated tools like the Feline OA Checklist, we can identify suffering earlier, have meaningful conversations with owners about treatment options, and ultimately improve the quality of life of cats.”

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