Helping your pet age comfortably — same-day appointments available. As pets grow older, their health needs can change quickly. A dog or cat over 7 years old is considered a senior, and they deserve specialized attention. At Alta Animal Hospital, our senior pet care services focus on detecting age-related conditions early and supporting comfort, mobility, and quality of life. If you’re looking for senior pet care near me in the Clovis or Fresno area, our team provides the individualized attention your older companion deserves.
Comprehensive physical exams covering heart, lungs, joints, eyes, ears, and oral health. Pain and mobility evaluations identifying arthritis, stiffness, or discomfort. Weight and body condition monitoring. Nutritional guidance customized for joint health, organ function, and healthy weight. Cognitive and behavioral assessments evaluating confusion, anxiety, or sleep changes. Early-detection bloodwork through our in-house lab with results in 30 minutes to screen for kidney disease, liver dysfunction, diabetes, and thyroid imbalances. And dental evaluations because dental disease accelerates in older pets.
For pet care for seniors at home: provide orthopedic bedding, maintain a consistent routine, offer easy access to food, water, and litter boxes, and monitor for changes in behavior or mobility. Keep up with vaccinations and parasite prevention, as older immune systems need continued protection. These small adjustments can make a meaningful difference in your senior pet’s quality of life.
You might wonder why we recommend bloodwork for a pet who “seems fine.” Here’s why it matters:
Many common senior conditions — like kidney disease or thyroid imbalances — show no obvious symptoms until they’re advanced. Early detection through bloodwork allows us to intervene sooner, slow disease progression, and keep your pet comfortable longer.
Additionally, if your senior pet needs pain medication for arthritis or inflammation, we need to confirm their liver and kidneys are healthy enough to process those medications safely. A simple blood panel protects your pet from unintended side effects and helps us choose the safest, most effective treatment plan.
Senior pets may experience gradual changes that are easy to miss at home. Watch for:
If you notice any of these signs, don’t wait weeks for an appointment. Our same-day availability means your pet can be seen when it matters most — not after the problem has worsened.
Our team works closely with you to adjust care plans over time, focusing on:
Our goal is to help your senior companion stay happy, comfortable, and engaged — so you can enjoy more quality time together.
At Alta Animal Hospital, we generally classify dogs as seniors around age seven, though large and giant breeds (like Great Danes, Mastiffs, and Saint Bernards) may reach senior status as early as five or six. Cats are typically considered senior around age ten. These thresholds are important because they signal a shift in how we approach your pet’s care — from routine prevention to more proactive monitoring with comprehensive diagnostics, more frequent exams, and targeted support for age-related conditions.
We recommend twice-yearly wellness exams for senior dogs and cats at Alta Animal Hospital. While annual exams may be sufficient for younger, healthy pets, six-month intervals are crucial for seniors because age-related conditions like kidney disease, diabetes, thyroid disorders, and arthritis can develop and progress significantly between annual visits. Each senior wellness visit includes a thorough physical examination, comprehensive bloodwork through our in-house lab, weight and body condition assessment, pain evaluation, and a discussion about any changes you’ve noticed at home.
The most common conditions we diagnose and manage in senior pets at Alta Animal Hospital include arthritis and joint disease (particularly in larger dogs), chronic kidney disease, diabetes, hypothyroidism in dogs and hyperthyroidism in cats, dental disease and oral infections, cognitive dysfunction (similar to dementia in humans), heart disease, cancer, obesity, and vision or hearing loss. Many of these conditions are manageable or treatable when caught early through routine diagnostic screening, which is why we emphasize twice-yearly bloodwork for our senior patients.
Yes. Arthritis is one of the most common conditions we manage in senior dogs and cats at Alta Animal Hospital. Our approach is multi-modal, meaning we combine several strategies rather than relying on a single treatment. This may include prescription pain medications (NSAIDs or other analgesics), joint supplements like glucosamine and omega-3 fatty acids, weight management through our nutritional counseling program, targeted exercise recommendations, and environmental modifications at home such as ramp access and orthopedic bedding. The goal is to improve your pet’s mobility and comfort so they can enjoy their senior years with less pain.
In many cases, yes. Senior pets often have different nutritional requirements than younger adults due to changes in metabolism, organ function, and activity levels. At Alta Animal Hospital, our nutritional counseling service can help determine whether your senior pet would benefit from a diet with adjusted protein levels, reduced calories for weight management, added joint-supporting supplements, or a prescription formula designed for a specific condition like kidney disease or diabetes. We evaluate each pet individually rather than applying a one-size-fits-all recommendation, because a 12-year-old Labrador with arthritis has very different dietary needs than a 10-year-old indoor cat with early kidney changes.
For senior pets, Alta Animal Hospital recommends a comprehensive diagnostic panel that goes beyond standard bloodwork. This typically includes a complete blood count (CBC), full blood chemistry panel covering kidney, liver, and pancreatic markers, thyroid function testing, urinalysis, and in some cases additional screening for conditions like Cushing’s disease or certain cancers. All of these tests are performed in our in-house laboratory with results available in approximately 30 minutes, which means we can review findings with you during the same visit and develop or adjust a treatment plan immediately if anything concerning is detected.
