4 Ways Seniors Can Make Their Senior Pets Comfortable
November is Adopt A Senior Pet Month and senior pets are the perfect companions for your elderly loved one. But just like your senior loved one senior pets could use a little extra comfort most of the time. It’s essential that your senior loved one’s senior pet have food that is appropriate for their age and get the medical care they need to stay healthy as they get older. But they could also use some extras like these to keep them cozy and comfortable too:
Heated Beds
Even though they have fur during the cold winter months senior pets always appreciate a heated bed to keep them extra cozy, especially if your senior loved one’s home tends to be a little drafty. There are heated pet beds that are battery operated and have a heating element inside the bed. There are also self-heating pet beds that contain a liner that holds onto your pet’s body heat and traps it to heat the bed. With self-heating pet beds there’s no danger that the bed will become too warm for the pet so those are the most popular choice of heated pet bed. If your senior loved one does choose a heated bed that contains a heating element make sure that their senior home care provider checks the bed regularly to make sure it’s not getting too warm.
Boots
Senior dogs who have to go outside in all types of weather can benefit from having booties or shoes on their paws when they go out. In addition to protecting your senior loved one’s floors by preventing those paws from getting muddy and tracking mud into the house these boots also protect the dog’s paws from cold, snow melting crystals, hard concrete, and from very hot pavement in the summer. There are many different styles of boots and shoes for dogs available in all sizes, even for large dogs. A senior home care provider can help your senior loved one put on the dog’s boots or shoes before going out for a walk.
Canned Food
Canned pet food is something that many senior pets appreciate. The soft texture is just right for senior pets who may have missing or damaged teeth. Soft food can also be easier on sensitive stomachs. And canned food contains extra water which is something that many pets need because they tend to not drink enough water throughout the day. If an all canned food diet isn’t something that your senior loved one can do it’s nice to give their senior pet an occasional can of food, especially if the pet isn’t feeling well.
Pet Steps
As pets gets older their joints can get stiff and ache just like people’s joints do. Pets will appreciate a good set of pet steps that will allow them to climb onto the couch or the bed easily and to get down easily without having to jump down and put a lot of stress on already stiff and sore joints.