AAHA announces new senior care guidelines for dogs and cats

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The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) announced the creation of its 2023 AAHA Senior Care Guidelines for Dogs and Cats. The new guidelines will help support veterinary teams in their care for senior patients within their clinic.

“At the core of these guidelines is the understanding that aging is not a disease, but that family members can embrace, love, and enjoy with their senior pets,” expressed Ravinder Dhaliwal, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology), DABVP (Canine and Feline), chair of the 2023 Senior Care Guidelines task force, in an organizational release.¹

Because senior plans cannot be one size fits all, these guidelines will help provide a unique approach for senior cats and dogs. According to the release, the guidelines will offer teams actionable strategies to create senior-friendly environments to make the spaces more welcoming, including modification of physical environments, prioritizing care to help keep families together, and using different approaches to healthy and unhealthy senior patients.¹ The new guidelines are supported by Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, CareCredit, IDEXX and Zoetis.

“AAHA is thrilled to present the 2023 Senior Care Guidelines to the profession. Every veterinary team member has a story of a sweet senior who made an impact on their heart and motivates them to be a Senior Pet Champion. This important guideline helps teams provide the right medical care, the right environment, and the right family support to be truly senior friendly,” said Jessica Vogelsang, DVM, AAHA’s chief medical officer.¹

To view the full guidelines, visit the AAHA website.

Reference

AAHA releases new 2023 aaha senior care guidelines for dogs and cats. News release. American Animal Hospital Association. January 3, 2023. Accessed January 4, 2023. https://www.aaha.org/about-aaha/media-room/press-release-list/aaha-releases-new-2023-aaha-senior-care-guidelines-for-dogs-and-cats/