Keeping our senior pets psychologically happy
Many of the older animals I see seem bored. They used to chase balls or feather toys, play with their friends and with you, go outside to hunt, and have a rich social life. Now, they just seem to sleep the day away.
In last month’s article, I broached the topic of physical discomfort and the need for this to be a specialist subject of a professional coming into a family’s home to ensure the pet is able to move around comfortably.
Taking pain and discomfort away is the first step in making your pet comfortable. Think about the musculoskeletal pain they get from osteoarthritis, or the gastrointestinal issues they get with some diseases; both can limit a pet's ability to move around freely. With the help of a veterinary team that recognises this discomfort, and someone like a Veterinary Occupational Therapist, a family can support their companion animal in living their best life into old age. Once pain and the physical barriers have been removed, we can start looking at how we can entertain them in a way that is age-appropriate. Age-appropriate being key here. After all, you wouldn’t let a 75-year-old human loose on a jungle gym, would you?
Healthy ways of stimulating a senior brain
Senior animals can be stimulated in a slower way that is appropriate to their physical abilities. Think sniffaris, puzzle games with treats, changing the walks each day, bringing home items from the forest. This is called enrichment. But introducing mental stimulation like this is not something one does the moment your dog hits senior age. They need to be accustomed to using their brain this way, preferably from a younger age.
Dog carers are getting increasingly cognisant of the effects of mindless ball- and stick throwing for a dog. Not only is the repetitive strain wreaking havoc on their body’s joints in the long term, but the singular focus on their ball can also make some dogs very neurotic and antisocial. I much prefer to teach a dog to use their nose and brain, to limit the strain on their bodies, and to ensure they keep an open mind when another dog comes up to greet them.
A similar psychologically frustrating example to incessant ball throwing is the cat that gets entertained by a laser toy. Playing for cats is a way of satisfying their hunting needs. A lot of satisfaction is gained by the hunt itself, but what is a hunt without a catch? How frustrating would it be to always try to catch, and never be successful?
I remember a few years ago telling my good friend and veterinary behaviourist, Charlie Edmonds at The London Vet Behaviour Clinic, how excited Lewis was when I put on Cat TV on YouTube, and how it brought out the hunter in his ageing body. Charlie warned me not to overdo it, because it could cause Lewis to become frustrated and either lash out at me or give up altogether. He advised me to always let Lewis win eventually - meaning giving Lewis the chance to “finish the kill”. So from that point onward, I would always ensure Lewis had a physical toy to “kill” after watching TV. I also threw out our laser toys.
When the body is ageing, use the nose
When advising people on how to get their dog or cat to start being more active mentally, I would always remind them of their pet’s amazing olfactory organ. I don’t know if this claim is accurate, but it’s still doing the rounds among dog walkers: “20 minutes of sniffing work takes just as much energy as an hour of running around”.
When I used to be a dog walker, I loved to go into the forest and throw dry food or treats around, which the dogs would have to sniff out. A group of six dogs would spend at least 20 minutes happily sniffing amongst leaves and branches, never getting into a scrap or getting hyper aroused. No matter the age of each dog, they were all able to join in. Dogs from other dog walkers would also join in, without issues. And the more agile dogs would get an extra challenge if I’d pointed out that I had hidden treats up high, for instance on top of a cut tree trunk. I would call these parts of my dog walking sessions ‘sniffaris’.
A sniffari is easily replicated in your garden, and even in your home. I remember one of my patients having a shaggy rug his caregivers were going to throw out after the dog would eventually pass away. So we tried hiding treats in the rug, and their senior dog absolutely adored his indoor sniffaris!
Try finding ways of making meals last longer than two minutes. Hide a few treats of dry kibble in a scrunched-up newspaper, glue together a few rolls of kitchen towel and put some dry kibble in each roll, paste wet food on a lick-e-mat, or teach your cat or dog a new (or old) trick in exchange for a bite of food.
Another way to raise the game at “nose o’clock” is to offer them gear I used elsewhere. For instance, one cat I used to visit would have a field day when I’d visit her after a day of dog walking. She would investigate my backpack for a good fifteen minutes, after which she would curl up in or on top of it, soaking in the canine and park scents.
Lewis used to love to settle himself on said bag too, or rub his scent all over the sweaty straps. This way, Daisy and Lewis would have conversations with each other, without having met each other at all.
For a dog, one could bring home a bag of dried leaves, gather sticks from the coast, or some old netting from a fishing port and create a scented garden. Or exchange your dog’s toys for your neighbour’s dog’s toys!
Movement is life
Staying in movement is such an important part of ageing. Without it, muscles waste. But also, without moving around our environment, our world gets increasingly smaller.
My heart breaks when I see an older, disengaged dog on a walk, or worse, being dragged along by their caregiver. I suspect it’s because it’s the same old round-the-block walk they have been doing for years, often with a bored and scrolling caregiver who just wants to go home after a long day in the office.
Even if there’s not that much energy in the old dog’s body, it’s still possible to get more out of that daily walk. Take a different direction each time you walk out of the house. Or even better, get them in a cart and walk them to the park whilst still giving them the olfactory and visual stimulation they so deserve.
My heart now skips a beat each time I see a pram with an old dog in them. Their caregivers realise that even though the legs can’t work that long anymore, their companion is still there and has psychological and emotional needs - just like any older person.
Older cats might not be that keen to go outside anymore. Perhaps they are insecure about another - younger - cat in the area. Or they just can’t be bothered any longer.
When we moved out of London and he went completely deaf, we started walking around the farm with Lewis every day to keep him stimulated. We would go on evening walks together and explore the old farmyard, the old cattle pens, and even say hi to the cows. Sometimes we walked past the caravan site on the farm to explore all the scents people had taken to us on their travels - or meet a well-behaved caravan dog. Other times we went to say hi to the neighbours and look at what was growing on their allotment around the corner. This gave Lewis enough and a wide variety of mental stimulation and gentle physical exercise into old age to keep him satisfied and fit. Being there with him also gave him the feeling of safety to explore, knowing I would be there waiting for him.
If I hadn’t taken Lewis for these walks, I know he wouldn't have gone out himself and just slept the day away. It would have been the path of least resistance. But like with ageing humans, movement is life.
Include your pet in your activities
Your pet used to make sure they were included in the activities they wanted to be included in. Your cat would jump on the kitchen counter, or your desk, demanding her food/attention/cuddles. Your dog was the first one in the car when there was a trip to be had. But with older age, opportunities to interact with the rest of the family get missed. Whether that’s through deafness, creaky bones, or fatigue, they need a bit more support from their caregivers to be included. Remember, just because they aren’t joining you for activities they once used to join you doesn’t mean they don’t want to! Sometimes they just can’t anymore.
And when these little interactions slowly disappear from their life, depression can sneak in.
If they used to jump on the sofa to watch TV together, why not move their bed next to the sofa and sit down with them on the ground while you’re slowing down at night? Throw in a gentle massage or some touch therapy to increase both your endorphins.
If your cat used to make sure you would take regular breaks from your computer when working from home, try placing their bed on your desk to see if they like keeping an eye on your wellbeing from there instead. Making your home accessible to an ageing pet is paramount. Making YOU accessible is just as important.
Don’t forget about the importance of the ritual of returning home. Where once they used to greet you at the door, they might not be able to get up so quickly anymore, or are not able to hear you come in. Switch around who is greeting whom. Quietly walk to where they are resting and very gently let them know you’ve arrived back home. Preserving the ritual of greeting will be important for both of you and something to be fondly remembered for years to come.
Maintaining your psychological wellbeing
And finally, also think about your psychological wellbeing. A lot of people who care for older pets experience stress. The angst of losing their best friend in the future. The never-ending cycle of cleaning. Seeing that your little one who used to be full of energy is now finding it difficult to greet you at the door. The financial worry around expensive veterinary care. Experiencing resentment when one person takes on more care than the other. Wondering when you will have to say goodbye to your best friend…
In scientific terms, this sense of load is called the ‘caregiver burden’, even though it might not feel like an actual burden to you. I would have intensively cared for my boy for many more years if it was the ethical thing to let him continue living. In reality though, the caregiver burden was high, and it wasn’t a sustainable situation.
What helped me to stay on top of my own psychological wellbeing is ensuring I had people to talk to about my “burden”, and moments to take a step back and let Lewis be taken care of by someone I trusted. I also continued engaging in relaxing activities outside of caring for him, even though they diminished towards the end of Lewis’s life. But I chose to be as present as I could with him, because I knew this period of close togetherness would come to an end.
Know that feelings of overwhelm, depression, and fatigue are valid and normal. Trying to do the best possible for your companion is demanding - even if we wouldn’t have it otherwise. There are resources out there to support you through this journey. Get in touch with me if you feel like you could use some help with your own psychological well-being, or that of your pet.
Sies.
My name is Sieske Valk (pronounced as Sees-kuh Falk). Most people call me Sies. I started my career as a veterinary nurse in the Netherlands. Following a short stint as a social science researcher in climate change adaptation, I set up an animal home-care company in London called Sies Petcare. This grew into Autumn Animals, the UK’s first holistic palliative and hospice care organisation. Trained as an end-of-life doula for companion animals, I supported numerous families through the autumn and winter of their companion animal’s life and what comes after.
I currently focus on three pillars within ageing pet care under the brand Autumn Animals:
Coaching pet caregivers with ageing pets, writing about caring for ageing companion animals and research about interdisciplinary palliative care for companion animals.
If you’d like to know more about Autumn Animals, visit autumnanimals.com.
I live on a farm with my husband, Jamie, in beautiful Devon, and have a Lewis-shaped hole in my heart.
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