Veterinary geriatric medicine is the branch of practice focused on the care of older animals. In Singapore, where pets are living longer than a generation ago thanks to improved nutrition and veterinary care, the field of geriatric medicine is growing rapidly.
Vets with a clinical focus in veterinary geriatric medicine manage the overlapping conditions that tend to arrive in later life: Osteoarthritis, chronic kidney disease, heart disease, cognitive decline, dental disease, and cancer. Tools of the trade include routine senior wellness screens, multi-system blood panels, blood pressure monitoring, and coordination across multiple clinical niches.
While most general-practice vets are trained to treat each condition as it presents, a geriatric-focused vet is the practitioner who thinks in terms of the whole patient, balancing treatments against tolerance, quality of life, and interactions among concurrent diseases.
Ageing is not a disease, but it is a period when small problems compound. For owners of pets aged seven or older — earlier for large-breed dogs — a senior wellness consultation every six to twelve months is worth considering.
