Paws, Reflect & Heal with Dr. Randy

The SENIOR CAT Checklist: Why 10 Years Old is a Critical Turning Point

• Dr. Randy Pet Vet • Episode 53

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0:00 | 5:29

Are you a concerned pet parent noticing your cat getting older and wondering what early warning signs to watch for? In this episode, Dr. Randy Aronson and his co-host, Olivia Sacci, address a question from a viewer in Scarsdale, NY, about identifying early signs of kidney disease and liver disease in cats as they enter their senior years. Learn why integrative veterinary medicine emphasizes proactive care and how a senior blood panel can catch life-threatening trends before they become clinical emergencies.

Dr. Randy and Olivia dive into the importance of biannual veterinary exams for feline health, explaining how one year for a cat equals five human years. The discussion covers essential diagnostics like the proBNP test for heart health, the Feline Grimace Scale for detecting hidden pain, and innovative supplements like Porus One and Azodyl to support kidney function. Whether you're dealing with feline osteoarthritis or painful resorptive lesions in the teeth, this guide helps pet owners navigate the "Year of the Cat" with expert, holistic advice.

#CatHealth #SeniorCatCare #DrRandyPetVet

LINKS from Episode

Azodyl: https://www.vetoquinolusa.com/products/azodyl

Porus One: https://www.porus-one.com

Feline Grimace Scale: https://www.felinegrimacescale.com

Additional Link for dental: TEEF - https://teefhealth.com


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Products and Resources I Recommend

Dental:                                                                                                                            TEEF: https://teefhealth.com

Cat Grass/Catnip:                                                                                                          Pet Greens; https://www.petgreens.com/

Books
Four Paws in Five Directions; by Dr. Cheryl Schwartz
The Forever Dog; by Dr. Karen Shaw Becke...

SPEAKER_00

We have a question from uh from Phyllis.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so we have a question. Phyllis from Scarsdale, New York. I'm loving these questions from everywhere. I know. Um, and she is saying that her cat is getting up there in years and she's starting to worry. He's about nine right now, going on ten. So she wants to know what she should be looking out for in terms of early warning signs or something like kidney or liver disease might be developing.

SPEAKER_00

This is this is a wonderful question for our cat owners. And um, you know, this is supposedly the year of the cat, I'm I'm told. So Oh my gosh, that matches my shirt. I know. And you know, I I just did a couple big cat conferences. I have a number of them coming up in 2026. I'm very excited about um what's going on. And I'm working with the two crazy cat ladies on podcasts.

SPEAKER_01

What a dream.

SPEAKER_00

I know, I know. So anyway, um, great question, Phyllis. So uh the the primary answer to your question is your cat should be seen by your veterinarian at least twice a year. Why do I say that? Because one year in their life is about five years of ours. And so things can change very quickly. And when you talk about kidney and liver things, uh, we want to do this early. The earlier we diagnose these things, the more we can use supplements and not medicines or very harsh treatments to help your cat.

SPEAKER_01

So does that involve blood work and that sort of thing?

SPEAKER_00

Quick question. So, yeah, so it would be a physical examination. It would be what we call some standard blood work. We call it here a senior blood panel. I also run something called a pro BNP level. Uh that checks the heart enzyme on the cat because we have diagnosed a number of cats that start getting into cardiomyopathies, which are problems with the heart muscle itself, with that number. Yeah. Uh so that's done standardly, and then your veterinarian will go over all that with you. And if there are any worrisome things, hopefully we'll get addressed early. Um, I really like uh what I call trends. So, for example, say your cat's um creatinine, which is its main kidney enzyme, has been one, and then the next time, six months later, it was one, and then again it was one, and then recently it got to 1.9. Now, this is not abnormal on our our you know profiles, but it's a trend. It's showing us that something's going on where the creatinine is rising and the kidney may be having more problems. Perfect time that we could do some supplementation to help.

SPEAKER_01

So let's move into what kind of supplementation might we do?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So I've we talked this about our last one of our last questions. Go check it out. Yeah, where you gotta check it out. But uh, we use some things like um like azodil or porous one, which will start binding some of the nitrogen in the cat's body, allow it to eat the same foods. Um, I won't talk about the amino vas and narrow quin because that's more for our kidney disease cats. But the azodil or porous one are great additions. Porous one is so easy, you just rip open a little thing and you put it on the cat's food and you're done. Exactly. It binds the nitrogen, it's a probiotic. Uh, it works great. So those are some things that uh Phyllis can do. But really, biannual examinations, biannual lab work, it's worth every penny because you can catch these things early and really get on top of Phyllis and help your cat.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly. Uh at at my university, one of the things they say is your eyes are not microscopes. And so getting that lab work done to identify the problems, that's the first step. And so that's so useful and important.

SPEAKER_00

And one more thing I'll mention too is um I always throw in that we want to make sure that we're checking these cats for what we call osteoarthritis because many of them hide pain very, very well. And a vet good vet exam can really show that the cat's back is hurting them or the the knees or the hips are hurting, and we could do supplementation for that.

SPEAKER_01

And something I would, if if it's okay, I would encourage you guys to look into is something called the feline grimace scale. Because I think it's really hard to detect signs of pain in cats just because they're master pretenders, they're great at acting like everything's normal. And it's tough even if you're just uh somebody with a cat to identify those things. And so looking at the feline grimace scale can give you a- Where can they find that? That's a great question. Where can they find that?

SPEAKER_00

It should be on the internet. That it should be on the- I thought you were gonna give me like a I'm I'm I'm not aware of where exactly it's located, but I'm sure it's on the internet. And it really does show uh cat head positions, ear positions, eye positions that really indicate pain.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly. And so I think that's a really valuable resource.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, it's it's a great resource. Great comment. The last thing about the uh at the biannual cat exam is their teeth. So they also can hide something called resorptive lesions, which are very, very painful for our cats. But cats, you know, in the wild, if they show pain, they get eaten. So they don't show pain. They this is a leftover from their you know old days, you know, basically. And so again, a good veterinary exam, looking at your cat's teeth, can be really, really helpful to eliminate any pain and discomfort for your older cat.

SPEAKER_01

Perfect. Well, thank you guys so much for joining us. Thank you for this excellent question, uh Phyllis. And uh, if you guys have any other questions, please feel free to add them into the Instagram, the YouTube channel, or the website, all at Dr. Mandy Petvit. Um, and thank you guys so much for joining us.

SPEAKER_00

Thanks, guys. Talk to you soon. Your pet's body is always communicating. Thanks for listening. And if this resonated, please like, subscribe, and share. It helps us help more families.