Seniors with Pets Senior Care Palm Beach FL

Having a pet can bring a lot of joy to your elderly loved one. It can also bring companionship and even better health. While there are a lot of wonderful benefits to owning a pet, it’s also a big responsibility. It’s not all about snuggles and scritches. February is National Responsible Pet Owner’s Month, so let’s take a look at some important parts of being a responsible pet owner.

If your elderly loved one has a pet or several pets, helping her be a responsible pet owner may become part of the tasks that you help with. You can also enlist the help of a senior home care team if your loved one has pet responsibilities that she can no longer keep up with but wants to keep her pet.

Feeding

All pets need to be fed. Responsible pet owners make sure they get the food and nutrients they need to be healthy and happy. This doesn’t mean feeding them table scraps all day. It’s making sure they don’t overeat and become obese. An obese pet faces many health challenges and will not be able to enjoy the active lifestyle that suits it best.

Your local pet store or veterinarian is a great resource for helping your loved one determine what a healthy diet looks like for her pet. How often their pet needs to eat is based on it’s age and activity levels. Many people are surprised by how little a small pet needs to eat daily.

Grooming and Care

Some pets also need a lot of grooming. Some may only occasional grooming, but all need personal care of their teeth and paws. This might mean your elderly loved one’s pet needs to be bathed or brushed regularly. If your elderly loved one has a large dog, she might find bathing him too physically taxing. Have someone from her senior home care team help when they visit to make sure this important task gets completed. Regular visits to a groomer or vet can also help with teeth care and paw care when needed.

Cleaning Up After

Whether your loved one has a dog that goes outside to take care of business or a cat that uses a litter box, cleaning up after the pet is important both for your elderly loved one’s home and for the pet. Yards should not be covered in dog feces and litter boxes need to be cleaned regularly. For the yard, you can hire a service to clean it up or even find a willing young entrepreneur to pay. The litter box should be cleaned out more frequently and can be done by any visitor if needed.

Registering the Pet

All pets should have collars or be microchipped in case they get out of the house or yard and can’t figure out how to get back in. Having them properly identified will help your loved one be reunited more quickly.

Being a responsible pet owner will help your loved one enjoy her pet(s) for many years to come.

If you or an aging loved-one is considering Senior Home Care in Palm Beach County, FL please contact the caring staff at Elite Senior Home Care today. (561) 570-6613

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