SWVS 2023

The aging organism undergoes a ‘normal’ series of dysregulation events that are further compounded when diseases of aging develop. Even healthy geriatric pets present nutritional challenges due to changes in organ system functions, and the sick senior presents more significant challenges to obtaining even adequate levels of essential nutrients. The focus of the senior pet’s owner is to slow or mitigate the clinical signs associated with obvious age-related disease, but it may be just as important to manage the subclinical effects of inflammaging, sarcopenia, and microbiome shifts.. This talk presents nutrients of interest in senior dogs and cats, advice on when to use senior diets and how to choose them, and recent news about certain key nutrients.