If you're using a good quality dog shampoo and doing a thorough rinsing, no. You could probably bathe your dog almost daily, and they would be fine, provided your dog is healthy and doesn't have any skin conditions. That being said, unless your dog is super excited about having a bath every day, it's probably not worth your while or your dog's mental health to pursue that level of bathing. But if you're finding that your dog requires a weekly bath because of their activities, then you could easily maintain that sort of schedule, provided you're using a good quality dog shampoo.

They don't have to be a senior to do that. I can tell you my young kitty likes to just sing the song of his people at night. I think he wants to keep me awake, and he's bored, but we certainly see this happen a lot more as cats get older. And this can be an indication of some cognitive decline, basically kitty dementia. They can get confused at night, and the night's more common for this to happen. We can also see it as associated with overactivity or hyperactivity with hyperthyroidism. So if this is a behavior you’ve seen, then we should certainly take a look at the kitty and make sure there's nothing else going on. And we can talk about things that we can do for cognitive decline as well.

You're the best judge of that. Unless I'm coming over to dinner every night and able to see what Fluffy's doing, I'm not going to be a great judge of your cat's quality of life. That's where you come into the relationship of veterinary care, and you are telling us what's happening. Has behavior changed, or has appetite changed? Is your kitty a class A clinger all of a sudden when they've always been aloof? Any kind of behavior changes or routine changes can indicate the quality of life is declining.

But I also think it's important to note that as we get to the end of life and more of what we would call hospice care, it can be hard to be objective about the quality of life. What I often recommend in those situations is keeping a really simple journal or even marking on a calendar marking the quality of each day. Was this a good day, was this an okay day? Was this a bad day? Maybe with minimal notes or none at all, but the journal just allows you to look back over the last week or two when you're in those really tough times, and you get a more objective look at trends upward or downward, or just how the pet's doing overall.

Yes and no, as that really depends on lifestyle. The number one vaccine that I recommend for any age in any lifestyle would be the rabies vaccine. Here in Maine, we're in a rabies-endemic area, meaning rabies is always around. In our particular area, we have had an uptick in rabies cases in the last few years, so we need to be extra cautious. The rabies vaccine's super safe, and we give it every three years. And it's just an excellent way to keep not only your pet safe but your family as well, as rabies is a fatal disease, and it’s not always apparent when your cat has had an interaction with a rabid animal like a bat, even if they're indoors. So, that's my soapbox issue—rabies vaccines are for all cats and pets.

In terms of distemper for kitties that are indoors and have a really low risk, I usually stop doing that between nine and 10 years of age. You may see some variation among vets about how comfortable they are with that, but that's my general opinion. I don't think indoor kitties need leukemia vaccines. For kitties going outside but are pretty much sticking close to the house, I believe that we can stop vaccines as they get older. For those kitties that are scrappy and kind of the bully of the neighborhood, it's worth continuing them.

That could be a tough one with cats. They're very secretive. They're both a predator species and a prey species, so they are kind of hardwired to hide pain or weakness. Many times pain will be manifested more subtly—you're not often going to find a cat yowling or crying in pain. Most of the time, what you'll find is that they're not as interactive, and they tend to hide more. Sometimes you'll notice that they are limping, but a lot of times, that is a later sign. So things to watch for would be hiding more, but also hesitance to jump. If they're not getting on the couch or the counter or being a general nuisance as my kit so often is, then that could be an indication that the kitty's not feeling well.

Another thing that we can see is abnormal grooming patterns. Sometimes kitties with chronic bladder issues will start to groom their belly, or cats with arthritis will begin to groom their rump or not want to be touched on their rump. So always check in with us if there are any behavior changes because we may be able to help you figure out what's going on.