Cats in the Cradle: Or Is It? Management of Weight Loss and Appetite Changes in the Aging Feline

Program Description:

This course will cover the recognition and sequential monitoring of diseases that are commonly recognized in geriatric felines, with a focus on feline cognitive dysfunction, osteoarthritis and disorders affecting the gastrointestinal tract. An emphasis will be placed on the preservation of weight and muscle mass, differences in presentation between cats and dogs, published scoring systems, and recent advances in diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for these disorders. 

Program Agenda:

• Feline cognitive dysfunction
  •  Differences between cats and dogs with cognitive function scoring
  •  Resources for ruling out other disease processes causing similar clinical signs and tools to diagnose, mange it
  •  Other behavioral or physiologic changes in cats with cognitive dysfunction
    • Tolerance for stress, thirst sensitivity
    • Modifications to improve quality of life

• Osteoarthritis (OA)
  •  Recognizing OA in cats
  •  Management of OA, modification to improve quality of life
    • Similarities and differences between cats and dogs regarding management [EX: diet, water therapy, NSAIDs, supplements]
    • Modifications to improve quality of life

• Weight and muscle mass loss in the aged cat (what is normal vs abnormal), main contributing disease processes
  •  Extra GI diseases -> Hyperthyroidism, chronic kidney disease
  •  Primary GI disease -> IBD vs small cell lymphoma
    • Differences between cats and dogs (clinical signs, minimum database)
    • Therapeutic strategies for preservation of weight, muscle mass, improved quality of life in these disease processes