Literature to help you provide the best care possible.
Our Resources
We’ve compiled these veterinary resources in the hopes that they will help you better understand your pet and his or her needs.
Pain in Dogs and Cats
No one wants their animal to be in pain, but what does pain in a pet look like? It can be difficult to identify pain in our pets because it is natural for cats and dogs to hide discomfort. Cats and dogs do not show their discomfort as readily as people do, so the signs of pain can be hidden or very subtle. Sometimes these small changes happen over time, and we can attribute changes in our pet’s behavior to “just old age.” Sometimes pain can be obvious, for example, when our pet is limping or unable to get up, but how can we relate to their level of discomfort? The pain scales for dogs and cats were developed by leading veterinarians in the field of animal pain control and palliative medicine. By observing our animals closely, we can begin to understand their level of discomfort and measure their pain. Just as a doctor might ask you to rank your pain on a scale of 1 to 10, these scales help us do the same for our pets.
Quality of Life Scale for Pets
How will I know when it’s time? This is a question that all pet owners will eventually face, and it’s one of the most challenging decisions we make for our beloved pets. Our pet’s quality-of-life can change day by day, and in the fog of caregiving combined with our other daily responsibilities, it can feel overwhelming to make this decision. We are often so emotionally distraught over our pet’s illness that it becomes nearly impossible to see clearly what the next best step is. It can help to have a tool when we feel like this. The quality of life scale is designed to help us “see” what our pet is trying to tell us so that we can make the best decision possible.