Companion animals are living longer due to advances in veterinary medicine, making quality of life assessment and management in senior animals an increasingly important welfare discipline.
Senior animal welfare requires proactive monitoring and management rather than reactive response to obvious illness. Many welfare-compromising conditions including arthritis, dental disease, cognitive dysfunction, and organ failure develop gradually and are masked by behavioral adaptation. Regular senior health checks - every 6 months from age 7-8 - enable earlier detection and intervention. Quality of life frameworks provide structured approaches to the difficult question of when intervention or euthanasia is most welfare-appropriate. Palliative care focusing on comfort, pain management, and positive experiences maintains quality of life in animals with serious chronic disease. End-of-life planning should begin before crisis situations arise.