Companion animals increasingly live to advanced ages, creating welfare challenges around chronic disease management, pain recognition, and end-of-life decision-making that owners and veterinarians must navigate.
Senior companion animal welfare requires proactive management of age-related conditions that cause chronic pain and cognitive decline. Arthritis is both prevalent and undertreated in older dogs and cats; many owners attribute reduced activity and reluctance to climb stairs to normal aging when the underlying cause is treatable pain. Cognitive dysfunction syndrome causes disorientation, sleep disruption, and anxiety that reduce quality of life and can be managed with medication and environmental modification. End-of-life decision-making involves weighing animal suffering against owner attachment, with appropriate euthanasia representing a compassionate welfare option uniquely available in veterinary medicine. Veterinarians have a duty to proactively raise end-of-life planning discussions when animals have life-limiting conditions rather than waiting for acute welfare crises.