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ANSC 4560 > Healthy aging in cats > Flashcards

Healthy aging in cats Flashcards

1
Q

What is aging?

A
  • natural progressive series of life stages
  • NOT a pathological process
  • a complex set of biological processes resulting in the progressive decreased ability to maintain homeostasis
  • changes are gradual
  • cats disguise lack of wellness
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2
Q

Aging in highly active dogs vs. normally active dog?

A

Highly active will age faster - impact on joints

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3
Q

Environmental impact on aging

A

mobility and stress (contaminants)

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4
Q

Primary hallmarks of aging

A

Causes of damage

  • genomic instability
  • telomere attrition
  • epigenetic alterations
  • loss of proteostasis
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5
Q

Antagonistic hallmarks of aging

A

Responses to damage

  • deregulated nutrient sensing
  • mitochondrial dysfunction
  • cellular senescence
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6
Q

Integrative hallmarks of aging

A

Culprits of the phenotype

  • stem cell exhaustion
  • altered intracellular communication
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7
Q

Two characteristics of aging?

A

unique and multi-factorial

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8
Q

What accelerates aging?

A
  • stress
  • poor diet
  • adverse environment
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9
Q

What delays aging?

A
  • good diet
  • good lifestyle
  • favourable environment
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10
Q

What does the accumulation of cellular defects lead to?

A
  • age-related frailty
  • disability
  • diseases
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11
Q

Average life expectancy of the cat?

A

14-16 years

  • feeding a lot more geriatric cats compared to juvenile/growing cats
  • very little data on this population
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12
Q

Good/bad to living longer?

A
  • longer opportunity for cumulative understanding of a lifetime of exposure
  • as animals get older, we might do a lot of intervention to keep them alive (without considering quality of life)
  • the older they live, the longer we get with them (stronger bonds)
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13
Q

Goal of nutrition in healthy aging

A
  • evaluate through life span
  • make age appropriate and individually catered changes to nutrition and management practices
  • improve the quality of life through management and nutrition prior to the onset of age-associated disease (nutrition can’t solve anything on its own - need activity)
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14
Q

Health is a multi-pronged process meaning?

A

it requires nutrition, outstanding vet care and social contact

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15
Q

Common changes seen in cats as they age

A
  • oral and digestive
  • physical appearance
  • cognitive decline and behavioural changes
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16
Q

Oral and digestive changes seen with age?

A
  • dental disease (tooth loss/oral pain –> decreased feed intake)
  • digestion/absorption (increase quality rather than quantity)
  • altered sense of smell (likely change in food preferences)
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17
Q

What changes are seen to physical appearance with age?

A

predominantly skin, coat, body condition, eyes

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18
Q

Health monitoring of an aging cat should include?

A

subjective and objective evaluation of physical, physiological, cognitive and psychological health

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19
Q

What is the major obstacle to performing health monitoring?

A

anthropomorphism by the consumer
- “I think this is what my cat is doing”
- “adult cats are just lazy”
= lack of knowledge

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20
Q

Oral concerns seen in cats as they age?

A
  • periodontal disease (correlation between severity and age)
  • gingivitis
  • tooth resorption
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21
Q

What is the cause of tooth yellowing?

A

Dentin wall thickens

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22
Q

Oral health is linked with?

A

systemic/overall health

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23
Q

Oral health goal

A

avoid periodontal disease through employing dental technology and brushing teeth

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24
Q

What are polyphosphates useful for?

A

bind to plaque

- can’t be used in cats (Ca:P ratio)

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25
Q

Kibble vs. wet food - dental health

A

kibble has abrasion action, so wet food increases risk of dental disease

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26
Q

Correlation between smell and aging?

A

Reduced ability to smell with age

- likely responsible for food preference and declined appetite

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27
Q

Why is feeding the same food problematic?

A

Used to eating one type of food, so when food preference changes you’re kind of stuck

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28
Q

Reduced sense of smell contributes to?

A

disorientation and reduced willingness to explore

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29
Q

What does reduced sense of smell mean for nutritional management?

A
  • don’t change smells and spots in the house

- pet food companies are developing multi stage change (senior, super-senior, etc)

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30
Q

Gastrointestinal function with age

A
  • swallowing becomes more difficult due to decreased saliva production and pharyngeal/esophageal motility
  • increased GI pH and subsequent changes in gut integrity
  • decreased GI motility, atrophy of villi, shift in microbiome (shrinkage of villi - less SA, lower motility)
  • decreased digestibility (fat and protein)
31
Q

What do we have to do to support GI changes due to aging?

A
  • consider protein and fat amounts provided
  • there’s already a microbiome change present, so look for higher quality diets (fat/protein) rather than higher quantity
  • increase digestibility –> pre- and probiotics
32
Q

Changes in stool maybe due to?

A

altered ability to digest/absorb nutrients

33
Q

What is loose stool likely due to?

A

increased small intestinal bypass and changes to microflora

34
Q

What is constipation likely to be associated with?

A

dehydration

35
Q

What dietary nutrients should we consider when stool quality changes?

A

more digestible protein, pre- and probiotics

36
Q

The “perfect” stool

A

3 - pick up without falling apart but can pick up the whole thing

37
Q

Age appropriate changes in urine specific gravity without changes suggestive of renal failure

A
  • no changes in drinking
  • no changes in urination patterns
  • no urinary bacteria/protein

–> lose some ability to concentrate urine with age

38
Q

Which diseases have similar symptoms to diabetes?

A

hyperthyroidism or hyperaldosteronemia

39
Q

What is also responsible for increase blood/urine glucose?

A

stress

40
Q

What might be required to confirm diabetes in older cats?

A

fructosamine

41
Q

Physical appearance changes due to aging

A

decreased skin elasticity and brittle/thickened nails - roughled/unkept look

42
Q

What leads to decline in vision in older age?

A
  • non-neoplastic iris pigment changes
  • lenticular sclerosis (blue haze)
  • iris atrophy (shrinkage of the iris)
43
Q

What is the biggest focus with senior mammals?

A

Musculoskeletal goals for healthy aging

44
Q

Musculoskeletal goals for healthy aging

A

A healthy aged cat should be able to move fluidly, perform daily activities of living associated with elimination/eating/drinking and interacting with care givers, and to be free of clinically detectable pain associated with joints
- a healthy cat retains the ability to jump, although the height of the jump may decrease due to age-associated changes in muscle mass and strength

45
Q

Overcoat syndrome

A

when an animal being examined has more fat than muscle, making muscle condition scores of 1 or 2 seem normal by providing artificial bulk to the muscle where none actually exists
- this exemplifies the importance of palpation

46
Q

What happens to lean mass with aging

A

turns into fat mass

47
Q

Muscle condition scoring

A

important to evaluate muscle over the spine, scapulae, skull, wings of the ilia, triceps and thigh muscles

  • muscle loss of sarcopenia is seen with aging
  • bones should be slightly more palpable but good muscle surrounding them
  • normal for joints to deteriorate
48
Q

What is sarcopenia

A

characterized by the progressive and generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength with a risk of adverse clinical outcomes

49
Q

Healthy cat would be considered

A
  • well behaved
  • well established habits
  • moderately reduced activity
50
Q

An unhealthy senior cat would have:

A
  • decreased motility
  • behavioural problems/problem behaviours
  • illness
  • deterioration
51
Q

why is it important for owners to assess their cats at home?

A
  • taking them out of their environment isn’t an accurate representation of what’s going on
  • prophylactic
  • visual evaluation and record frequency and duration of movement
  • if required, muscle and joint palpation to understand pain, crepitus, swelling, range of motion
52
Q

Degenerative joint disease

A

Pain when manipulating joints

- crepitus, thickening

53
Q

Nutritional technologies to aid in DJD

A

glucosamine, chondroitin, sulfate, tumeric, green-lipped mussels, omega 3 fatty acids - more so in dogs

  • cats benefitted from EPA and DHA and green lipped muscle extract
54
Q

When are subtle cognitive changes seen?

A

~10-12 years

55
Q

disorientation results in a myriad of secondary changes including

A
  • altered sleep cycle
  • reduced sleep tolerance
  • changes in interaction with family/other pets
  • house soiling
  • changes in activity
56
Q

Solution to disoriented pet

A

shrink environment and provide same microenvironment

57
Q

What contributes to the cognitive decline in dogs and likely the cat?

A

oxidative stress and free radical formation

58
Q

cognitive decline nutritional intervention

A
  • marine ingredient inclusion (omega 3s)
  • vitamins E and C
  • choline
59
Q

Inflammaging

A

changes in inflammatory mediators

- increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNA in young vs. old

60
Q

Controlling immune health

A
  • should still receive vaccines and respond accordingly

- immune health must continue to balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory

61
Q

Cats should be monitored by their owners throughout life to assess

A
  • skin/coat quality
  • oral and gingival health
  • BW, BCS, MCS
  • mobility and muscle strength
  • vision, hearing, smell
  • general behaviour and cognitive status
62
Q

Nutrition management allows the opportunity to?

A

track animals over time and make nutrition changes to match their lifestyle

63
Q

Older cats may require changes in

A
  • protein/fat level
  • 6:3 ratio and total amount
  • enrichment with antioxidants
  • micronutrients implicated in cognitive function
64
Q

Older cats requires management changes regarding

A

activity, play and social contact

65
Q

Life (factors and outcomes)

A

life course events, exposures and experiences (fetal growth, housing, education, nutrition, employment) –> inflammation, oxidative stress/redox changes, metabolic stress –> aging trajectory

66
Q

What nutritional intervention can ameliorate pancreatic function in both dogs and cats?

A

weight management (controlled reduction of energy intake) which will help to improve insulin sensitivity (reduce incidence of diabetes)

67
Q

Why are older dogs at a greater risk for obesity

A
  • decreasing vassal metabolic rate with age
  • decreasing lean tissue composition
  • increasing adipose tissue
  • decreases physical activity
68
Q

What does it mean by the fact that aging is multi-factorial?

A

Aging is a unique process and is multifactorial as many things can influence

  • -> Accelerated:
  • stress, poor diet, adverse environment
69
Q

How does the decline in a feline’s sense of smell affect them during aging?

A

Reduced appetite

  • altered senses
  • -> flavour preference
  • -> cognitive decline (increased disorientation and decreased exploring)
  • can also be a reflection of pain
70
Q

What are some physical changes associated with aging?

A
  • changes in behaviour (sleep cycle, interactions with family and other pets)
  • functional changes (decreased activity, mobility, decreased vision, smell)
  • musculoskeletal changes (sarcopenia)
  • -> decrease in lean body mass and body condition score
71
Q

Is excellent nutrition sufficient to promote optimal aging in both dogs and cats?

A

No
- does play a key role (physiological changes surrounding food intake, digestion, absorption)

To promote optimal aging:

  • outstanding vet care (dental care, observant and informed owner, prophylactic care)
  • social interaction/contact
72
Q

Why is is that pet food companies are so tightly imbedded in veterinary practices?

A

trying to ensure that discussions about nutrition, and opportunities to enhance health and well-being, are factored into wellness exams throughout animal’s lifespan

73
Q

What are the hallmarks of aging?

A

Primary hallmark - causes of damage

  • genomic instability
  • telomere attrition
  • epigenetic alterations
  • loss of proteostasis

Antagonistic hallmark - response to damage

  • deregulated nutrient sensing
  • mitochondrial dysfunction
  • cellular senescence

Integrative hallmark

  • stem cell exhaustion
  • altered intracellular communication

ANSC 4560 (9 decks)

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