How to care for ageing cats and dogs with dementia, with tips from an expert
Sometimes the little guy just stops and does not know where he is any more.
At 15 years old, Olli the pug is very old, in need of help and often disoriented. He does not hear or see much, and his back legs hurt.
'Olli has had
dementia for a few years,' says owner Ute Hausmann. She has adjusted to his needs, caring for, nurturing, looking after and encouraging the 'dearly loved' animal who has been with her and her husband in Cologne, Germany, for 11 years.
According to Holger Volk, a professor at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover in Germany, dementia is common among dogs and cats of an advanced age.
He says about one in three dogs aged 12 to 13 show clinical symptoms of the condition.
By the age of 15 to 16, two out of three dogs are affected by 'canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Keep fit and trim in midlife to age well – how diet that avoids weight gain pays dividends
Curbing or preventing middle-aged spread – the tendency to gain weight in midlife – could be key to avoiding serious medical problems in later life, doctors say. Advertisement The type and quality of carbohydrates a person consumes in their forties and fifties is likely to be a determining factor in how healthily they age, research shows. 'Sustained weight loss from overweight to healthy weight in midlife was associated with decreased risk of chronic diseases,' according to a team of doctors and scientists at the University of Helsinki and the University of Turku in Finland, and University College London in the United Kingdom. Achieving this weight loss without having surgery or taking drugs means 'long-term health benefits beyond its associations with decreased diabetes risk ', said the researchers, whose study covering around 23,100 people was published by the American Medical Association (AMA). Keeping trim in your forties and fifties, including by eating well, reduces the risk of developing chronic conditions such as diabetes, according to doctors and scientists from Finland and the UK. Photo: Shutterstock The AMA also recently published a study of around 47,000 women carried out by a team from Tufts University and Harvard University, both in the US state of Massachusetts, in which the researchers say fibre and carbohydrates are 'favourably linked to healthy ageing and other positive health outcomes in older women.' Advertisement
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- South China Morning Post
How a pet dog could prevent eczema in children genetically at risk of the condition
Having a pet dog at home could potentially help prevent eczema in children who are genetically predisposed to the condition, according to a new study. Advertisement Academics said that having a pet dog in 'early life' could have a 'protective effect'. But they stressed that the study did not look at the effect dog exposure could have on existing eczema, and cautioned that introducing a dog could make symptoms worse among some children. Atopic eczema is a common skin condition that causes itchy skin. Children with a change in their DNA that increases their chance of developing eczema were less likely to have the condition if they were exposed to a dog in early life. Photo: Shutterstock Researchers said that the condition is caused by a combination of both genetic and environmental factors , but little is known about how the two interact.
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- South China Morning Post
How SkinnyTok TikTok trend and others glorifying thinness can spark eating disorders
Social media can push vulnerable young people towards developing eating disorders by glorifying thinness and promoting fake, dangerous advice about diet and nutrition, experts warn. Advertisement Young women and girls are much more likely to suffer from illnesses such as anorexia, bulimia and binge-eating disorder, though rates among men have been increasing. Research has shown the percentage of people worldwide who have had some kind of eating disorder during their lives rose from 3.5 per cent in 2000 to 7.8 per cent in 2018, a timeframe that captures the rise of social media. For the professionals trying to help teenagers recover from these disorders, misinformation from influencers on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram is a huge problem. 'We no longer treat an eating disorder without also addressing social media use,' French dietitian and nutritionist Carole Copti says. Advertisement 'It has become a trigger, definitely an accelerator and an obstacle to recovery.'
