Question: What age is geriatric

Answer: Maturity in animals varies. In cats, we consider them geriatric after the age of ten unless other disease processes are present, including obesity. In small breed dogs, (under 20 lbs) we also consider them geriatric after the age of ten. In medium breed dogs, (between 20 & 50 lbs) we generally use the age of eight as a cutoff for geriatric. In large breed dogs, (over 50 lbs) we generally consider anything over six to be geriatric. In geriatric animals, we recommend a small panel yearly to establish a baseline, monitor any changes, and catch any disease processes in the early stages in order to begin treatments, if necessary.