We all hope that in our old age we will be cared for, loved, and living comfortably. We save and plan for our senior years throughout most of our adult lives. We save money, write wills, pay into pension plans, and prepare for the time when we may no longer be able to care for ourselves.
Unfortunately, for many senior animals, the later years are anything but comfortable. Far too often senior animals find themselves abandoned in shelters.
Shelters such as Senior Animals in Need Today (SAINTS) have been set up strictly for the purpose of caring for the large number of senior animals that have ended up in our shelter system.
There are many reasons why these animals end up in shelters. Their elderly owners die and the family has no interest in caring for them. Their owners go into care and the care facility does not accommodate pets. They develop medical problems and their family does not want to deal with the costs of caring for them. New animals are added to the family and the old ones are discarded because they have a hard time accepting the new comers. They are also abandoned at shelters for all the same reasons as other younger animals. People develop allergies, move into places that are not pet friendly, or simply because the commitment to care for them for the rest of their lives is not there.
The problem is that, unlike many of the younger animals, senior animals have a very tough time adjusting to a life in a shelter. Many of them are at the age where they need peace and quiet just like elderly humans. They don’t have the desire to rough house with a bunch of youngsters, they don’t have the energy to battle for the best spot to rest, and they don’t have the ability to nudge a younger animal out of the way to get to a bowl of food.
Many of these senior animals have spent years in a comfortable home, and when they suddenly find themselves in a busy, loud, crowded shelter, they are overwhelmed and distraught.
Katie’s Place houses many senior cats and I can tell you that these poor felines don’t fit in very well. It is not unusual to see the old cats fall into a deep depression. Some even stop eating and, contrary to popular belief, cats can in fact starve themselves to death. Once their livers are affected, they lose any appetite and will refuse to eat.
At this very moment we have two elderly cats that were brought in by a family member of an owner who died. At first they huddled together, their eyes wide open, completely overwhelmed by their new surroundings. Then one of them became very ill and was treated for a bad case of URI (upper respiratory infection). He got better, but then his sister stopped eating. We watched her closely and we could see that she was very upset with the loss of her owner and her home.
But with so many other cats in the pen, we didn’t realize she wasn’t eating until it was almost too late. We tried everything from force feeding, to appetite stimulants, to simply giving her as much love as we possibly could. Some volunteers took turns coming to the shelter just to sit with her. Unfortunately she had given up on life. You could see it in her eyes.
She’s currently at the vet with a feeding tube. We are all crossing our fingers that we can save her.
The problem is that once she’s better, she will come back to the shelter, where she lost her will to live in the first place.
Elderly animals need the comfort of a loving home. They deserve a soft couch to rest on, a food bowl that isn’t surrounded by 10 other animals, a gentle hand that will give them soft pets, and the safety of knowing that no matter what they will spend the rest of their days in a loving home. They have spent many years giving us all of their love and we need make sure that, as seniors, they don’t end up in a shelter.
If you have animals in your home, make sure that you prepare for their senior years just like you do for your own. Know that their medical costs will most likely increase and set some money aside for that. Include them in your will, and make sure that they are well cared for should anything happen to you. Check with family and friends to see who can care for them so that a shelter is only the very last resort.
Consider adopting a senior animal from your local shelter. Many shelters adopt out seniors as permanent fosters. In this scenario, you can adopt the animal and the shelter will cover the medical costs associated with any condition the animal may have.
Katie’s Place has such a program. The seniors will cost us extra whether they are with us or in your home. We’d rather pay for them and know that they are safe in a loving home, than at the shelter fighting off the younger ones.
The number of senior animals in shelters is a sad reflection on our society and our ability to discard those who become a burden. We need to make sure that when we commit to an animal, it is for life, not only when they are cute and healthy.
There is nothing more heartbreaking than seeing an old animal being dropped off at the shelter and watching them lose all hope.
Magdalena Romanow is a volunteer at Katie's Place in Maple Ridge.