Disabled Pet: Learning how to take care of them

Knowing and learning to provide them with good living conditions are gestures of love that your disabled pet will always appreciate.

The situations of our disabled pets can be commonly divided into four groups: physical, visual, auditory, and vocal. The olfactory disability (anosmia), although it can occur in dogs and cats, is not frequent and is not entirely relevant. Unless it is in the case of hunting dogs, in which it becomes one of the most important senses.

Physically Disabled Pet

Causes: the most common, which is the loss of a limb. They are due to accidents, the most frequent being car incidents. It can also occur due to congenital anomalies (during pregnancy) due to the administration of drugs or genetic malformations.

Special Care: Dogs and cats tend to adapt easily to the absence of one of their limbs The problems for your disabled pet become more serious when more than one of the limbs is affected, without being considered an absolute limiting condition. Physiology adapts the body, skills, and behavior to lead a normal life. However, you must have certain considerations:

1. Physical exercise should be of less impact and not excessively. Since your disabled pet would tend to fatigue easily and can wear out the joints of the other members.
2. Ideally, the home should not have stairs. Wheelchairs and prosthetics should be used for short periods of time: friction produces skin lesions and frequent use can cause postural, muscular, and joint problems. Since going up and down frequently can affect the spine and extremities.
3. Surfaces on which the animal moves must not be slippery. Since stability, when reduced, produces poor support, resulting in falls and serious injuries.

Visually Disabled Pet

Causes: loss of vision can be partial or total, unilateral, or bilateral. It can be caused by genetic factors and it also occurs progressively in disabled pets that are older. Additionally, it can be due to vascular or endocrine diseases, or due to trauma or accidents.

Special Care: when there is this type of disability, the other senses, by compensation, will become more sensitive. This will help the disabled pet to orient themselves easily.

1. Stimulate the ear with pleasant sounds that allow you to know our location. Talking to your disabled pet always increases confidence and security.
2. Creating routines is important, that there are no drastic changes in the day to day so that they can get used to it easily and know where the food is, the gate, the park, etc.
3. Routes and safe places: adapt our home to avoid sharp corners, stairs, balconies, and high places with which they can hurt themselves. Ideally, do not modify the location of the furniture and accessories in our home.
4. During walks, which should not be reduced, pets should always be on a leash. Prefer open places and free of obstacles, let them sniff so that the olfactory memory allows them to remember the routes

Hearing Impairment

Causes: it occurs as a result of infections, age, accidents, tumors, congenital problems, and even due to race predisposition, and can be total or partial.

Special Care: the other senses will be the best allies in the management of this disability.

1.  Always be within their visual field and avoid sudden movements.

2.  Physical contact and olfactory stimulation are important: always touch them gently and allow them to sniff to avoid frightening.

3.  Never leave it loose during walks, as accidents can occur with cars or other animals.

Vocal impairment

Causes: it is the least common of disabilities and can be caused by accidents, inflammations, alterations in behavior, and congenital diseases.

Care: the most important thing to have is to know and understand perfectly the behavior of our animals.

Looks, movement of the ears, movement of the tail and body expression are the mechanisms by which our furry friends can express their needs to us.