Caring for a Dog or Cat with a Long-Term Condition: A Guide for Australian Pet Owners

Quick answer

What counts as a long-term condition?

Any condition that is managed rather than cured. The common ones in Australian dogs and cats include:

•    Diabetes, which in cats in particular requires close routine and monitoring

•    Thyroid and other hormonal conditions, which are more common in older cats

•    Kidney disease, frequently diagnosed in senior cats

•    Allergic skin disease, which tends to be lifelong and seasonal in dogs

•    Anxiety and behavioural conditions in both dogs and cats

•    Arthritis and chronic pain, particularly in older and larger dogs

•    Heart conditions

What these have in common is that the treatment is ongoing and the owner does most of the work. Your veterinarian sets the plan and reviews it, but the day to day management happens in your kitchen, and that is where it succeeds or falls apart.

The first month is the hardest

This is worth saying plainly, because most people are not warned about it. The weeks after a diagnosis are genuinely difficult. There is new information to absorb, a routine that has not become automatic yet, a pet that may not cooperate, and the anxiety of not knowing whether what you are doing is working.

It gets easier. The routine becomes ordinary within a few weeks for most owners, and the thing that felt impossible on day three becomes a ninety second job. Knowing that in advance makes the first month easier to get through.

Two things help more than anything else in that period. Write down every question as it occurs to you, so the review appointment is productive rather than a blank. And ask your clinic who to ring with the small questions, because most practices would much rather answer a quick phone question than see an animal that went wrong over a fortnight of uncertainty.

Building a medication routine that survives real life

The routines that last are the ones that do not depend on remembering.

1.   Attach it to something you already do. Morning coffee, feeding time, locking the back door at night. A medicine tied to an existing habit gets given; one that relies on noticing the time does not.

2.   Set a recurring phone alarm anyway, with the pet’s name in it. If more than one person in the house might give it, a shared reminder prevents the double dose problem, which is more common than the missed dose problem.

3.   Keep a visible record. A sheet on the fridge with a tick, or a shared note on a phone. In a household with more than one adult, this is the only reliable way to know whether it has already been given.

4.   Store everything in one place, out of reach of children and pets, and away from heat. The bathroom is usually the worst spot in the house for medicine because of the humidity.

5.   Keep the original packaging and the dispensing label. The label identifies the product and the directions, and you will want it when you travel, when you board, and whenever you ring the clinic.

6.   Count ahead. On the day you open a new pack, work out the date the supply runs out and put a reminder in your calendar a fortnight before it.

Giving medication to a pet that does not want it

This is the part people quietly struggle with, and it is almost never a failure of patience. Technique matters, and technique is much easier to learn in person than from a page.

Ask your veterinary nurse to demonstrate. They do it every day, they will usually show you at no charge, and five minutes of being shown is worth any amount of reading. Take your pet in and do it there the first time if you can.

Some general points that apply across most situations:

•    Be calm and quick. Animals read hesitation, and a long anxious build up makes the next attempt harder.

•    Follow a tablet with a small amount of water or food where your vet has said that is appropriate, so it does not sit in the oesophagus. This matters particularly in cats.

•    Never crush, split or hide a tablet in food without checking with your vet or the dispensing pharmacist first. Some medicines must be given whole, some must be given with food and some without, and some taste strongly enough to put an animal off the food you hide it in for good.

•    If it is going badly, ask whether the medicine comes in another form. A liquid, a different tablet size, a transdermal preparation or a longer acting option may exist. It is always worth asking.

•    End on something good. A fuss, a game, a treat if treats are allowed on your pet’s plan.

If you are being scratched or bitten, stop and ring the clinic. That is a problem with a solution, not something to push through.

What to watch and record at home

Your vet sees your pet for fifteen minutes every few months. You see them every day, which means the most valuable information in the whole management plan is yours.

A dated note, a notebook, or a phone app is enough. Worth recording:

•    Weight, if you can manage it. Weight trend is one of the most informative numbers in chronic disease, and many clinics will let you use their scales between appointments.

•    Appetite, and any change in what your pet will and will not eat

•    Water intake, which is particularly significant in diabetes and kidney disease

•    Toileting, including frequency and any change in consistency

•    Energy and mobility, including whether they are still doing the things they used to do

•    Anything specific your vet has asked you to watch for your pet’s particular condition

•    Any dose given late, missed or vomited back up

Take this to every review. A trend over eight weeks tells your vet far more than a single measurement taken in a stressful consulting room, and owners consistently underestimate how useful it is.

Why you should never adjust a dose yourself

This is the single most important rule in this article.

With most long-term conditions, an animal that seems better is an animal whose medicine is working, not an animal that no longer needs it. Stopping or reducing on that basis usually brings the condition back, sometimes quickly and sometimes worse than before. For some medicines, stopping suddenly causes a serious problem in its own right.

The same applies in the other direction. If your pet seems worse, the answer is a phone call, not an extra dose. Many of the medicines used in long-term conditions have a narrow margin between a working dose and a harmful one, and the dose was calculated for your specific animal.

If cost, difficulty or side effects are making the plan hard to sustain, say so to your vet rather than quietly adjusting it. There is often more than one way to manage a condition, and a plan you can actually follow beats a better plan you cannot.

Staying ahead on repeat prescriptions

Running out is the most common avoidable problem in long-term care, and it is entirely a scheduling issue. We have covered the mechanics of ordering prescription medication online separately. The points that matter specifically for ongoing treatment are these.

•    Work in days, not packs. Know the date you run out and set the reminder a fortnight earlier.

•    Book the review before the last repeat, not after. When repeats are exhausted you need a new prescription, and appointments are not always available at short notice.

•    Watch the expiry on the script itself, not just the repeats. A prescription with repeats left can still pass its validity date.

•    Order before public holidays and the Christmas period, when both clinics and deliveries slow down.

•    If you are going to run out, ring the clinic. Do not stop the medicine and wait for the appointment.

Travel, boarding and holidays

A pet on long-term medication can travel and can be boarded, but neither works well improvised. If you are planning a trip, our guide to travelling with pets in Australia covers the transport side in detail.

For anyone leaving a medicated pet with someone else, whether a boarding facility, a sitter or a family member:

•    Supply the medicine in its original packaging with the dispensing label intact. Most boarding facilities will not accept medication in an unlabelled container, and they are right not to.

•    Write the instructions down, even if you have explained them. Include what, when, how much, with or without food, and what to do if a dose is refused or brought back up.

•    Send more than the trip requires. Delays happen.

•    Leave your vet clinic’s details, your pet’s condition in one line, and written authority for treatment with a nominated limit if you will be uncontactable.

•    Tell them what a bad day looks like for your pet specifically, so they recognise it.

Households with more than one pet

Multi pet households create two specific risks, and both are avoidable.

The first is the wrong animal getting the medicine. Each pet needs their own prescription, even where two animals have the same condition, because doses are set for the individual. Store medicines separately, label them with the animal’s name rather than just the product, and if two packs look similar, keep them in different places entirely.

The second is feeding. If medication goes in food, the medicated animal has to eat it and only the medicated animal can eat it. Separate feeding, supervised and in different rooms if necessary, is usually the only reliable way.

When to ring the vet between appointments

Do not wait for the next review if you see any of these.

•    Refusing food for more than a day, or a sudden change in appetite

•    Vomiting repeatedly, or bringing a dose back up

•    A noticeable change in drinking or urination

•    New weakness, collapse, or difficulty breathing

•    Any new sign that appeared after a medication change

•    A dose given twice by mistake, or the wrong animal receiving a dose

•    Anything your vet specifically asked you to report

The last one is worth asking about directly at your next appointment if it has not been covered. "What would make you want to hear from me before the next review?" is a question that gets a useful answer.

Looking after yourself as well

Caring for an animal with a long-term condition is a real commitment, and it is normal to find parts of it heavy going. The worry about whether you are doing it right, the disrupted routine, the cost, and the guilt on the days when it feels like too much are all common and none of them mean you are doing badly.

Share the job where you can, so it does not rest on one person and so the routine survives when that person is away. Accept that there will be imperfect days. And be honest with your vet about what is and is not workable, because they can only adjust a plan they know is struggling.

Frequently asked questions

What should I do if I miss a dose?

Ring your clinic and ask. The right answer depends on the medicine and the condition, and for some medicines doubling up to catch up is dangerous. Do not guess.

Can I stop the medication if my pet seems better?

No, not without speaking to your vet. In most long-term conditions the animal seems better because the medicine is working. For some medicines, stopping suddenly causes a worse problem than the original.

How do I give a tablet to a cat that refuses it?

Ask your veterinary nurse to show you in person. Technique matters more than anything written down, and there may be an alternative form of the medicine available. Never crush or split a tablet without checking first.

What should I track at home?

Weight, appetite, water intake, toileting, energy, and anything specific to your pet’s condition. A dated note is enough, and the trend is usually more useful to your vet than a single measurement.

Will my pet have a normal life?

Many dogs and cats with a well managed long-term condition live full and comfortable lives. What the condition means for your individual animal is a question for your veterinarian, who knows the specifics.

Keeping the routine simple

Long-term care rewards consistency far more than it rewards effort. A routine tied to something you already do, a simple record, repeats ordered ahead of time, and a low threshold for ringing the clinic will handle most of what comes up.

Scriptly supplies APVMA approved medicines for dogs and cats across Australia, including ongoing treatment for conditions managed long term. Keep your prescription on file and order before you run out, so the routine is never interrupted by supply.

This article is general information for Australian pet owners. It is not veterinary advice and it does not replace a consultation. Always follow your veterinarian’s directions and the approved label for any medicine your pet is given.