Assessing Your Pet’s Quality of Life
Understanding Your Pet’s Quality of Life
We wish our pets could talk to us and tell us how they’re feeling, but sadly they cannot. At least not in words. If you pay attention, however, there are several ways to get a better understanding of their well-being and the overall quality of life they are experiencing.
Our veterinarians are available for at-home quality-of-life consultations, but sometimes assessing how your pet is feeling is something you have to monitor on a day-by-day basis. Here, our veterinarians share their best knowledge and advice on assessing your pet’s health and comfort, so you can make informed decisions about their care.
If you have questions about assessing your pet’s health that are not answered here, get in touch with our support specialists and we’ll help you the best we can.
How can I tell how my pet has a good quality of life?
Understanding whether or not your pet is experiencing a good quality of life starts by observing your pet’s behaviour and asking yourself some key questions:
- Is your pet able to breathe normally, at rest and with light play or exercise?
- Is your pet still eating enough to maintain their weight, strength and energy? Are they very thin, or in poor body condition?
- Can your pet still walk with a reasonable degree of comfort, and are they able to play, to access favorite resting areas and to eliminate in appropriate areas?
- Is your pet able to sleep normally and comfortably in their favorite area(s) where they are used to sleeping, and for a normal duration of time?
- Is your pet able to complete their regular daily activities, such as interacting with family members and other pets, going on walks, playing and grooming?
- Is your pet demonstrating decreased ability or inability to enjoy their favourite things?
- Has the normal aging process progressed to a stage where illness or pain is interfering with your pet’s ability to enjoy life?
- Are supportive medications still helpful, or are they no longer working like they did? Are their side effects manageable, or do they outweigh the benefits?
- Are there physical, emotional, financial or time constraints that you are experiencing and need to further discuss with your family, veterinarian and pet health care team?
The HHHHHMM Quality of Life Scale
From there, you can go deeper in your assessment using the HHHHHMM Quality of Life Scale. This tool is commonly used by veterinarians when they are assessing quality of life in the companion animals they are treating. Developed by a veterinarian named Dr. Alice Villalobos, HHHHHMM stands for Hurt, Hunger, Hydration, Hygiene, Happiness, Mobility, and More Good Days Than Bad.
We have developed our own version of the HHHHMM Scale, and we offer it to you in a PDF worksheet that you can use to help you assess your pet. On the sheet you will find more details about each of the quality-of-life factors in the HHHHMM scale, so you can better use them to understand your own pet’s situation.
Keeping a Journal of Good and Bad Days
The first step in understanding the well-being of a pet who is aging or experiencing illness is to start keeping a daily observation journal. It can be as simple as boiling down your pet’s daily behaviours to “this was a good day” or “this was a bad day.” Keeping a journal like this can help you monitor trends in your pet’s well-being. Over time, it will become a valuable and reliable source of information as you strive to advocate on your pet’s behalf.
In assessing your pet’s well-being on a day-to-day basis, it can also be helpful to make a list of three to five of your pet’s favourite things. For example, your cat might enjoy being groomed, laying in their favourite sunny spot, eating meals and treats, or chasing a laser pointer. Your dog might enjoy playing with their ball, getting attention from family members or friends, eating meals and treats, going for walks, or playing with other animals.
How much (or if at all) they are engaging with these favourite things can be a useful factor to make note of in your journal of good days or bad days. If you notice that your pet has decreased interest or inability to achieve their favorite things on an ongoing basis, that is a signal to contact your veterinarian to discuss this change in behaviour with them.
So, how can you tell if your pet is having a good day or a bad day? The following sections offer some advice and tools for observing your pet and assessing their well-being.
Home Euthanasia FAQs
If you have any questions that are not answered on these pages, our team is ready to help. You can use the contact information below to get in touch, or use our contact form to send your questions or request a visit.
How can I tell if my pet is in pain?
Pets can’t speak our language, but they do have a language of their own. Cats and dogs each have their own ways of showing pain, and understanding their behaviours and posture can help you get a sense of whether or not they are experiencing discomfort, and how much.
The Feline Grimace Scale and the BEAP Pain Scale for cats and the BEAP Pain Scale for dogs are very useful resources that veterinarians often use to assess a companion animal’s level of discomfort. We have created a few downloadable PDFs with information and illustrations to explain these scales and help you understand what your pet is telling you.
What questions should I be asking myself?
Your own ability to make your pet as comfortable as possible is also a factor in assessing your pet’s quality of life. Here are a few more questions to ask yourself as your pet’s needs increase:
- If incontinence or inappropriate elimination is an issue, are you able to maintain the hygiene of your pet and home while still preserving your pet’s dignity?
- What is the realistic ability of you and your family to provide the medications, interventions, and supportive care necessary to maintain your pet’s comfort, well-being and hygiene?
More Resources for Assessing Your Pet’s Quality of Life
There is never a good day to say goodbye, even when we know it is the right thing to do. Ohio State University has prepared an article to help guide pet owners in making this difficult decision, and we have linked it here for you to download. This is one of the most popular and easy-to-use scales for assessing the quality of life of your pet. We suggest making copies of the scale on the second page of the document so you can evaluate changes over time.
Dr. Shae Cox, DVM and founder of Blue Pearl Pet Hospice, is a leader in the world of veterinary palliative care and at-home euthanasia. Dr. Cox provides free educational videos to help you understand your pet’s quality of life. You will need to create an account to watch the videos, but it is well worth the effort. See the videos on “Recognizing Pain in Dogs,” “Recognizing Pain in Cats,” and “Understanding Quality of Life.”
Veterinary Partner provides reliable and up-to-date animal health information to support you in the care of your pet. Read their article “Assessing Quality of Life and Euthanasia in Companion Animals” for guidance in making this very difficult decision. You can also use the search box to find and read more about various health conditions, medications and care suggestions for pets.
The Colorado State University Argus Institute provides support services to help you make informed decisions about your pet’s care and to support you through this difficult process. See the articles titled “Euthanasia Considerations,” “When Is It Time for Hospice Care?” and “Considering Your Pets Quality of Life in the Midst of Disease.”
Reach Out to Us
When advanced illness begins to impede your pet’s daily well-being and enjoyment, it is time to think about your pet’s quality of life. Ideally, we do not want to wait until our pets’ favourite things cease to offer any pleasure for them. The resources and practices above can help you understand your pet better, and help you in your decision-making.
If you have questions about assessing your pet’s well-being, or would like to book a quality-of-life appointment with one of our veterinarians, please get in touch.