Pet Boomers: What Are They? Are You One?

Got an email that intrigued me the other day. I had just returned from Austin, TX where I attended an outstanding seminar by the super-smart Michele Miller of Wonderbranding (the better to learn more about connecting with women, since women are the majority gender when it comes to owning pets and to treating them like kids - hey, I'm not saying guys don't do the same thing, sometimes; I'm saying women do it more)...and, here's what I saw in my Inbox, "Are You the Owner of a Pet Boomer?"

Hmmm...that got me to open the note and I started reading about the 45 million pet boomer cats and dogs (those aged seven and older - like Carmel and Wabby Wibby) who are experiencing some of the same aging issues we human boomers are experiencing.

Regular readers know that Dr. Larry covers some of this in our S&S Out Loud segments, and in his posts... he's very much into the health and welfare of our pets. But, I wanted to give this new website some press, since it seems very relevant to those of us with older pets.

Pet Boomers...for a healthy lifetime together has some great information on our aging pets. Naturally, it focuses, or seems to focus, on cats and dogs...as I do here, in this blog. If you visit this page, Tom (who sometimes writes in this blog, too) will tell you the picture is of our Wabby Wibby, in her Jabba the Cat pose, but it's not. It just looks like her.

This page of Fast Facts talks about the aging cycle and how our pets age faster than we do. That's a given, of course. The thing to remember is that we can help our pets live longer and have a healthier lifestyle as they age - by doing many of the same things we do for ourselves. You'll see content here that Dr. Larry and I have discussed, over and over -- namely that pets are more important to people than ever before, and we treat them like members of the family. Also, that pets have a positive impact on our health.

This page, on behavioral issues with aging pets, is one you should definitely visit. I see many of the signs listed there showing up in Carmel, and a few in Wabby Wibby (everyone remembers that Wabby Wibby is baby-talk for 'baby kitty' right?)

If your pet is reaching that 7 year mark, or already has, I recommend a visit to Pet Boomers. You'll be glad you made the click. And, if you have any other questions... remember to leave us a comment so Dr. Larry and I can answer your questions, maybe even in an S&S Out Loud.

Have a great weekend!