We utilise both quality of life and pain scales to help assess how your pet is coping with their condition, if treatment is working or not working and as a guide to help us know when the time is right for their peaceful euthanasia.

Quality of life scales look at a number of parameters to get an overall picture of what life is like for your pet. They include:

• Eating habits: are they wanting to eat? Or are they off their food and require syringe feeding or are losing weight because they are unable to eat enough to maintain their body weight? Do they vomit whenever they eat?
• Drinking habits: Are they able to drink enough to keep hydrated? When they drink are they able to keep it down?
• Toileting habits: Are they able to go to the toilet normally? Are they able to move away from their urine or faeces if they have an accident? Have they developed incontinence and secondary urine scalding? Do they have ongoing diarrhoea?
• Breathing: What is their breathing like? Are they coughing constantly or struggling to breathe? Do they get out of breath very quickly?
• Mobility: How well are they able to move around at home? Are the limping? Can they take themselves to the toilet? Are they able to get to and from their food and water bowls? How are they handling stairs or slippery floors? Are they regularly falling over?
• Sleeping habits: Are they able to sleep comfortably through the night or are they restless and unable to settle?
• Personality/mentation: Are they still happy to see you? Do they still show interest in their favourite treats/toys/activities? Do they seem disorientated or distressed? Are they showing signs of separation anxiety or blankly staring at walls?
• Good days vs bad days: Are they having more good days than bad or is it the other way around?

Filling in quality of life scales and pain scores help us to specifically think about what are positive and negative indicators and can help us to be more objective when it comes to your pet’s condition. These scores are designed to be discussed with your veterinarian as a part of a team approach to your pet’s wellbeing.

If you would like an online quality of life assessment please fill in this submission form.