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.
Read on for tools and guidance on understanding your pet, as well as understanding your own well-being as a caregiver. If you have questions about assessing and supporting 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.
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. As veterinarians, we use a wide range of tools to help us assess a companion animal’s level of discomfort. Here, we have made some of these tools available to you to help you better understand your pet on a day-to-day basis.
The HHHHHMM Quality of Life Scale
HHHHHMM stands for Hurt, Hunger, Hydration, Hygiene, Happiness, Mobility, and More Good Days Than Bad. This scale was developed by a veterinarian named Dr. Alice Villalobos to help veterinarians understand a pet’s well-being across multiple dimensions. You can find our own version of Dr. Villalobos’s scale on the worksheet linked below, along with a more in-depth look at each of the HHHHHMM factors, so you can better understand your own pet’s well-being.
Ohio State University’s “How Do I Know When It’s Time” guide
There is never a good day to say goodbye, even when we know it is the right thing to do. The veterinary school at Ohio State University has prepared an article to help guide pet owners in this decision. 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 that appears on the second page of the document linked below so you can evaluate changes over time.
Download OSU’s “How Do I Know When It’s Time” guide and worksheet
The BEAP Pain Scales
The BEAP Pain Scales for cats and dogs are very useful resources that help veterinarians find cues in an companion animal’s behaviour in order to assess their level of discomfort. (BEAP stands for “Behavioral Evaluation of Acute/Chronic Pain.”) If your companion is a cat, the Feline Grimace Fact Sheet may also help you better understand their expressions and body language. The following downloadable PDFs contain illustrations to help you follow these scales and guidelines.
Download the BEAP Pain Scale for Cats Fact Sheet
Download the BEAP Pain Scale for Dogs Fact Sheet
Download the Feline Grimace Scale Fact Sheet
Assessing your pet’s favourite things
Another useful benchmark for understanding your pet’s well-being on a day-to-day basis is how much they are engaging with the things they like the most. To keep track of this, it can 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, which we’ll talk about in the next section. If you notice that your pet has decreased interest or inability to achieve their favourite things on an ongoing basis, that is a a signal to contact your veterinarian to discuss this change in behaviour with them.
Caregiver realities to consider
Finally, your own ability to make your pet as comfortable as possible is also a factor in assessing your pet’s quality of life. Pet owners face many realities, including time, money, emotions, and, sometimes, physical limitations. How much each of these affect your ability to care for your pet is going to differ widely for each family, but it is worth taking the time to consider them so that you can make the most informed decisions. Here are a few questions to ask yourself as your pet’s needs increase:
There are no right or wrong answers to these questions—each answer will be personal to your situation. Taking the time to consider them and discuss them with your family, however, is an extremely important part of the planning process.
If you have questions about assessing your pet’s well-being or understanding their care needs, or would like to book a quality-of-life appointment with one of our veterinarians, please get in touch.
Once you have a better understanding of if and when your pet is experiencing discomfort, the next step in monitoring 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 see 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.
The worksheet below contains a couple of fictional case studies of how a companion animal’s behaviour might change over time, along with a simple calendar tool to help you begin tracking your own pet’s behaviour.
Download the Lifting Stars guide to creating a journal of good days and bad days
As you observe your pet and begin to record their day-to-day well-being, it can be useful to track a few specific behaviours and how they change over time. Here are a few key questions to ask yourself:
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 planning and 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. Our support specialists are here to help.
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. The Blue Pearl “In-Home Hospice” blog features several useful articles on understanding and supporting an ill or aging pet. Use the search form to find articles on “Recognizing Pain in Dogs,” “Recognizing Pain in Cats,” and “Understanding Quality of Life,” and more.
Veterinary Partner provides reliable and up-to-date animal health information to support you in the care of your pet. They have a very useful article with sound guidance on 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.
Assessing Quality of Life and Euthanasia in Companion Animals
Another very useful reading resource is the veterinary blog from Colorado State University’s veterinary school. Search for articles such as “Euthanasia Considerations,” “When Is It Time for Hospice Care?” and “Considering Your Pets Quality of Life in the Midst of Disease.”
