As pets age, their joints often get creaky, and they aren’t able to move around as well as they used to. For both dogs and cats, it can become much harder to walk, jump, and even bend to eat.
“In the senior pet population, mobility ends up being one of the biggest limiting factors for quality of life,” McCaffrey said. “There’s a lot of environmental modifications we can make to help pets in their day to day life.” These include adding traction to floors so pets don’t risk slipping or falling, elevating their bowls to reduce stress on their necks and frames, and providing steps or ramps to give them access to higher hangout spots.
Use rugs, carpets, and yoga mats for floor traction.
“Hardwood floors and tile floors tend to be difficult for mobility,” especially for larger dogs, McCaffrey said. But slick floors can be tough for any older pet that might be losing their footing.
“One of the biggest things that you can add is non-slip flooring,” veterinarian Julie Liu said. She compared pets walking on hardwood and tile floors to the feeling of walking on ice, noting that “the fear of falling is really scary for pets, and just navigating around the home when you have that type of slippery flooring” can add an element of stress for them.
Rugs, carpet, and yoga mats can give your pet more control and confidence when they’re moving around. McCaffrey said she also recommends using them to create “pathways throughout the house” leading to a pet’s usual spots. “You can use those runners to get them to the door to go outside, to the food bowl, and then to the areas where they like to rest,” she said. Liu pointed out that inexpensive, washable area rugs can also be helpful in case they get mucked up.
Most of our area-rug picks will work well for this—and they’ll look good, too. But if you had to pick just one, the Target Threshold Eliot Geo Area Rug is your best bet, according to senior staff writer and textiles expert Jackie Reeve. It won’t slide around, and “you can spot-clean it, but it’s also somewhat affordable to replace if your senior pet makes a lot of messes,” Jackie said.
No matter which one you choose, a good rug pad can keep a rug in place, and it will also add some cushioning under feet and paws. If a yoga mat would better suit your purposes, our budget pick is a great option.
This rug is stylish and affordable. It’s also easy to spot-clean, and it won’t slide around your floors.
This felt-and-rubber pad offers the most cushioning underfoot of any pad we tried, and it’s also one of the best at keeping rugs in place.
This squishy, all-PVC mat is a bargain—because it lasts. And it’s 4 inches longer than the average inexpensive mat.
If you live in a multilevel home, Liu suggests adding treads to stairs if they’re slippery. These WaterHog Diamonds Stair Treads have a rubber backing, and they can be used indoors and outdoors, but you may want to secure them with double-sided tape. You may also need to modify where things go. If your pet’s bed is on one level but her food is on another, then “this might be very difficult now. So you might decide to move everything to the same floor,” said Carlo Siracusa, a veterinary behavior specialist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.
Put little steps and ramps around the house.
In addition to modifying your flooring, you may need to make changes to your pet’s resting areas. Some pets, especially cats and smaller dogs, may start to have trouble getting up onto the couch, bed, or other normal resting spots, as well as getting into and out of the car. You really have to make it easy for your pet to access places that used to be accessible but are no longer “accessible because their mobility has changed,” Siracusa said.
McCaffrey agreed. “Having stairs or steps for them to use can be really helpful on their little joints that might be arthritic,” she said. But whatever you get, it needs to be stable underfoot. Liu said she prefers wood stairs covered in carpet because they usually don’t move much. Even the slightest wobble could be disconcerting to a pet.
Steps with anti-slip feet will stay put better on floors and reduce the chance of scratching them. And if your floors are uneven, like mine are, a set of shims might help reduce any shifting.
When Porter and Crash started having trouble getting up and down, I used Armarkat Classic Pet Steps to help them reach their favorite window perch in the living room. Later on, I added the Trixie Adjustable Cat & Dog Stairs to give them access to the bed.
This stable set of steps is 25 inches tall, and it’s available in both a 3-step and a 4-step configuration. Made of wood covered in “faux fleece,” it doesn’t wobble on flat floors, but it requires assembly.
Made of medium-density fiberboard covered with a thin, felt-like carpet, these steps can be adjusted to reach between 23 and 26 inches high. The support leg can be folded up to make storage easier.
A ramp, like the WeatherTech PetRamp, may be a good option to help dogs get in and out of the car. And there are other well-reviewed options that may fit your car and your budget (though we haven’t tested these ramp models yet).
You can also use little stools, chairs, or ottomans that you have around the house, but stairs are “more graduated,” Liu said. This way, pets don’t have to jump up and down from such heights, and stairs allow them to take their time, she explained.
“Always make sure that there’s a lot of points or surfaces they can use for smaller jumps,” Siracusa agreed. At one point, I needed to feed Porter on the kitchen table (don’t judge) to keep his food from getting stolen. So I used an inexpensive yet strong foldable plastic step stool to help him reach the kitchen chair, which he could then use to finally get onto the table’s surface. I also picked up a few little stools at thrift stores and put them in various spots around the house.
Give them a lift with a harness or sling
If your dog needs extra help moving around, you can use a special type of harness or sling that helps you lift them from beneath the hips.
Some slings are designed to “go under the back end to help with mobility for dogs that are in more advanced stages of the disease process,” McCaffrey said. “It’s basically a sling that goes right in front of the back legs, and you can use that to help them as they’re going up or down stairs or moving to different areas of the house,” she said. It can also help them get into and out of a car.
The Help ’Em Up Harness is a lifting harness that’s been around since 2005. It “lifts from directly under the pelvis, and that helps to avoid strain on joints and ligaments and the spine,” according to Nicole Eastwood, marketing manager at Paw Prosper, which owns Help ’Em Up. This harness is typically used to support a dog when they’re walking or using stairs, as well as to “provide leverage to their backend when getting up from lying down to a standing position,” Eastwood said.
The Loobani Portable Dog Sling is a more-basic—and less expensive—option (alongside many others that look similar), and it can do some of the same work. But it uses a single, wide point of contact on your dog’s body.
This two-handled harness’ patented system lifts your pet from directly under their pelvis. It helps you support your dog without putting extra strain on their joints.
This straightforward sling is essentially a wide pad that wraps around your dog’s waist, and the handles let you take some of the pressure off your dog’s legs.
If a harness doesn’t provide enough support, your dog might do better with a wheelchair. Walkin’ Wheels and K9 Carts are two good options. Both companies are owned by Paw Prosper, but Walkin’ Wheels has several fully adjustable models in multiple sizes, while K9 Carts offers custom-made wheelchairs for both dogs and cats (as well as chickens, ducks, and turkeys). Wheelchairs aren’t cheap, though, so before spending your money, make sure your vet is on board with this adaptation.
Don’t be shy about using a stroller or wagon.
For dogs—and adventurous cats—that are accustomed to going out on walks, a stroller or wagon lets them keep up their usual routine while reducing the work their legs have to do. “When we’re looking at quality of life, a pet’s ability to continue to do the things that they’ve always loved is part of that,” McCaffrey said.
Of course, some pets won’t want to use a stroller or wagon, and you’ll have to respect that response as well, McCaffrey said.
If your pet is up for the ride, it’s important to make sure they can’t fall or jump out. McCaffrey said she recommends using a stroller that has a mesh covering or a hook to clip a harness onto. The Carlson Pet Products Portable Pup Pet Stroller is a lightweight, collapsible option with an enclosed mesh canopy. It can do the job perfectly well. However, if you’re looking to splurge on your aging friend, and you want something that rides utterly smoothly, the Tavo Maeve + Roscoe is a versatile—and wildly expensive—stroller that also converts into a car carrier. But it costs nearly 10 times more than the Carlson stroller.
This stroller has a mesh canopy, and the front wheel can swivel 360 degrees, so it’s easy to push. It can accommodate pets up to 30 pounds.
This attractive set combines a stroller with a car-carrier system that attaches to your vehicle’s LATCH anchor bars, but it also has an eye-popping price.
If your bigger dog will ride in a wagon, McCaffrey said she suggests something with high sides to keep them from getting out. “Most pets that I’ve seen that go into these things just plop themselves right down and love it and stay, but every dog is a little different,” she said.
The Doggyhut Premium Pet Bicycle Trailer & Stroller or the Pet Gear No-Zip Expedition Pet Stroller are both good options, but we haven’t tested them yet. You could also just buy a beach cart or utility wagon, as long as the floor is stable and the sides are high enough to keep your dog contained. If the bottom isn’t cushioned, a soft blanket or crate mat can make it more comfortable and help avoid creating pressure points.
