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Supporting quality-of-life conversations at end of life

Supporting families through chronic illness and end-of-life care is complex clinical work. Symptoms fluctuate, decline is often gradual, and decision-making is emotionally charged. Many pet owners struggle to interpret changes in comfort or function, and recall bias can make it difficult to accurately describe patterns between consultations.

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More Good Days is designed to support structured, at-home quality-of-life monitoring, so clinical conversations are clearer, calmer, and grounded in shared observations over time.

What is More Good Days?

More Good Days is an interactive quality-of-life tracking tool for ageing or terminally ill dogs and cats. Pet owners record brief daily observations across key wellbeing domains, and the tool generates weekly summaries and trend visualisations that show how a pet is doing longitudinally.

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It's not a diagnostic tool and doesn't replace clinical assessment. Instead, it supports ongoing monitoring between visits and helps surface patterns of decline or instability that may otherwise be difficult to articulate.

How this supports families and clinical care 

Pet owners often struggle to determine whether their animal is still experiencing more good days than hard ones, particularly during prolonged decline. Day-to-day variability, emotional stress, and anticipatory grief can make patterns difficult to recognise or communicate.

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The tracker supports families to:

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  • record observations consistently over time

  • recognise emerging change rather than isolated events

  • contextualise daily fluctuations within broader trends

  • arrive at consultations better prepared

  • feel more supported during complex decision-making

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For veterinary teams, this can support:

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  • clearer, more precise discussions about comfort, function, and decline

  • improved shared understanding of what is being observed at home

  • enhanced monitoring within palliative, hospice, and comfort-care pathways

  • more structured, transparent quality-of-life and euthanasia discussions

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Weekly summaries consolidate daily observations into a longitudinal view, helping anchor emotionally difficult conversations in observed patterns rather than retrospective recall alone.

Evidence-informed design

There are limited validated quality-of-life instruments for companion animals, particularly in multi-morbidity and end-of-life contexts. Existing approaches typically rely on owner-reported indicators across broad wellbeing domains.

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More Good Days is informed by veterinary and animal welfare literature, including:

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  • mobility and activity as indicators of comfort

  • appetite and hydration patterns

  • behavioural and emotional engagement

  • feline grooming as a marker of wellbeing

  • the Five Domains Model

  • established quality-of-life frameworks such as HHHHHMM

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The accompanying user guide includes references for clinicians who wish to explore the evidence base in more detail.

How the tracker works

The tracker focuses on core domains commonly used in veterinary quality-of-life assessment:

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  • Activity and mobility

  • Pain and discomfort

  • Appetite

  • Hydration

  • Mood and engagement

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For cats, an additional grooming/self-care domain is included as a sensitive indicator of wellbeing and early decline.

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Each domain is scored using a simple 1–3–5 scale:

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1 – Concerning: clear signs of discomfort, distress, or decline

3 – Acceptable: mild, intermittent, or manageable changes

5 – Ideal: normal, comfortable, species-typical behaviour

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Owners can also add illness-specific domains such as respiratory effort, medication effects, mobility changes, cognitive signs, or canine cognitive dysfunction, with personalised definitions of what a 1, 3, and 5 look like for their individual pet.

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Daily entries automatically feed into weekly summaries and a trend chart, supporting clearer longitudinal quality-of-life monitoring.

Using More Good Days in practice

Veterinarians may choose to recommend the tracker to:

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  • families managing chronic, progressive, or terminal conditions

  • clients navigating uncertainty about timing or next steps

  • palliative, hospice, or home-visit care pathways

  • owners following a serious diagnosis where monitoring change is important

  • families who would benefit from a structured way to reflect between visits

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The tool is intentionally flexible and can be used alongside any clinical approach to end-of-life care.

Professional access and clinic resources

Veterinary professionals are welcome to review the tracker prior to recommending it. Complimentary professional access is available on request.

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We can also provide:

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  • clinic flyers and QR cards

  • staff information sheets

  • discounted organisational access

  • support for embedding the tracker within end-of-life resources

  • materials tailored for hospice or home-visit veterinarians

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Contact: hello@moregooddaystracker.com

Get in touch

If you would like to trial the tool, request clinic materials, or discuss how More Good Days may support your clients, please contact:

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hello@moregooddaystracker.com

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We value the role veterinarians play in helping families navigate one of the hardest decisions in companion animal care, and we welcome questions and feedback.

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