Recognizing Pain in Cats
By Kathleen Gressot, DVM
We think of cats as predators – they hunt and bring their spoils into the house when we wish they didn’t. However, in the grand scheme of things, domestic cats are actually prey animals. They’re small and have a number of bigger animals that can hurt them. Instinctually, they act like prey too – which means they try their best to hide absolutely any weakness, even from their family. When they are in pain or sick, for whatever the reason, they will hide it until they are physically unable to any longer. Like an iceberg, they only show a little when there is something major going on underneath. So how do you, as an owner, know when your feline would benefit from some pain management? There are several subtle ways they’ll clue you in.
Decreased appetite – whether it’s just too painful to get to the bowl, or they have mouth pain from dental disease
Dropping food – sign of mouth pain
Grooming one area excessively – relieves pain, like when you rub your finger after getting it jammed in a door
Decreased overall grooming – hurts to twist the way they need to reach everywhere
Decreased frequency of eliminations – hurts to get in/out of the box or to get into the right posture
Frequent visits to the litterbox – pain urinating or defecating. They give up but then have to try again
Sleeping more and/or playing less – it hurts less when they’re still
Restlessness – can’t get comfortable
Increased “crankiness”, with people and or other animals – hurts when they’re touched
Decreased jumping, not jumping as high, hesitating to jump
Stiff when waking up, then doing better after warming up – classic sign of osteoarthritis
Squinty eyes, compact posture (staying curled up) – sign of general discomfort
If you see any of these signs, make an appointment with your veterinarian and discuss your concerns. A thorough physical exam will be done to try to find any tender areas. Based on their findings, they may make several suggestions such as:
Radiographs – confirm osteoarthritis or other causes of bone pain
Dental work – cleaning teeth, helping make gums healthy, pulling infected or dead teeth
Weight loss – lessen the burden on joints
Diet change to help improve urination/defecation
Provide ramps/stairs so that your cat can still perch up high
Move food, water, etc. onto the ground instead of up on a counter
Purchase a litterbox with a lower opening and move them to easily accessible areas of the house
Starting a pain management regimen – pain medication, anti-inflammatories, and joint supplementation can really help
Cats are wonderful creatures, but also quite confounding too (why do they always want to knock things off the tables/counters?!). They are creatures of habit and, really, any change in routine is a sign to pay closer attention.
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