Is Your Cat Painful?
- posted: Sep. 14, 2020
Hello Fall! For many of us, this is the season of warmed pumpkin spice lattes, sweater weather, and of course Halloween. If you’re a feline aficionado like myself, September means all of those things, of course, as well as Pain Awareness Month. “The International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (IVAPM) has proclaimed September as Animal Pain Awareness Month, and this coincides with human medicine’s Pain Awareness Month. Animals suffer from pain just like people do. Pain comes in many forms: surgical pain, arthritis and cancer related pain, just to name a few. Acute pain is obvious and distressing. Chronic pain can be subtle and masked as “getting old” or “slowing down.” Old age is not a disease, but pain is. There are many options to treat the various causes of pain in animals including pain medications, physical rehabilitation, acupuncture, laser therapy, and therapeutic massage.” You can find out more about pain awareness in dogs and cats by clicking here.
Is your cat painful? If she’s not outwardly crying, then she must not be painful, right? Wrong! If we think about pain from a human perspective, Merriam-Webster dictionary defines pain as, “ a localized or general unpleasant bodily sensation or complex of sensations that causes mild to severe physical discomfort and emotional distress and typically results from bodily disorder, such as injury or disease.” As human beings, we feel pain; we stub our toe, it hurts, we vocalize with some choice words. Those of us who suffer from immune-mediated diseases like Rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus, Celiac disease know all too well how pain is both a physical and an emotional sensation. On the days when our bodies are enduring a disease “flare up,” we may be grumpy, isolated or aloof, and just plain tired. If we can, we hide under our covers and just avoid the world for a bit. If we need to be at work among others, we may be quiet and/or short with our peers.
So back to our feline friends. Cats are genetically wired to not outwardly show pain. If a cat in the wild shows pain, distress, or suffering, he is an easy target for a larger predator’s lunch. Cats most definitely feel pain, they are neurologically compatible to humans. And so, by extrapolation, their bodies feel pain and their little feline brains respond both physically and emotionally to the pain endured. Pain in cats looks different than pain in humans, and even pain in dogs. Painful cats may not use the litter box regularly, they may no longer jump to their favorite perch, or if they do, they struggle to find a way back to the ground. Painful cats may avoid being held, they may hide and be antisocial. Painful cats may even have intermittent vomiting, a decreased appetite, and subsequent weight loss.
Over the past several weeks, you may have noticed our staff handing out a checklist regarding feline osteoarthritis. Our staff were able to collect data from 30 of our feline patients, ranging from 3 months of age to 20 years of age. And guess what?! While more of our senior and geriatric pets were noted to show signs of pain and changes to their emotional well-being, kittens less than 6 months of age were noted to have some discomfort with their overall mobility. You can access the Zoetis Osteoarthritis survey link by clicking here.
Remember, September is Pain Awareness month for everyone, but especially this month, take a closer look at any physical and/or behavioral changes you may notice in your feline companion. Pain is not always vocalization. Subtle changes to your cat’s personality, appetite, litter box habits, and daily routine can indicate a more serious and painful condition. You can find further signs and symptoms of feline pain on catvets link by clicking here.
Dr Nikki Waltemire >’’<
This blog brought to you by the Patton Veterinary Hospital serving Red Lion, York and the surrounding communities.
References:
https://www.zoetispetcare.com/checklist/osteoarthritis-checklist-cat
Location
Patton Veterinary Hospital
425 E Broadway
Red Lion, PA 17356
