Do You Know if Your Cat Is In Pain?

No pet owner wants to think that his or her cat can possibly be in pain, but it does happen. There are many reasons why our beloved cats experience pain. Common reasons for pain in cats include pain from injury, surgery, and also illness or infection. Proper pain management has been proven through studies to help reduce stress and help speed the healing process. Pain management not only makes your cat more comfortable it can help her to live longer.

Your cat may experience different types of pain. There is acute pain, which comes from an injury, from surgery or from an infection.

Acute pain can make your cat really uncomfortable, may limit her ability to move around and can make her not want to be touched. Acute pain is usually temporary and should go away when the condition that is causing the pain is treated.

Chronic pain is the second type of pain that a cat can experience. Chronic pain is long lasting pain that is usually slow to develop but can be related to old age, or disease and certain conditions such as arthritis. Chronic pain can also happen as a result of illnesses such as bone disease or cancers. This type of pain is the most difficult for cat owners to come to terms with because they will watch their beloved cat have to deal with chronic pain for the rest of the cat's life.

Signs that your cat may be hurting:

Look for changes in the cat's behavior that may signal to you that something is not the same such as the cat becomes unusually quiet, or becomes listless, restless, or is unresponsive to you. A cat will not necessarily show signs of pain but we can look for clues that may be there to help us determine pain is present.

Your cat may constantly meow, bite or nip, act funny or out of character such as becoming aggressive or unusually submissive.

Your cat may flatten its ears, or constantly lick a particular body part.

Your cat may have difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or eating.

A cat in pain, may seek more affection from you than it usually does.

Your vet is the best source of pain information and will know how to determine if your cat is indeed in pain and how to manage the pain. Your vet will need to know some information from you such as your cat's recent behavior, activity level, whether or not the cat allows you to handle her. You will also be asked about how the cat is able to move and whether or not your cat has been jumping up on perches or areas of the home as it normally has in the past. These are all clues that the vet will use to help make a diagnosis.

After the vet examines the cat, x-rays may be needed to help make the diagnosis. Your vet may also need to draw blood, or perform other lab tests. If your cat is in pain, the cause will help to steer the vet to a pain management plan that may include physical therapy, drugs, or in serious cases surgery may be necessary.

Check out more info on sick cat and cat behavior.