One of the biggest fears that any cat owner has is that their beloved pet is in pain and they can’t tell. It’s a common question we get at our practice.

How can you tell if your cat is in pain? The bottom line is in identifying new behaviors that your cat is showing that may signal he/she is hurting.

Cats Show Pain Different From Dogs

Most cats, by nature, can be somewhat reserved and not always open with their feelings. It can be difficult to tell the difference between a cat that is in pain and one that is simply upset or stressed. It can be especially difficult to tell if an older cat, who tends to sleep frequently, is in any type of pain.

Dogs, on the other hand, are fairly obvious with their pain. They cry, won’t eat, come to you for comfort, and won’t want to do many of their normal activities.

Common Signs Of Pain In Cats

Let’s start by looking at some of the most common signs that a cat is in pain:

  • Limping
  • Not Eating
  • Hiding
  • Not using the litter box
  • Sleeping more

Limping

A limping cat is sure to be brought into an animal hospital fairly quickly. Cats tend to not want to show when they’re in pain so if they’re actually limping there’s almost always something to blame for it.

Some of the most common reasons for limping can include pad or foot injuries, overgrown nails, arthritis, soft tissue injuries like strains or tears, abscesses in the limbs, and broken bones.

If you can safely look at your cat’s feet at home (because we all know that sometimes they just don’t want anyone to check them out), look for any sign that there’s something stuck in a pad or between the toes. Are the nails so long that they’ve grown into the pad?

Is your cat one that ventures outside from time to time? Does the leg that is limping seem hot and swollen? An abscess may be to blame. Abscesses can start from something as innocuous as a thorn prick or as severe as a bite from another animal.

Frequently these wounds will happen without the knowledge of the owner. They like to seal over and start festering in the tissues deep in the leg. Once the infection really gets going, an abscess will appear and a visit to the vet will be needed to empty and flush the abscess and start your cat on antibiotics.

Can a cat tear an ACL (anterior crucial ligament)? Yes, it can! It’s almost always related to some type of trauma, though. We’ve seen cats that have gotten their legs tied up in garage doors and caught up on the top of bookcases prior to jumping down.

Not Eating (Anorexia)

A cat that doesn’t eat is always very worrying to any cat owner. Some cats can be finicky by nature, but usually those cats’ owners know that and don’t immediately jump to their worst fears when their cat decides not to eat a meal or two.

There are so many reasons for why a cat won’t eat food, but having pain somewhere in the body is definitely one of the most concerning causes.

Hiding

Cats that are in pain may sometimes hide in the house and not want to interact with their families. They may find a spot in a closet or under a bed, and they typically won’t want to come out even when called.

Not Using The Litterbox

When cats stop using the litter box to do their business, whether it’s one type or both, pain can be a cause for this. It can be anything from not wanting to use a covered, small litter box that may be physically difficult for them to enter because they hurt to not using the litter box because they’ve associated the box with the pain they feel when urinating or defecating.

Sleeping More

This may be the most overlooked symptom in a cat that has pain. If your cat is elderly or just older you may not consider them sleeping all the time a problem. After all, don’t cats sleep all the time?

This is a reason why cats can be so difficult to diagnose at times. As a veterinarian, sleeping more can signal to us a cat that doesn’t feel well enough to get up and move around the house. They may not want to interact with their people. Instead of hiding, they just sleep all the time.

How A Physical Exam Reveals Pain

The physical exam can be the primary way a veterinarian detects pain in your cat. When I’m putting my hands on a cat, these are the things I look for when I’m trying tell if a cat is in pain:

  • Overall stance – is the cat crouched and hunched up, not wanting me to touch him/her? That could be basic fear or anxiety, but it can also be pain.
  • Are the eyes open and clear or are they partially closed? A cat in pain will sometimes want to keep its eyes closed.
  • Is there any obvious pain when I touch the neck or run my fingers along the spine? Pain in the lower spine can be detected this way. That could signal arthritis.
  • Is the heart rate elevated? While that can be a sign of anxiety or fear, pain (especially in the abdomen) can result in a higher than normal heart rate.
  • Tense or painful abdomen? When I feel the abdomen, I want to feel a soft, pliable area that allows me to touch the kidneys, intestines, and anything else that may be palpable. A cat that has a tense, hard abdomen is telling me something hurts.
  • Swelling in a limb? How about increased joint fluid in the knees or elbows? That can be palpated in an exam and may help us to focus on an area in a limping cat.

When A Symptom Of Pain Isn’t Pain

This may sound contrary, but there are times when cats won’t present their symptoms in a way that always makes sense in the beginning.

It can be difficult to tell if that cat who has terrible teeth and isn’t eating is really not eating because of its mouth. I know that sounds crazy, but that’s why we will do bloodwork prior to any dental work on a cat.

Cats quite commonly can eat even with pain (they usually tend to eat dry kibble whole and don’t chew much), so when they don’t eat we blame their teeth when we’ve ruled out other causes of anorexia like kidney disease.

Likewise a cat with heart disease can present with many of the symptoms of a painful cat (hiding, not eating) but they’re not in pain because of their heart issue – they just don’t feel good enough to eat and act normal.

Cats And Pain Medication

Cats are very, very different in how they process medication compared to dogs or even people. The simple explanation is that they don’t have the same type of enzymatic processes in their livers that help break down a medication into something that is safe and usable to them.

NEVER EVER give your cat acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen, Rimadyl, or any of your or your dog’s pain medications. One dose could literally kill them.

Please call us if you think your cat is in pain. Don’t attempt to give them anything at home without consulting a veterinarian first!

Conclusion

One of our biggest challenges as veterinarians is determining if and why a cat is in pain versus they just don’t feel good. A good physical exam coupled with the history provided by an observant cat owner can help us narrow in on the problem. Ultimately the goal is to eliminate or manage pain in your cat as quickly and effectively as possible.

Parker Animal Hospital 10225 S. Parker Rd. Parker, Colorado – 303-841-2120