Cats being cats, when they hurt because of illness or injuries, their instincts cause them to mask their pain. This natural behavior creates a problem when the animal has a serious condition that should receive veterinary attention, but instead goes unchecked.

Clients and Cats

To maintain the health of their pet, it is important that clients be vigilant in watching for signs that their animal is experiencing discomfort. Veterinarians educate clients when they explain the feline’s natural tendency to hide their pain, and when they provide observable tips that could signal the start of a problem.
Signs that indicate a cat is in pain may include:

• Behavioral changes
  • Increased vocalization
  • Acting agitated by biting or slapping
  • Withdrawal from play activities
  • Excessive sleeping
  • Loss of interest in being handled, cuddled, picked up
  • Aggression when handled
  • Acting depressed, hiding, or disappearing for long lengths of time
  • Changes in grooming habits
    • Decreased grooming, hair matts
    • Increased grooming in a specific area, pulling out hair
  • Subtle changes in personality
• Physical changes
  • Loss of appetite
  • Weight loss
  • Shallow breathing
  • Trembling
  • Increase in blood pressure
  • Increased heart rate
  • Limb stiffness or limping

Veterinarians and Cats

Hiding their pain also makes it difficult for the veterinarian to diagnose the cause of the animal’s discomfort. A cat can encounter many causes for pain, for example:

• Trauma
• Injury
• Poison
• Recovering from medical treatment or surgery
• Dental infections
• Degenerative disease
• Urinary tract diseases
• Ear infections
• Systemic infections
• Cancer
• Age
• Arthritis

Medicine to Manage Pain in Cats

Determining the cause to alleviate the pain is imperative to helping the animal feel better. However, in cats, pain management does not always have a straightforward approach. While there are many ways for a veterinarian to medically manage animal pain, unfortunately, there are fewer options for cats than there are for dogs.
Pain relief medications that can be used on cats include:

• Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)
  • Used to treat mild to moderate pain
  • Provide analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic help
  • However, caution must be shown when used with cats
    • Recommended only for short-term use
    • NSAIDs can cause liver, kidney, stomach, intestinal problems
      • For example, acetaminophen is toxic to cats and can be fatal
• Opioids
  • Used to treat cats with severe pain, for example:
    • Following surgery
    • Advanced cancer
    • Severe arthritis
  • Certain opioids are considered to have few side effects than others
  • Felt to offer quality of life for cats with severe chronic pain
• Corticosteroids
  • Used to treat cats with anti-inflammatory needs, for example:
    • Arthritis pain
    • Allergic discomfort
  • Caution must be shown when used with cats
    • Potential long-term side effects

Alternative Therapies for Managing Pain in Cats

Two types of alternatives methods for managing feline pain include:

• Acupuncture
  • Considered a natural, non-invasive therapy that acts as an aid to stimulate the body to repair itself.
  • Therapy typically requires a series of treatments and should not be considered to be a quick fix.
  • Outcome usually recommends a series of treatments before animal can return to its original pain-free state.
  • Has been proven to help animals with conditions such as:
    • Traumatic nerve injuries
    • Arthritis
    • Seizures and epilepsy
    • Immune function
    • Systemic inflammatory conditions
    • Degenerative joint disease
    • Cancer, to provide pain relief and aid fatigue
    • Cancer, to alleviate gastrointestinal issues such as vomiting, nausea, inappetence
• Prolotherapy
  • Type of holistic rehabilitative therapy, also referred to as non-surgical ligament reconstruction
  • Therapy has been used in human rehabilitative medicine with minimal side effects.
  • Involves a series of injections that are a mixture of medicines that work to:
    • Relieve pain
    • Reconstruct and regenerate ligaments and tendons
    • Speed healing
  • Injections are inserted into the area where ligament or tendon attaches to the bone, increasing the blood supply which stimulates the repair of the tissues and provides pain relief.
  • Therapy has been shown to reduce pain in animals diagnosed with medical issues such as:
    • Ligament, tendon, and/or cartilage damage
    • Joint degeneration
    • Arthritis
    • Degenerated or herniated spinal discs

When the symptoms point to pain, determining the cause and providing relief is important when treating felines. Making the pet comfortable by using tried-and-true medicines or newer medical therapies offer methods to use within a veterinary clinic.

Looking for additional information for treating cats? Call 855.724.3461 to talk to your Covetrus representative today. 

Sources:

 

http://www.aahc.us/holistic-medicine/prolotherapy.html

http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.aava.org/resource/resmgr/AAVA_Acupuncture_brochure.pdf

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/02/03/how-to-know-if-your-cat-is-in-pain-and-what-to-do-about-it.aspx

http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/animal-health/pain-management-for-cats/6584

http://www.wsava.org/sites/default/files/Guidelines%20for%20the%20Long%20Term%20Use%20of%20NSAIDS%20in%20Cats_0.pdf

Load more comments