Cats are by nature very secretive creatures, and you can rarely tell by their behavior that they are in pain.
Symptoms Of Pain
Most often the discomfort is expressed in apathy, which the owners rarely pay attention to, and at this time in the cat’s body may continue to develop pathological processes that interfere with its normal life activities. It is necessary to recognize pain at the very beginning of its manifestation, before the disease begins to progress. According to some research papers on online services like WriteAnyPapers, cats have a unique protective response in their bodies. As soon as your pet begins to feel pain, endorphins are produced in the body which suppress the pain. Endorphins also affect the emotional state. The worse the pain, the more the cat’s behavior changes.
There are several signs by which you can tell if your pet is in pain. Let’s look at them below.
1. Posture
Your pet assumes forced postures that may seem unnatural. They try to sit, lie down, stand up in a way that is as uncomfortable as possible.
2. Behavior
This is where everyone’s individual behavior is different. For example, if your cat is usually active, likes to play, run, jump, and suddenly becomes lethargic, begins to lie down more often, hides in the corner, hides, etc. Then this is a clear sign that in its body processes are taking place, which bring your pet discomfort. Or another example, when a domestic, quiet, calm cat suddenly becomes active, reacts inadequately to some manipulation and does uncharacteristic things. This also indicates that the animal is anxious and is experiencing discomfort.
3. Vocalization
Vocalizations are not always a sign of pain, as many animals are naturally loud. If your pet meows, hisses or hisses when you do something, it is painful. Owners may not always be able to localize pain, so if you notice that your pet reacts badly to your touching, trying to pick them up and so on, most likely the cat is in pain. Also, if your pet is walking restlessly around the house and meowing pitifully, don’t ignore it, go to the vet!
4. Aggression
Experiencing pain may cause your pet to become aggressive. This is natural, it is the cat’s way of defending itself and trying to fend off additional exposure from the outside, as it may cause more discomfort. For example, if your cat was lying quietly, and you touched or stroked it in a certain spot, and at that moment it reacted aggressively (started hissing, lunging, scratching), it is also a sign that something is bothering it.
5. External changes
It’s not always possible to tell from the cat’s appearance whether it is in pain or not, but if you look closely: the dilated pupils mean that the cat is in pain (they dilate not only in pain, but also in fear, excitement and some diseases, and also when the light changes to darker, but dilated pupils in good light is not the norm) The half opened, rolled up or almost completely closed eyes mean that the cat feels discomfort.
6. Breathing
More often than not, when the animal is in pain its breathing becomes rapid. If you notice shortness of breath or rapid breathing, see your veterinarian right away!
H3: 7. Urination
Your pet may start going to the toilet in places he has never done before, thus giving you “signals” that something is wrong. This may be due to a urinary tract abnormality, or perhaps your pet does not like the new litter, the place of the litter box, maybe it is small, etc.
8. Appetite
In 90% of cases, appetite is lost and the pet may not eat for several days.
There are times when animals, without realizing it themselves, point to places where they are in pain. For example, they begin to diligently lick a certain spot on the body, try to scratch it, etc. This indicates that this is the place that bothers them, so they are telling their owners that they are experiencing discomfort.
If you don’t find ALL of these basic signs in your pet, it doesn’t mean the pet isn’t experiencing discomfort. The owner knows their pet better, and if you notice something strange about their behavior, it’s best not to procrastinate, but to come to the doctor right away for an examination and to find out the cause of this behavior. Our pets can’t tell us anything, so we have to be attentive and notice any changes in our pets’ behavior and habits.
Bio: Rebecca Carter works as a content writer for EssayWriterCheap. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and developed an interest in writing articles about her experience. Rebecca enjoys being in the mountains, going to the gym, horseback riding, and volunteering when she is not writing.