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How to know if cat is in pain
Is there any way to know if a cat is in pain? Are there
any "typical" signs? Besides CRF, my beloved Pop has bladder cancer. He behaves like his normal self except for urinating very often and, recently, leaking urine while asleep. He is on Piroxicam, Zeniquin, and Transfer Factor, a new supplement I am trying. And sub- q fluids daily. The vet suggested I give him Buprenex daily for pain. So, I am wondering how do I know he is in pain. I definitely do not want Pop to suffer, but I don't want a semi-comatose kitty every day IF IT ISN'T NECESSARY. He has a good appetite, is affectionate, goes outside on the patio, acts playful... he's just an awesome cat! Thanks for any advice, Pop's mom |
#2
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"Nightstar" wrote in message om... Is there any way to know if a cat is in pain? Are there any "typical" signs? Besides CRF, my beloved Pop has bladder cancer. He behaves like his normal self except for urinating very often and, recently, leaking urine while asleep. He is on Piroxicam, Zeniquin, and Transfer Factor, a new supplement I am trying. And sub- q fluids daily. The vet suggested I give him Buprenex daily for pain. So, I am wondering how do I know he is in pain. I definitely do not want Pop to suffer, but I don't want a semi-comatose kitty every day IF IT ISN'T NECESSARY. He has a good appetite, is affectionate, goes outside on the patio, acts playful... he's just an awesome cat! Thanks for any advice, Pop's mom If he's acting playful, then his pain - assuming he has some - probably isn't strong enough to be interfering w/ his daily life. It's difficult to tell how much discomfort or pain a cat is feeling if it isn't pronounced because they can hide it quite well. If a cat feels really rotten, they'll act subdued, listless, &/or will hide - either just under or behind the furniture, or else really hide - like in a closet. Good luck w/ Pop - there's a lot on his plate. And yours - juggling the treatments for more than one major illness at a time is difficult - a real juggling act. (BTDT) Cathy |
#3
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"Nightstar" wrote in message om... Is there any way to know if a cat is in pain? Are there any "typical" signs? Besides CRF, my beloved Pop has bladder cancer. He behaves like his normal self except for urinating very often and, recently, leaking urine while asleep. He is on Piroxicam, Zeniquin, and Transfer Factor, a new supplement I am trying. And sub- q fluids daily. The vet suggested I give him Buprenex daily for pain. So, I am wondering how do I know he is in pain. I definitely do not want Pop to suffer, but I don't want a semi-comatose kitty every day IF IT ISN'T NECESSARY. He has a good appetite, is affectionate, goes outside on the patio, acts playful... he's just an awesome cat! Thanks for any advice, Pop's mom If he's acting playful, then his pain - assuming he has some - probably isn't strong enough to be interfering w/ his daily life. It's difficult to tell how much discomfort or pain a cat is feeling if it isn't pronounced because they can hide it quite well. If a cat feels really rotten, they'll act subdued, listless, &/or will hide - either just under or behind the furniture, or else really hide - like in a closet. Good luck w/ Pop - there's a lot on his plate. And yours - juggling the treatments for more than one major illness at a time is difficult - a real juggling act. (BTDT) Cathy |
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"Nightstar" wrote in message . com... Is there any way to know if a cat is in pain? Are there any "typical" signs? Besides CRF, my beloved Pop has bladder cancer. He behaves like his normal self except for urinating very often and, recently, leaking urine while asleep. He is on Piroxicam, Zeniquin, and Transfer Factor, a new supplement I am trying. And sub- q fluids daily. The vet suggested I give him Buprenex daily for pain. So, I am wondering how do I know he is in pain. I definitely do not want Pop to suffer, but I don't want a semi-comatose kitty every day IF IT ISN'T NECESSARY. He has a good appetite, is affectionate, goes outside on the patio, acts playful... he's just an awesome cat! Thanks for any advice, Pop's mom If he's acting playful, then his pain - assuming he has some - probably isn't strong enough to be interfering w/ his daily life. It's difficult to tell how much discomfort or pain a cat is feeling if it isn't pronounced because they can hide it quite well. If a cat feels really rotten, they'll act subdued, listless, &/or will hide - either just under or behind the furniture, or else really hide - like in a closet. Good luck w/ Pop - there's a lot on his plate. And yours - juggling the treatments for more than one major illness at a time is difficult - a real juggling act. (BTDT) Cathy My experience has been pretty true to what Cathy is telling. Hiding is a good indication that they are really feeling bad. Sherry |
#5
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"Nightstar" wrote in message . com... Is there any way to know if a cat is in pain? Are there any "typical" signs? Besides CRF, my beloved Pop has bladder cancer. He behaves like his normal self except for urinating very often and, recently, leaking urine while asleep. He is on Piroxicam, Zeniquin, and Transfer Factor, a new supplement I am trying. And sub- q fluids daily. The vet suggested I give him Buprenex daily for pain. So, I am wondering how do I know he is in pain. I definitely do not want Pop to suffer, but I don't want a semi-comatose kitty every day IF IT ISN'T NECESSARY. He has a good appetite, is affectionate, goes outside on the patio, acts playful... he's just an awesome cat! Thanks for any advice, Pop's mom If he's acting playful, then his pain - assuming he has some - probably isn't strong enough to be interfering w/ his daily life. It's difficult to tell how much discomfort or pain a cat is feeling if it isn't pronounced because they can hide it quite well. If a cat feels really rotten, they'll act subdued, listless, &/or will hide - either just under or behind the furniture, or else really hide - like in a closet. Good luck w/ Pop - there's a lot on his plate. And yours - juggling the treatments for more than one major illness at a time is difficult - a real juggling act. (BTDT) Cathy My experience has been pretty true to what Cathy is telling. Hiding is a good indication that they are really feeling bad. Sherry |
#6
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If a cat feels really rotten, they'll
act subdued, listless, &/or will hide - either just under or behind the furniture, or else really hide - like in a closet. My cats who have been teminally ill all started to lay funny, like they couldn't get comfortable, in sort of awkward positions. One cried the last 2 days of her life when she walked around (she didn't walk much but when she did, she made a low howling sound). She had acute kidney failure. Candace (take the litter out before replying by e-mail) See my cats: http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace "One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other than human." (Loren Eisely) |
#7
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If a cat feels really rotten, they'll
act subdued, listless, &/or will hide - either just under or behind the furniture, or else really hide - like in a closet. My cats who have been teminally ill all started to lay funny, like they couldn't get comfortable, in sort of awkward positions. One cried the last 2 days of her life when she walked around (she didn't walk much but when she did, she made a low howling sound). She had acute kidney failure. Candace (take the litter out before replying by e-mail) See my cats: http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace "One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other than human." (Loren Eisely) |
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#9
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#10
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First, I'm so sorry about your cat.
Like others have said, cats are masters at hiding mild pain although less so with really severe pain. It varies from cat to cat but most hide, don't want to be touched, they assume a hunched over posture and, interestingly, their eyes become very dilated. If you're not sure, take a good look at their eyes. My cat's get hugely dilated when in pain. I've been giving my cat pain meds for cancer. A low dose can be effective and not make the cat all groggy. Certainly my kitty knows when his meds are due and starts giving me this look like "come on, where is it?" You can ask in alt.support.chronic-pain if you want to talk to humans with chronic pain who can confirm that proper pain control, even with narcotics, does not equal all spaced out and groggy. You might also want to go to sci.med and sci.med.diseases.cancer and talk to human bladder cancer patients for ideas. At least ask them if they have pain and what it's like. Being both a nurse and a chronic pain patient I know a little bit about good pain control. I've also been mom to two very sick old cats, one of whom got good pain control and one of whom didn't cause back then I didn't know sh** and the vet didn't enlighten me. The trick with pain meds is to first get the pain under control with a few larger initial doses and then give smaller but REGULAR doses. This is now the standard pain control protocol for all pain in humans. "As needed" orders no longer exist except from stupid docs who don't bother to read journals or learn anything outside of medical school. The same thing applies to cats! Try to get long acting pain meds. This means the cat does not have to endure taking pills as often. (I've been using Torbutrol but it only is effective for 3 hours in the book- or about 5 hours it looks like with this particular cat. My vet and I are about to have a discussion about this.) Use a higher dose the first time you give it then low doses until you determine the minimum needed to keep the cat pain free but not groggy. The gold standard these days is the fentanyl patch, which delivers a continuous dose of a non-groggy but effective pain med for about 48 hours. But TRY getting a cat to not pull off a patch....you can put it on their head and put one of those big collars but it's a real drag. For that reason, most vets reserve it for hospitalized cats, like post-surgical pain. Also, if you're really prejudiced against narcotics, cats can tolerate certain non-narcotic pain meds like non-steroidal anti-inflammatories that dogs can't. But opiate narcotics are far more effective when the underlying cause isn't something like arthritis and opiates are the drug of choice for cancer pain. They are actually among the safest pain control drugs that exist, have been used for thousands of years and have relatively few side effects when used properly under medical supervision. One other thing I've learned: don't pet your cat and get him all relaxed before pills or IVs. My old cat (smarter than the dickens) decided not to trust us when we petted her ever again. Just do it and save petting and treats for after. Hope this helps. On 1 Jul 2004 20:15:22 -0700, (Nightstar) wrote: Is there any way to know if a cat is in pain? Are there any "typical" signs? Besides CRF, my beloved Pop has bladder cancer. He behaves like his normal self except for urinating very often and, recently, leaking urine while asleep. He is on Piroxicam, Zeniquin, and Transfer Factor, a new supplement I am trying. And sub- q fluids daily. The vet suggested I give him Buprenex daily for pain. So, I am wondering how do I know he is in pain. I definitely do not want Pop to suffer, but I don't want a semi-comatose kitty every day IF IT ISN'T NECESSARY. He has a good appetite, is affectionate, goes outside on the patio, acts playful... he's just an awesome cat! Thanks for any advice, Pop's mom __________________________________________________ _ Camilla Cracchiolo Registered Nurse Los Angeles, California webpage temporarily down |
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