Pain Relief For Cats - The Facts

Pain relief for cats can be both confusing and worrying and like any good cat owner the need to help your cat in times of distress is vital.

Let me start this information with a warning:

Self prescribing and giving pain relief to your cat can cause further illness even death. It is important that only medication prescribed by a vet is used to help reduce pain, it really isn’t worth the risk.

Human pain relief medication should never be used as a cats liver does not function like ours meaning that the medication will remain in the body for longer causing liver or kidney damage.

How do you know if your cat is in pain?

Cats are very good at covering up their pain and discomfort. They can carry on looking and behaving as normal for quite some time before it becomes obvious to their owner that something could be wrong.

It is important therefore that your cat’s health is taken seriously and is monitored regularly. You can then compare your cat’s normal toilet and eating habits to usual ones. Also checking through your cat’s fur for ticks, cuts and lumps regularly is also essential.

Symptoms to look out for

One of the first thing you may notice that something is wrong is that your cat will become less social and want to be on their own. They may start to hide under furniture and no longer want to be stroked or picked up.
A loss of appetite is also a good indication that something may be wrong. However this may be confused with a cat who just wants to change their food choice which is not unusual. So a reluctance to eat should be monitored for a few days to see if there are other symptoms.
Lethargy and an unwillingness to move around could also mean that the cat is feeling unwell and in some discomfort and that movement makes it worse.
Rapid breathing and or swallowing hard is also something to watch out for. Heart conditions and respiratory infections are two of the most common reason for this symptom.
Cats may also start to excessively over groom when they are either anxious or in some pain. Often repeatedly grooming the same area over and over again, often causing bald patches to occur.

Pain relief for cats

After surgery

Vets will administer pain relief for cats after surgery. This is normally in the form of an injection which contains a pain relieving drug which lasts for several days. If after this time the owner still feels that the cat is in pain, the vet can prescribe tablets for home administering, however they must be used in the short term only as they may have side effects if used for longer. A vet has to make lots of decisions about what is right for the particular cat and their overall health condition to ascertain which pain relieving drugs if any are suitable.

General Pain Relief Drugs

Some of the drugs used by vets for cats to relive pain are:

Fentanyl Patch - for controlling post-surgical pain
Prednisone – also has anti-inflammatory properties
Tramadol - non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug

All of these drugs can have side effects which the vet will discuss with you and some should not be used in conjunction with other medications such as flea treatments. The vet will advise the owner of these concerns at the time of prescription and is another good reason why only prescribed pain relief should be given to your cat.

Alternative Pain relief for cats

Some cat owners may prefer to go down the route of a more natural approach to pain relief for cats. Of course this decision should be discussed with their vet as he will be able to advise of any concerns he may have. I have found though that many good vets are happy to explore alternative medications routes.

Some of the possible alternatives are:

Magnetic therapy – The use of magnets in specially designed fitted collars is the usual way for this to be administered.
Acupuncture – This could be useful in long term chronic pain in cats but a qualified feline acupuncture therapist would have to be found to administer the treatment which would have to be undertaken regularly.
Homeopathy and herbal remedies – These remedies are more common for cats than they used to be and are available through online companies such as Pet Wellbeing Inc. Some vets also prescribe some homeopathic treatments. Usually these treatments have to be taken over a period of time to provide pain relief.
Massage therapy – This is often used in conjunction with heat and heat pads are often prescribed for use at home.