Is your cat in pain? Most cats mask their pain when they are injured or ill. Pain is a serious medical problem and requires treatment. Proper healing from injury or surgery can be prevented by pain. Pain can cause cats to stop eating which for cats could be a life or death situation.
Your bond with your cat can be threatened when your cat has pain. Cats’ personalities or their behavior can change when they are in pain and a once sweet loving cat can become aggressive or very aloof.
Chronic pain can cause a cat to stop playing and become very inactive. This affects their overall quality of life. Just like us cats need to move to help their muscles and joints as they get older.
Cats hide their pain. Some signs that your cat is in pain are:
- Loss of appetite
- Aggressive behavior or other personality changes
- Hissing, biting or running away if you touch a certain area of the body
- Hiding more than is normal
- Acting quiet or withdrawn more than normal
- Refusal to lie down or sleep
- Agitated
- Movement is altered
- Vocalization (most cats do not vocalize but if your cat suddenly starts to howl or cry it could be a sign of pain)
- Purring can be a sign of pain
It is our job as cat owners to know our cats behavior and personality and seek professional help and treatment if it changes. Don’t say your cat is getting older and that is why they are doing something. Age is not a disease and we want to help our kitties to have quality life.
Thanks for sharing this helpful information with us. My mum’s cat experienced this when she was still a kitten. The first sign was loss appetite. We immediately rushed her to her vet.