Can you tell if a cat is in pain.
Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:56 am
We have a 19 year old cat with hyperactive thyroid and also either IBS or bowel cancer. The vets did an ultrasound which showed thickening of the stomach linings (not sure if right description) but without an intrusive biopsy, which they don't recommend at her age, there is no way of telling which it is.
The hyperactive thyroid seems to be being successfully treated with medication as later blood tests have come back good. However she has had periods of being sick and has bad periods of regular diarrhea which I assume is linked to her stomach. We also cannot get her to take any of the meds for IBS and are onto our 3rd failure and have also tried putting the med in the little cat pill treats without success. We have no chance of forcing this down her (when she goes to the vets they have now given us chill pills to give her beforehand) so are reliant on it being in the food which she turns her nose up at and I am very reluctant (given weight loss) to not give her any other food until she eats the one with the meds in- not least because that means she won't be getting her thyroid meds either.
I'm writing this after 3 particularly bad days in a row of cleaning in and around her litter tray and this morning she hasn't eaten anything and has not released any poo for about 40 hours. Based on past patterns over 3 months it might correct and we get a few days with clean poo but you obviously start worrying after a long run of it.
The behavioural changes I have noticed are that she is much more clingy (although maybe all older cats are?) and a tendency to more often sit on her tummy with legs tucked under her rather than sprawled out. Also not noticed her doing any sprints and quite slow with her walking but can still jump up onto chairs. She has stopped coming upstairs onto our bed last thing at night but cats do often change their patterns. We do still get some purrs when she is being cuddled and some excitement when she gets something from the dinner table.
Obviously we will be back to the vets with these problems (although I would welcome any suggestions) but my main question is that I accept she may not have that long to go (although wouldn't like to guess whether this might run into months/weeks or year or more). But my main question is that maybe cats don't always display symptoms of pain or discomfort readily and I'd like some guidance about when you could see signs that she is unhappy enough to consider having her put down and will you actually see those signs in obvious ways.
I'm happy to keep cleaning out the litter tray and do whatever is needed and we won't rush a decision but am concerned that if there is constant diarrhea (not throughout the day just when she is due her normal poo) that it can't be comfortable for her and that some of the behavioural changes may be signs of being uncomfortable. Will it be very obvious when it is time to make the decision or do we have to make a judgment call, say after 2 weeks of constant diarrhea, that she is not enjoying life?
The hyperactive thyroid seems to be being successfully treated with medication as later blood tests have come back good. However she has had periods of being sick and has bad periods of regular diarrhea which I assume is linked to her stomach. We also cannot get her to take any of the meds for IBS and are onto our 3rd failure and have also tried putting the med in the little cat pill treats without success. We have no chance of forcing this down her (when she goes to the vets they have now given us chill pills to give her beforehand) so are reliant on it being in the food which she turns her nose up at and I am very reluctant (given weight loss) to not give her any other food until she eats the one with the meds in- not least because that means she won't be getting her thyroid meds either.
I'm writing this after 3 particularly bad days in a row of cleaning in and around her litter tray and this morning she hasn't eaten anything and has not released any poo for about 40 hours. Based on past patterns over 3 months it might correct and we get a few days with clean poo but you obviously start worrying after a long run of it.
The behavioural changes I have noticed are that she is much more clingy (although maybe all older cats are?) and a tendency to more often sit on her tummy with legs tucked under her rather than sprawled out. Also not noticed her doing any sprints and quite slow with her walking but can still jump up onto chairs. She has stopped coming upstairs onto our bed last thing at night but cats do often change their patterns. We do still get some purrs when she is being cuddled and some excitement when she gets something from the dinner table.
Obviously we will be back to the vets with these problems (although I would welcome any suggestions) but my main question is that I accept she may not have that long to go (although wouldn't like to guess whether this might run into months/weeks or year or more). But my main question is that maybe cats don't always display symptoms of pain or discomfort readily and I'd like some guidance about when you could see signs that she is unhappy enough to consider having her put down and will you actually see those signs in obvious ways.
I'm happy to keep cleaning out the litter tray and do whatever is needed and we won't rush a decision but am concerned that if there is constant diarrhea (not throughout the day just when she is due her normal poo) that it can't be comfortable for her and that some of the behavioural changes may be signs of being uncomfortable. Will it be very obvious when it is time to make the decision or do we have to make a judgment call, say after 2 weeks of constant diarrhea, that she is not enjoying life?