Signs of Pain

I (we) have had a stray cat now for about three years, when we first took him in we prompty took him to our local vet and discovered that he was suffering from kidney failure ! He was put on medication and renial food and had his bloods checked regularly to monitor the condition. It was then discovered about 4 months ago that he also had a heart rumour, so his medication was changed slightly !

Anyhow over the past few weeks he has got very stiff on his hind legs and does walk with a slight limb at times, although he is still able to catch mice and jump up onto chairs/settee etc.,,

He doesn't appear to be in any sign of distress or pain with the condition, although he has gone thinner as he is only eating small amounts of food at a time.

I wouldn't want him to suffer unnecesssary and would like to know if there is any way to positively tell if he was suffering from great pain, he does attend the vets at regular intervals but in between these visits it would help if we knew how to assess this without having to contact our local vet.

Thanks in advance for your reply and any advice/help on the question would be really appreciated.

Recognising pain in cats is something many vets are not good at! It is often very subtle signs such as restlessness. Cats [it sickens me to confess] behave in a sensible way - it it hurts stop doing it! Hip pain in cats is common and there are now safe and effective medications that we can use to treat the pain. They can be bad for the kidneys but I would chose a shorter pain free life over a prolonged painful one every time.

Have a firm press over the hip area. Move the back legs in a circular motion and see if there are signs of discomfort. Don't force anything beyond where it wants to go but you need to 'test' the range of movement. If the cat yowels get to the vets for some pain relief. Sometimes it only once we treat the pain that the animal regains its old behaviour and we realise quite how much pain it was.

I suspect a lot of 'old' pets wouldn't feel so old on a decent painkiller!

Thanks for the reply Apache ! Think I will leave it to the professional person and book him in for an earlier than normal routine checkup visit.

Good man. Let me know how you get on.

Just to update you on this Apache ! Have taken the cat for a check up and they are pleased with his health considering his ongoing kidney problem. The vet checked out his hip movement and could see no reason for giving any other treatment ! He will obviously have a shorten life span because of his condition, but at present he is remaining stable with the help of medication and renial food and is enjoying a fairly active mouse catching lifestyle.