Long-Term Pain Relief for Cats

Is Kitty In Pain?

• Often it is difficult to know for sure if your feline friend is hurting. This is because the deep-seated survival instincts of cats lead them to mask pain. They will hide or avoid contact or even put on a good front until they know you are out of range because they are driven to appear in control and not weak. Knowing your cat's typical behavior patterns and identifying even the slightest variations from such is the best way to determine if your cat is not feeling well.

Kitty Hurts . . . Now What?

• A veterinary consult is your next step. The veterinarian can best determine what might ail your cat. Should the veterinarian discover that your cat has a serious long-term care issue such as cancer or osteoarthritis, he or she can provide you with care options including various ways to relieve kitty's pain.

What Not To Do

• Under no circumstances should you give kitty pain killers meant for humans. Unless you want to risk serious side affects or possible death, human medications are off limits. This is because cats have a significantly different metabolism than humans and even other domesticated animals. They simply do not have the metabolic pathways required to process analgesic drugs. The lack of a specific liver enzyme leaves human pain killers in kitty's bloodstream too long often leading to liver damage and quite frequently to the end of kitty's life.

Drug Options

• Depending on where you live, the options vary. In Canada and Europe, veterinarians can select from a larger variety of drugs approved for use in cats. In the United States, the options are much slimmer. One promising option used only recently by U.S. veterinarians is Tramadol. It is a cocaine derivative but not technically an opiate and therefore not regulated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. It is comparable to codeine and has the same sleep-inducing effect on cats as codeine does on humans. It has a bitter taste and cats tolerate swallowing it much better if given in a gelatin capsule form.

Natural Options

• Massage and kitty acupuncture are viable options for helping control feline pain, especially for pain related to arthritic conditions. Some veterinarians now specialize in providing feline acupuncture that uses the same neurological principles as human acupuncture. Copper collars similar to the copper wristbands worn by humans are promoted by manufacturers as a way to increase blood flow which leads to an increase in oxygen flow and the release of endorphins, which are the body's natural pain killer.

Is It Worth It?

• Only you and your veterinarian can determine if chosen pain control options are providing kitty with meaningful prolonged life. Administering expensive pain medications can become too demanding. If kitty doesn't seem to be experiencing much relief, many human companions often ask themself if their efforts are doing more harm than good.

What The Vets Think

• The first listing below in the references section provides a layman's glimpse into recent advances in veterinary pain control. The article published by the Veterinary Anesthesia &Analgesia Support Group discusses new options for pain control and how local clinics can best use them. The second reference was published in the Sept/Oct 2007 Journal of the American Animal Hospital and provides baseline pain management options. While it is an older article that is more technical, it isn't a difficult read and it thorougly outlines veterinary practice in this area.