Animal pain awareness starts with understanding that not all pain is obvious and they’re certainly not "just getting old'’ or "starting to slow down". Animals are famously better at just getting on with their day than us and can’t describe what, where and how much it hurts. It is therefore easy for their pain to go unnoticed for some time, if we do not know how to look for subtle signs of discomfort.
Having had more time with your pets lately, you had the opportunity to become more tuned-in to their health and more aware of their routines and changes in behaviour that could indicate something is going on.
Some signs of pain are:
1. Not going up and down stairs easily, playing less and in cats reluctance to jump onto elevated surfaces.
2. Subtle loss of interest in food or water.
3. Changes in grooming behaviour like excessive licking of an area or less grooming of a hard to reach spot.
4. Changes in urination and especially regularity of bowel movements.
5. Faster breathing.
6. Changes in sleep routine.
As vets, we can prescribe pain medication, but we also have non-pharmacological options like acupuncture, laser therapy and others offered by animal rehabilitation centers. Low impact exercise and healthy or joint support diets should become part of the pets lifestyle.
Making getting around easier by putting down non-slip carpets on tiles or providing steps to get to elevated spots are some of the environmental adaptations that could make life easier for our fur kids.
Moral of the story - if something is thought to cause pain in humans it is likely to produce pain in animals as well.
In closing just an update on Rabies. Up until now there were no human reports of Rabies in South Africa but there were outbreaks in KZN, Limpopo and Eastern Cape mainly under dogs. Safe to say that vaccinating against Rabies is STILL essential! Book your free rabies vaccination appointment today!
