Keep Your Pets Pain Free

For years, veterinarians wrongly believed animals and humans feel pain differently. Now, vets and pet owners are on the lookout for the early warning signs

By Sharon L. Peters
CTW Features

The dog that licks obsessively at a front leg or the cat that has grown chunky from inactivity may be hiding a horrible secret: Pain.

Veterinary science has recently translated several subtle indicators that an animal is hurting. And reading and learning from a set of guidelines that has recently been compiled and posted online can clue in pet owners. “Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats,” a joint venture of The American Animal Hospital Association and the Association of American Feline Practitioners, Hillsborough, N.J., is accessible at http://www.healthypet.com.

“We want people to be knowledgeable about the subtle signs to watch for and they, in consultation with their veterinarians can come up with appropriate approaches to address the pain,” says Dr. Thomas A. Carpenter, Costa Mesa, Calif, a veterinarian and president of the American Animal Hospital Association.

Eliminating or reducing pain “is the single best thing we’ve done in our profession in the last decade,” he says.

For years, veterinarians believed and told their clients that animals process and feel pain differently than humans. But more recently veterinary science has come to recognize that animals feel pain every bit as intensely as we do. “The pathways are similar if not identical to humans,” Carpenter says. The difference is that most animals do everything in their power to hide or camouflage their pain. It’s one of those self-preservation things stamped on their genes.

And some pets silently suffer significant pain for many years until it becomes so intense they do something obvious, like refusing food or being unwilling to go for walks, and the owner finally realizes, usually with some guilt, that the animal needs help.

But the fact is, whether it’s some sort of chronic pain, like arthritis; post-surgical pain; disc or joint problems that have not yet been identified; and even blood clots, tooth abscesses or congenital heart failure, there’s no reason for pets to silently endure the suffering.

Just a few years ago, there wasn’t much of a storehouse of data or drugs relating to animal pain. Now there’s much more knowledge and a wide smorgasbord of medications and approaches to reduce or eliminate it. So AAHA and AAFP want to make sure that pet owners are aware of the signals, since the daily caretakers would be more cognizant of the early day-to-day shifts in behavior than a veterinarian who sees the animal once a year in surroundings and under circumstances that are far from normal.

Among pain signals are: • Abnormal chewing habits • Dramatic weight loss or gain • Avoidance of affection or handling or grooming • Decreased movement and exercise • Excessively licking or biting itself • Uncharacteristic elimination accidents Pet owners who read the guidelines, which are intended for both veterinarians and consumers, will find “some areas that won’t be all that clear for them,” says Carpenter. But the information that pet owners need to assimilate is easy to follow and understand.

It may be especially important for owners of aging animals to inform themselves of the early warning signs of pain. In some cases, they may be able to identify pain signals of early disease that can and should be treated before it escalates, and in all cases they can provide relief to their pets. Moreover, the old assumption that all dogs and cats just have to endure some level of pain as part of the aging process simply isn’t true.

“I can think of no pain that can’t be relieved,” Carpenter says. When an animal has a heart condition or is on some kinds of medications for chronic illness, “we may have to work a little harder to find something that is safe and will work” but pain relief is available, he says.

And it’s important to address pain not only for humane reasons, but also to prevent additional health issues from arising. The fallout from living with pain is much the same in animals as with people: Experts says there is increased risk of gastrointestinal distress, sleep deprivation, tachycardia and a host of other problems.

What’s your question? Sharon Peters would like to hear about what’s on your mind when it comes to caring for, training and loving your pet. E-mail Sharon@Pets2008.com.

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