Yesterday, Claire inconveniently walked on one of my forepaws. The fact that I wriggled among her legs obviously played no role in this accident. We were in the garden, and to be honest, it didn’t hurt me so much, but I had all the same a good roar to let her know that such a clumsiness was unbearable. Then I verified that she was very worried and remorseful, and next I went to do a chase with Pixie.

Do you know that until the years 80-90, we didn’t conceive that animals, or human babies, can feel the pain in the same way as the grown-up humans ?

Nevertheless, different studies show that the structure of the cat’s nervous system is similar to that of the human, that the same brain areas are activated in case of pain.

What is pain ?

Pain is a sensory and/or emotional answer of the body to a most of the time unpleasant experience. It has a protective function : it aims at causing a reaction to put an end or avoid renewing that experience, or escaping it.

What are the various types of pain that can feel a cat ?

Somatic pain or visceral pain ?

Somatic pain is exactly located at the level of the skin, muscles, bones, joints, or still connective tissues. It’s caused by a mechanical, chemical, or thermal stimulus.

Visceral pain is situated at the level of organs (thorax and belly) ; it’s difficult to locate and spreads. For example, a cat having a bladder problem can feel the pain in the skin of his stomach.

Acute pain or chronic pain ?

An acute pain has often only a single sudden and brutal cause (cut, burn, fracture, tear, …). A surgical operation is also a cause of said acute pain. It disappears as soon as the body doesn’t need it anymore to protect itself. An acute pain is easily relieved by painkiller treatments.

A chronic pain is often the result of the combination of several factors and a deregulation of the control mechanisms of pain : you feel pain while it’s not or not anymore normal to feel pain. A chronic pain is difficult to relieve ; it often responds little to basic painkiller treatments. Its treatment will consist of a combination of measures : medicine (analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant), physical care (surgery, physiotherapy, …), arrangements (adapted material and environment), and psychological support.

Procedural pain

Procedural pain is the pain that cause the care lavished on a sick cat. For example, putting drops in an ear in case of otitis extremely aches. This pain can lead to aggressive reactions or to negative associations (owner = cause of the pain).

Thus it’s advisable to identify carefully the care which could ache to warn them (taking an analgesic before the care for example), and to choose the least painful possible techniques of care (contention of the cat and the way of lavishing the care). This awareness allows to respect better your cat, to limit negative association, and to have a better safety for the nursing.

How to recognize pain in your cat ?

Unlike humans, we cannot speak : only an attentive observation enables to estimate our pain. Some physiological and behavioral signs can be the expression of a pain, for example :

– increase of the heart rate
– paleness of gums or ears (vasoconstriction)
– fast and / or superficial breath
– loss of appetite
– digestive issues (diarrhea or constipation, vomitings)
– excessive salivation
– tensions, shivers

– aggressiveness
– agitation, or on the contrary inactivity
– retreat, or on the contrary search for cuddles
– motor skills difficulties (limp, difficulty jumping or sitting down)
– growls, groans, or purring
– wrinkled face, fixed or glassy eyes, dilated pupils
– loss of appetite
– untidy wash
– elimination outside the litter box (wee-wee or dropping)
– protection or excessive licking of a particular zone

How to handle pain ?

According to the type of pain, its treatment requires a “simple” medicinal approach or a combination of various measures, as we explained it above.

Only a veterinarian is authorized to choose and if needed to combine various treatments for an optimal efficiency. In every case, there is no question of administering medicine planned for humans to your cat !

Sources :
– Philippe Bocion, veterinarian
– L.U. Sneddon, « Evolution of nociception in vertebrates: comparative analysis of lower vertebrates », Brain Research Reviews, vol. 46, 2004, p. 123–130
– Frances V. Abbott, Keith B.J. Franklin et Frederick R. Westbrook, « The formalin test: scoring properties of the first and second phases of the pain response in rats », Pain, vol. 60, no 1, janvier 1995, p. 91–102
– National Research Council (US) Committee on Recognition and Alleviation of Pain in Laboratory Animals, « Recognition and Alleviation of Pain in Laboratory Animals », National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2009

On Caturday, Claire attended a class of first aid for dogs and for cats in Carouge, very close to Geneva. She took the train at 6:30, and after 120 km and some meters with the tramway, she arrived at the classroom. Valérie drove 710 km by car from Bordeaux to share her knowledge as first-aid worker and to teach the gestures that save.

It was a pawsome day, rich in teachings which we’ll let you discover in video during the next weeks.

First aid for cat : the bases

Do not want to replace the vet !

A well equipped case

The ideal case contains the following material : single-use gloves, small and medium sterile compresses, haemostatic pillow, plaster roller, 2 elastic bandages (5 and 10 cms wide), 2 instant cold packs, at least 2 monodoses of physiological salt solution, 2 monodoses of disinfectant (chlorhexidin), 2 monodoses of hydrogen peroxide, plastic tongue depressor, big syringe, razor, scissors, thermometer, metal tweezers, foil blanket, mask for mouth-to-truffle, cotton strips, hydro-alcoholic gel, cohesive band.

The hydrogen peroxide serves to clean a wound before disinfecting it, and the physiological salt solution serves to moisten a wounded eye or viscera (yuk !) for example.
The syringe is useful to rehydrate in small dose.
The thermometer has a flexible tip, and it takes the temperature within 10 seconds ! (Phew …) Valérie recommends to have a monodose of lubricating gel to make its use less unpleasant.
Scissors are special scissors called “scissors Jesco” and can cut thick materials as harness or seat belt.

The cotton strips (1 m and 1 m 50) can serve to put a withers or to muzzle a dog (except the brachycephalics who must have a muzzle adapted to their very short snout). For us, cats, Claire bought a “special cat” muzzle : this model also covers eyes. These devices, if needed, allow the first-aid worker to intervene in safety with a wounded animal.

The good gestures

What’s to be done if an animal is unconscious ? What’s to be done in case of airway obstruction ? How to do a resuscitation and a cardiac massage ? What’s to be done in case of bleeding ? What’s to be done in case of wounds or in case of burns ? What’s to be done in the event of an ocular accident ? What’s to be done in case of intoxication or in case of poisoning ? What’s to be done in case of drowning ? How to put correctly a bandage that holds on a tail, an ear, eyes, or a paw ?

Claire learnt all this in the course, but BEFORE helping an animal, it’s necessary :

• Protect yourself, protect the present persons, and protect the animal : muzzle the animal and held him, establish a safety zone, or go away from a danger zone, and put gloves on.
• Give warnings : warn the veterinarian, and if needed the police or the fire brigades.

Then, we can really help : the mission of the first-aid worker is to help the hurt animal to arrive to the veterinarian with the best possible chances of survival.

And don’t forget to replace the used material !