Is My Cat In Pain

adam lewis

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Hello Everyone,

I just want to make sure my cat is not in pain.  I once heard that a "hunched" position means the cat is in pain, but not sure if this is it.  I would like to know if anyone out there feels my cat is in pain from this pic.

He usually does this before he goes to sleep, not sure if its just a pre-sleep ritual he does or if he is suffering.

Thank You!!

Adam


 

stephenq

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He looks normal.

- How is he when he's awake? 

- Is he moving around normally, acting normal, eating, peeing, pooping normally? 

- When was he last at a vet? 

- Does he have any medical conditions?

- How old is he?

- has anything changed lately with his behavior?

A hunched position can indicate pain if the cat is awake, but when asleep its a different situation, and usually fine.
 
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adam lewis

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Hello,

My cat IS awake in all these pictures.   But I notice he does this only before he goes to sleep.   

-When he is awake, he is fine, very playful, vocal

-peeing, pooping, eating, all normal

-last at the vet 4 months ago

-He has a RED BELLY from licking it constantly - this is going on over a year now.  Doctors say its allergies, but I even put him on grain-free.  He has sores from grooming and biting down there, don't know what to do.  Going back next week.   

Thank you,
Adam
 

catwoman707

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He looks chubby like my cat :)

Can you say what food he is fed?

Before and now?

This will help us alot in the allergy dept.
 
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adam lewis

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Sure thing, yes he is 13 lbs, they want him to lose 2 so I stopped dry food.

OK he was eating Fancy Feast Medleys, but recently I moved him to "Blue" - grain free, no artificial ingredients.  Supposedly its tops and he LIKES IT.  I always wanted him on organic food but he wouldn't eat any of them, but he loves the Blue company foods (given his name is "Mr. Blue" its appropriate).

I don't like the red belly, i know it itches him, Im trying so hard to find out what it could be.  Ive been too several vets, they all say allergy or perhaps OCD even!
 

catwoman707

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Okay my cat needs to lose more than 2 pounds!

Likely just his position.

Has he had bloodwork done? If so his eosimphils must be elevated. This white blood cell shows allergic reaction in the system. My cat also has allergies, her eos are 3.0

If not this might not be a bad idea. As he obviously has itching and irritating his skin. Poor guy.

Don't buy that OCD thing either, surely his bloodwork will show what's going on.

So FF medleys, they have grain, however the classics (pate) does not.

Of course we will tell you that canned food is much better for him than dry.

As Dr. Pierson says, "even the worst canned food is better than the best dry food". She is adamant about this.

Blue is a decent food, and he likes it. So enough of that right now.

My vet recommended giving my cat Benedryl. I see this as putting a bandage on the real issue and would much rather get to the root of her allergy.

So you can try this, give it for a while, then stop and see if the new food is still making him itchy.

It is recommended that you take him off of any food he has had, ever. Find a novel protein food he has never had, so he can't be allergic to it.

For instance rabbit or venison.

Hopefully someone more educated on foods and nutrition will chime in here and offer the best advice.

Oh! One more thing, see the bit of eye drainage? This is caused from allergies as well.
 
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adam lewis

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Hi There

Bloodwork comes back 100% perfect.

Thanks for pointing out the eye thing, yea he gets that from time to time.   I am wondering if it could actually be CATNIP!  I just realized a few days ago I bought him some toys with Catnip on them.. hmmm??

Yes he is off dry food now for good.   

Benadryl?  Is there a special CAT version?  I never heard of that!  This is a known practice?

Thanks so much for responding to me so far.

-Adam
 

dee cat lady

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Belly redness and itch could also be your carpet or what it's cleaned with or powders, a friend of mine used blue and had to stop it, it was too strong, but if he misses his crunchy dry food which there are cats who prefer it, I would introduce a grain free product, or one with high moisture content, Petsmart people can show you some which are good, but because the redness is solely on the belly and not all over that is more a contact allergy, a little Benadryl cream on his belly will tell the truth, but don't drug your cat! And his sleep pattern is quite normal, sometimes they will even sleep on their face, I have a cat sanctuary with over 50 cats who fall asleep the same way.
 

dee cat lady

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Ps the eye problem, simply go to walmart and buy bacitracin ointment, apply a little into the corner out toward the eye lashes, it works, you'll find in the human med dept, for less then 3$
 
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adam lewis

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Awww, thats sad.  I just dont want to see my cat (or any cat) for that matter in any pain, you know?  Im an overly concerned parent of one lol.

I will look into the Benadryl cream and also look into getting more natural cleaners around the house.   Damn, these cats are very sensitive!

I should mention, he does have some dark ear wax build up that he scratches at too.
 

catwoman707

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Hi There

Bloodwork comes back 100% perfect.

Thanks for pointing out the eye thing, yea he gets that from time to time.   I am wondering if it could actually be CATNIP!  I just realized a few days ago I bought him some toys with Catnip on them.. hmmm??

Yes he is off dry food now for good.   

Benadryl?  Is there a special CAT version?  I never heard of that!  This is a known practice?

Thanks so much for responding to me so far.

-Adam
If he does not have elevated eosinophils, then there is no internal allergy present.

I highly doubt it would be catnip honestly.

The benedryl is the human kind, however I can't remember what the dose is for the cat, you would need to ask your vet.

Also, benedryl may make your cat sleep more, yes. Yes, it is a known practice.

This was another reason I was not fond of giving this to mine, but she is 12 and overweight, sleeps too much as it is!
 

catwoman707

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Awww, thats sad.  I just dont want to see my cat (or any cat) for that matter in any pain, you know?  Im an overly concerned parent of one lol.

I will look into the Benadryl cream and also look into getting more natural cleaners around the house.   Damn, these cats are very sensitive!

I should mention, he does have some dark ear wax build up that he scratches at too.
If you take a tissue on your finger, and swipe the inside of his ear, look for dark/black coffee ground looking dirt.

If he is scratching, it may be earmites.

Easily treated though.
 

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I would just like to comment and say that an allergy will not always turn up elevated eosinophils. Sebastian was having an allergic reaction (rashes on the inside of his ear flaps with possible GI involvement) for a long time and never had elevated eosinophils. Turns out he's allergic to guar gum. Boo was/is also recently reacting to Fancy Feast and Friskies type of foods (scratching face, neck, and ears, losing hair on ears, dark gunk in ears, etc.) and his blood work came back perfect. Allergies can cause ear infections, and this may be why you are seeing dark gunk in the ears, as well. Is he also licking the inside of his hind legs?

OCD can cause overgrooming. The fancy term is Psychogenic Alopecia. If you wanted to address a possible behavioral component, you could invest in some Feliway diffusers. They plug into an outlet and release pheromones that can help create a sense of calm. There are no guarantees with this, especially if true allergies are present, but may help with any existing stress.

Personally, I would not put a medicated cream on already irritated skin. In extreme cases, people have put a baby onesie on their cat to prevent them from getting to the area. And please don't put anything in your cat's eyes. Discuss treatments with your vet.

As for natural cleaners, please check out this thread: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/262847/by-request-homemade-natural-safe-household-cleaning-solutions

As to your original question, yes, the "meatloaf" position can sometimes be indicative of pain or discomfort, but not always. I do get nervous when Sebastian sits like that because he has chronic pancreatitis, but for a lot of cats it is normal. It really depends on his history and other symptoms that indicate something might be going on. If it is a NEW behavior, it is definitely worth looking into.
 

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catwoman707

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@GoHolistic  I had no idea that an allergic cat may not show elevated eos cells. My vet explained these cells react when fleas/parasites/allergies are going on. Who knew there can still be allergies yet not show up in cells.

I just learned something new!

I only recently got into exploring this from my personal cat's bloodwork done as she has something going on STILL...

How in the world do you go about discovering being allergic to guar gum?! Amazing.

I'm still lost with Krissy and her allergy.
 
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goholistic

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Unfortunately, there are no absolutes with this. You are correct that elevated eosinophils are usually associated with parasites and allergies, but they can also be indicative of other issues (http://www.felinecrf.org/diagnosis_cbc.htm#eosinophils). And an allergy won't always turn up elevated eosinophils. I guess it depends on the severity and how it manifests in the body. EGC is an example where eosinophil infiltration is prominent.

Actually, figuring out the whole guar gum thing was by accident (long story and off topic), but the rashes have disappeared and stayed away since eliminating guar gum.
 

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Hi Adam...I know this is a couple of months old.  Is your kitty still doing this?  Was this a "new" thing for him or has he always done this?

I don't want to alarm you, but PLEASE have the vet get x-rays of your cats stomach.  I just put my sweet 12 year old cat down 4 days ago from an intestinal adenocarcinoma (cancerous tumor).  He sat very much like this towards the end, staring off into space, in pain and miserable.  It was one of the few comfortable positions for him.  His last few days he was sleeping maybe an hour a day, and just could not get comfortable.  We saw the position A LOT.

Also, I will never be sure if the two were related, but he had an "allergy" that caused him to chew most of the fur off of his belly and hindquarters.  This went on for a year prior to his tumor diagnosis.  The fur did not grow back until we put him on a holistic regiment to slow the cancer down (tumor was inoperable).  It all grew back, and the holistic approach bought us 6 additional months with him.

I am not saying this is the case with your cat, but that looks to me like there is something going on internally causing him pain, and this is the most comfortable position for him until the pain subsides.

Oh, and one final thing--when we took him in to find out what was wrong with him initially, his blood work came back "normal".  We knew he was not normal, and it moved us to the next phase of trying to get a diagnosis, which was an x-ray that clearly showed the tumor.
 
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adam lewis

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Hi MrKitty78,

Thanks for the reply.

First off, Im so sorry to hear about your cat, so sad...  sending my prayers.

To be honest, he always sat like this, and he's been kicking the fur off his belly for along time, we finally cured it through a steroid shot, but it keeps coming back.  I am now converting him gradually to a new prescription skin-care science diet food.  The vet is convinced it is only an allergy since it goes away for a month following the steroid shot.

I will ask about the x-ray, I am going back next week.  Thanks for the advice, I will look into it.  Im surprised my vet(s), I've seen 3 about this, no one suggested an x-ray.

I will update this thread.

Thank You,
Adam
 
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