Veterinary osteopathy : an additional tool to diagnose pain in your cat
Independently of its therapeutic use, osteopathy is also a very interesting diagnostic tool especially in case of pain. Its approach is complementary to the classic clinical examination and brings another angle of view with new information. It can thus contribute to highlighting an unrecognized pain, to specify its localization as well as the affected anatomical structure and the potential causes.
Of course, if the pain is associated with a flagrant lesion such as an injury, fracture or rupture of a ligament, it is easily detectable. In this case, your cat will often present a visible problem, for example locomotor: limping, difficulties to stand up, to walk or to jump...
But, apart from a trauma or an apparent handicap, the pain whatever its origin is is not so obvious to recognize in our feline friends. Indeed, a wild animal will hide its "weaknesses" as much as it can in order not to become a prey. In this case, our domestic cat instinctively reacts in the same way.
The signs of pain can then be very diverse and not very evocative. And just because your cat remains silent does not mean that it is not in pain. Thus, depending on its intensity, chronicity and nature, pain is manifested mainly by behavioral changes that are more or less subtle:
- Decrease in playful behavior, decrease in general or specific activity: jumping, climbing...
- Decreased grooming time or neglect of certain body areas: no longer licks, disheveled hair, dull hair.
- Or conversely, licking, rubbing or nibbling an area of the body
- Irritability or intolerance to caresses on certain areas sometimes wrongly attributed to a "bad temper".
- Decrease or loss of appetite
- Unexplained plaintive meowing, whistling, growling but also purring
- Isolation
- Uncleanliness because he can no longer use the litter box - urinates often - difficulties to defecate
- Expression of "mask of suffering" type with wrinkled forehead, half closed eyes, flattened ears.
- Postures suggestive of pain, e.g.: bent back, prostration.
It should be noted that some of these changes are often associated with age without being linked to chronic pain. However, just because your cat is getting older doesn't mean she has to be in pain!
Did you know that?
Purring is not necessarily a sign of well-being. Cats also purr to calm themselves in times of stress or pain. The low frequency sounds emitted are a source of soothing and stimulate healing through the effect of the vibrations on his body.
In this context, the osteopathic examination can be very useful to highlight a pain that has not been identified or whose symptoms have led to a wrong diagnosis. This examination also allows us to locate the structure in question and thus to specify its nature.
Did you know that?
Some skin lesions are not related to dermatology but can be the result of scratching or biting and therefore of self-mutilation behavior related to pain. This can be the case for example when your cat suffers from neck pain.
Osteopathy can, for example, help to determine clinically the element of the locomotor system affected in case of musculoskeletal pain such as muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, joint capsule, cartilage, meniscus, intervertebral discs...
However, it is especially useful for pain that is difficult to characterize and poorly documented in our animals in the absence of other associated symptoms or at the beginning of the disease.Thus, among them, visceral pains are not always easily detectable because they can be diffuse in nature. They include all thoracic, abdominal or pelvic pain caused by the attack of an organ (pancreas, liver, kidney...). They can be all the more trapping as they can manifest themselves as pain projected into a distant skin region. Thus, a lumbar pain in the cat can be the result of a renal attack.
The same is true for neurological or neuralgic pain (nerve damage).
Your cat may be suffering from sciatica without it being clearly established. Even if you recognize that your cat is in pain, the pain will often only be attributed to osteoarthritis pain in the older cat, who will often have parallel osteoarthritis lesions that are easily visible on x-ray.
Other types of pain such as cancerous or vascular pain are also underestimated. Even if there is no doubt that pain is present once the pathology has been declared and that treating it allows you to relieve your companion, it would be interesting to be able to spot it earlier. Indeed, it is sometimes the first sign of an underlying disease.
In this context, osteopathy is one of the means to better understand it and to direct towards a more adapted treatment if necessary.
Also, pay attention to changes in your cat's attitude. You know him best. And if you think he is in pain, don't hesitate to ask your veterinarian for advice.
Dr BEGU C. Veterinary Doctor
