Pain Relief Treatments for Cats

When your pet is in pain, you want to alleviate the suffering as quickly as possible. But it is important to take a step back and evaluate all your options. You have to consider the efficacy as well as the safety of pain remedies, whether physical therapies like acupuncture or massage or prescription medications.

Natural Remedies

Humans have long use acupuncture for pain management. Now certain veterinarians are offering the same service to cats and dogs. While this can be a major time commitment, especially during the initial weeks of treatment, it is a viable alternative to surgery. The most critical part of the process is finding a trained veterinarian to conduct the treatment because a couple of misplaced needles can cause serious and sometimes permanent damage.

Massage therapy is another tool that has proven effective to reduce pain. It can ease stiffness, which is a necessity for cats with arthritis and joint pain. It can also eliminate muscle spasms and direct nutrients toward the cells in the muscles that need them most. Be hypervigilant when choosing a masseur for your cat to prevent further muscle damage and pain.

Medications

Steroids can reduce inflammation, which can reduce the amount of pain that your cat is experiencing. They work by encouraging the cat's body to produce adrenaline. The downside is that the body stops naturally producing adrenaline while on this medication. Cats must be slowly weened off of steroids so that the body can begin producing adrenaline on its own.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are very tricky because not all of the NSAIDS prescribed by veterinarians are approved for use in cats. While quite a few have been approved for use in dogs, cats tend to be more susceptible to the negative side effects like ulcers and kidney problems. Meloxicam is the only NSAID approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in cats, but the dosage must be exactly right. To ensure that the right dosage is administered, Meloxicam is typically given as an injection by the veterinarian.

Medications to Avoid

Never give Tylenol to cats because acetaminophen can cause panting, swelling, liver damage and even death. The tiniest dose can be deadly, as evidence by the tragic story of a young kitten who had to be euthanized after playing with a pill bottle that once contained acetaminophen tablets. According to "The Canadian Veterinary Journal," the trace amounts of acetaminophen that the kitten had ingested caused a coma and severe swelling of the cat's head.

Topical anesthetics can be very dangerous to your cat. While they can fight off wound infections, they can also cause seizures, tremors, or even death when they soak into the skin or are licked off by the cat. Topical anesthetics like benzocaine interfere with the cat's hemoglobin, which is what keeps blood cells alive by delivering oxygen to them.