Animals, like people, feel pain when they are hurt or sick. But it can be hard to tell when pets are hurt because they don’t show pain like people do.
In veterinary medicine, managing pain is a normal part of treating animals. The ways animals act when they feel pain show that something is wrong physically. By evaluating the type and extent of pain, a vet can better understand the problem and choose the right treatment. Good pain management can help a sick or injured pet recover more quickly.
A pain medicine that works for one animal might not be safe for another. Even some human medicines that don't need a prescription can make pets very sick or even cause death. Always check with your veterinarian before giving your pet any medicine or supplements.
What Types of Pain Do Animals Feel?
Pain has an important job: it warns the animal that something is wrong, either outside or inside their body. For example, if a muscle strain or pull causes pain in a limb, the animal avoids using that limb, which helps prevent more damage.
Animals can have different kinds of pain:
Acute pain is the normal, predictable, noticeable reaction to unpleasant sensations in the body (like twisting, crushing, or burning) or injuries (like bruises, wounds, and surgical incisions). People describe acute pain as sharp, throbbing, aching, or burning. It usually gets better within a few days but can last throughout the time of healing (up to 3 months).
Chronic pain lasts longer than expected healing time or comes from ongoing diseases like arthritis. Unlike acute pain, which serves as a warning signal to prevent further damage, chronic pain doesn’t serve a protective purpose.
Cancer pain can include components of both acute pain (from tumor growth or treatments like chemotherapy or radiation) and chronic pain.
Neuropathic pain comes from nerve damage or problems in the nervous system. This kind of pain is hard to diagnose in animals because they can’t communicate a problem like a tingling sensation.
