September is Animal Pain Awareness Month, an opportunity to look beyond obvious limping, crying, or injury. Dogs and cats often hide discomfort. Instead, they may make small changes in behavior, posture, appetite, grooming, or daily routines.
The most important takeaway: a persistent change from your pet’s normal behavior may be a sign of pain and deserves veterinary attention.
Pain is not a diagnosis by itself. It is a symptom that may be linked to arthritis, dental disease, injury, urinary problems, gastrointestinal conditions, or other illness. Careful observation, a veterinary examination, and appropriate veterinary diagnostics can help your veterinarian understand what is happening and choose the next step.
Why do pets hide pain so well?
Animals instinctively avoid appearing vulnerable. A dog or cat may continue eating, walking, or greeting you while quietly adjusting how they move or interact.
You may notice:
- Your dog no longer jumps into the car.
- Your cat stops using a favorite windowsill.
- Your pet becomes less social.
- Grooming habits change.
- Your companion seems “older” or “just tired.”
These signs are easy to dismiss. They can also be early clues that your pet is uncomfortable.
1. Is your pet moving differently?
Changes in movement are among the most common silent pain signs. They do not always look like a dramatic limp. Often, you see hesitation, stiffness, or reduced enthusiasm.
In dogs, watch for:
- Taking longer to stand after resting.
- Hesitating before stairs, ramps, or slippery floors.
- Avoiding jumping onto furniture or into the car.
- Taking shorter walks or falling behind.
- Stopping during play sooner than usual.
- Pacing or repeatedly changing positions.
- Sitting or lying down differently.
- Shifting weight away from one leg.
These changes can occur with osteoarthritis, back pain, muscle injury, or other orthopedic problems. A dog may still wag their tail and appear happy while limiting movements that hurt.
In cats, watch for:
- Less jumping onto beds, counters, or cat trees.
- Using lower surfaces instead of favorite high places.
- Moving more slowly or stiffly.
- Difficulty getting into or out of the litter box.
- Avoiding stairs.
- Resting in unusual locations.
- No longer chasing toys or exploring.
Cats are especially good at adapting to discomfort. A cat that stops jumping may not be “calmer.” They may be avoiding a movement that causes pain.
2. Has your pet’s personality changed?
Pain can affect mood and social behavior. A normally outgoing dog may withdraw. A friendly cat may hide. Some pets become more affectionate, while others become irritable or defensive.
Look for changes such as:
- Hiding more often.
- Spending time alone in a different room.
- Becoming unusually clingy.
- Growling, hissing, swatting, or snapping when touched.
- Avoiding grooming, harnessing, or being picked up.
- Losing interest in family activities.
- Seeming restless, anxious, or unable to settle.
- Sleeping much more or less than usual.
Do not label a sudden behavior change as “bad behavior” or assume it is simply aging. Pain can make ordinary handling feel threatening. If your pet reacts when you touch the back, hips, abdomen, mouth, or another specific area, do not repeatedly test it. Make a note of the response and contact your veterinarian.
3. What can your pet’s face and posture tell you?
Facial expression and body language can reveal discomfort before vocalization begins. Compare your pet’s current expression with their relaxed, healthy baseline.
Canine pain cues may include:
- Squinting or partially closed eyes.
- Flattened or held-back ears.
- A tense muzzle or furrowed brow.
- A lowered head.
- A hunched or arched back.
- A tucked abdomen.
- A lowered or tucked tail.
- Panting when your dog is not hot, exercising, or excited.
There is no single canine tool that is used exactly like the Feline Grimace Scale for every situation. However, veterinary teams assess similar cues alongside movement, posture, touch responses, and behavior. A short video of your dog walking, rising, using stairs, or resting can be very helpful for your veterinarian.
What does the Feline Grimace Scale show?
The Feline Grimace Scale is a validated tool for assessing acute pain in cats. It evaluates five facial features, called action units:
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Ears: relaxed and forward versus flattened or rotated outward.
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Eyes: fully open versus narrowed or tightly squinted.
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Muzzle: relaxed and rounded versus tense or flattened.
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Whiskers: loose and curved versus straight and pushed forward.
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Head position: held above the shoulders versus lowered toward the chest.
Each feature is scored from 0 to 2. The total score ranges from 0 to 10. A score of 4 or higher suggests that a cat may be in pain and needs prompt veterinary assessment.
The Feline Grimace Scale is most useful for acute pain and should not replace a veterinary examination. Observe your cat quietly when they are awake and at rest: not while eating, grooming, playing, or interacting with you.
4. Have eating, drinking, or bathroom habits changed?
Small changes in basic routines can provide important clues. Pain may make eating, drinking, urinating, or defecating uncomfortable.
Possible warning signs include:
- Eating less or becoming unexpectedly selective.
- Dropping food while chewing.
- Chewing on one side of the mouth.
- Drinking noticeably more or less.
- Straining to urinate or defecate.
- Having accidents indoors.
- Urinating outside the litter box.
- Avoiding the litter box.
- Changing stool consistency or frequency.
- Showing discomfort when squatting or posturing.
Dental pain is one possible cause of reduced appetite or chewing changes. Joint or back pain may make it difficult for a dog to squat or for a cat to climb into a tall litter box. Urinary discomfort can also cause restlessness, repeated trips to the litter box, or accidents.
Affordable Pet Labs offers urinary issue resources and testing options. A urinalysis can provide useful information about urine concentration, inflammation, blood, crystals, and other findings. Your veterinarian can interpret the results in context and determine whether additional testing is needed.
5. Is your pet grooming too much: or not enough?
Grooming changes are particularly useful clues in cats, although dogs can also focus on painful areas.
Excessive grooming may look like:
- Repeated licking of one joint or limb.
- Chewing at a specific spot.
- Pulling out fur.
- Scratching one area persistently.
- Licking a surgical site or sore area.
Reduced grooming may look like:
- A dull or greasy coat.
- Matting, especially along the back or hindquarters.
- Claw overgrowth.
- Less attention to the face or body.
- A general decline in coat care.
A cat that stops grooming may be too uncomfortable to twist, bend, or reach certain areas. Over-grooming can indicate localized pain, skin irritation, or another source of discomfort. Your veterinarian can help distinguish among these possibilities.
How can veterinary diagnostics help identify the cause?
Observation tells you that something has changed. Testing may help your veterinarian investigate why.
Depending on your pet’s signs, your veterinary team may recommend:
- A physical and orthopedic examination.
- A neurological assessment.
- Dental evaluation.
- Complete blood count, or CBC, which measures red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
- Chemistry testing, which evaluates organs and substances such as glucose and electrolytes.
- Urinalysis.
- Fecal testing when gastrointestinal symptoms are present.
- X-rays or other imaging.
- Disease-specific testing.
A dog health test such as the Desert Dog Panel includes CBC/chemistry testing along with selected disease screening. For cats, a Senior Health Assessment includes chemistry testing, CBC, thyroid hormone testing, and other components listed on the product page.
Affordable Pet Labs provides sample collection and laboratory reporting services. We do not diagnose, treat, or prescribe medication. Results should be reviewed with your veterinarian, who understands your pet’s history and can connect laboratory findings with the physical examination.
For anxious pets or pets who struggle with clinic visits, in-home diagnostic testing may offer a more comfortable collection experience. Easy collection kits are also available through Affordable Pet Labs’ at-home testing collection.
When should you call the veterinarian?
Contact your veterinarian when you notice a new, persistent, or worsening change: especially when several signs appear together.
Write down:
- When the change began.
- What you noticed first.
- Whether the signs are getting worse.
- What activities trigger the behavior.
- Changes in appetite, drinking, elimination, or sleep.
- Videos of movement or unusual behavior.
Seek emergency veterinary care for severe or sudden symptoms such as collapse, trouble breathing, repeated vomiting, major trauma, pale gums, inability to urinate, a swollen abdomen, or uncontrolled pain.
Never give your pet human pain medication unless a veterinarian specifically instructs you to do so. Common human medications can be dangerous or fatal to dogs and cats.
Could your pet be asking for help quietly?
Animal Pain Awareness Month is a reminder to notice the details. Your pet may never cry or limp. They may simply stop jumping, hide more often, squint, groom differently, or lose interest in a familiar routine.
You know your animal companion best. Trust meaningful changes. Early attention can lead to earlier answers, better pain management, and a stronger quality of life.
A calm observation, a veterinary appointment, and appropriate veterinary diagnostics can be acts of love: especially when your pet is trying hard not to show you that something hurts.
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