i accidentally clipped the skin of my cat while removing a clump of matted hair - she will attach me when i try to brush her so i have to take here to a grommer every couple of months. she had no reaction to this wound. how is it possible she has no reaction to something that to me would be very painful? how would i know if she is seriously hurt some day if she has no reaction to what should be painful?
thanks!
p.s. she has been treated and is ok with the small wound.
cat has no reaction to pain
Re: cat has no reaction to pain
your subject is false and misleading.
could you explain and describe the clump? was there dead skin attached at the base?Jeep wrote:i accidentally clipped the skin of my cat while removing a clump of matted hair - she will attach me when i try to brush her so i have to take here to a grommer every couple of months.
your might be confusing a situation whereby your kitty was really not in pain, some hair clumps that come off do so because the skin at the base of the clump is scabbed and simply falls off. a vet would be able to determine this by seeing it along with inspecting the area it came off.Jeep wrote:she had no reaction to this wound. how is it possible she has no reaction to something that to me would be very painful? how would i know if she is seriously hurt some day if she has no reaction to what should be painful?
explain the treatment. might also want to check out this thread.Jeep wrote:p.s. she has been treated and is ok with the small
wound.
Re: cat has no reaction to pain
thank you jason for the reply...
it was matted hair, very simple. she does get allergies in the fall and scabs up pretty good however there was no scab this time...just a clump of hair i tried to remove and i got a little skin. she has been seen by a vet since it happened. she is fine. it is an open wound and i do not understand why she does not feel pain. the vet said basically that she was never taught that it should hurt so it does not. he said like anything, if you are not taught to feel an emotion you will not have that emotion. he told me that using alcohol on a wond hurts us because we are taught to know that it will hurt.
the bigger situation here is...what if bootsie is really sick one day and doesn't cry or something to let me know...if she felt no pain from that...how will i know??? i cannot live without here.
it was matted hair, very simple. she does get allergies in the fall and scabs up pretty good however there was no scab this time...just a clump of hair i tried to remove and i got a little skin. she has been seen by a vet since it happened. she is fine. it is an open wound and i do not understand why she does not feel pain. the vet said basically that she was never taught that it should hurt so it does not. he said like anything, if you are not taught to feel an emotion you will not have that emotion. he told me that using alcohol on a wond hurts us because we are taught to know that it will hurt.
the bigger situation here is...what if bootsie is really sick one day and doesn't cry or something to let me know...if she felt no pain from that...how will i know??? i cannot live without here.
Re: cat has no reaction to pain
tell your vet to put the wild turkey down before coming in to work next time. if this is really what the vet told you, i would suggest another.Jeep wrote:the vet said basically that she was never taught that it should hurt so it does not. he said like anything, if you are not taught to feel an emotion you will not have that emotion. he told me that using alcohol on a wond hurts us because we are taught to know that it will hurt.
you need to stop assuming and stating this as a fact, it is false. no need in addressing it as a valid point. all animals will feel pain, its not learned.Jeep wrote:what if bootsie is really sick one day and doesn't cry or something to let me know...if she felt no pain from that...how will i know???
if you are truely concened about this, dont be...the comment you are quoting from your vet is false. i almost question the validity of this post, if its valid, then dont be concerned with noticing your cats pain...you will if it is indeed pain. just keep your eyes open to changes in beahvior, alot of times this is how they communicate.
Re: cat has no reaction to pain
this all relates to my quest for information on pain in animals..i am just finishing a large pamphlot on it.....but next time you clip a clump be sure you put a comb undernearneath between the clump and the skin...vets hate to get up in the middle of the night to sew up a big eliptical hole in the skin....the pain reaction, i am still studying about...goes back to my question how can i do a c-section on a dog and have her run around bouncing, and looking for the kids.and act like nothing ever happened.......they are amazing animals....some day if i get an answer on animals and pain i shall write a book
Re: cat has no reaction to pain
perhaps people tend to apply how humans would emotionally/mentally add more fear/pain from a procedure like that of a c-section (or whatever) onto animals that do not have the same capacity as we do for emotions. ever see an animal hyperventilate becuase a doc was holding a needle? i suppose it could happen though, no absolutes.davet wrote:how can i do a c-section on a dog and have her run around bouncing, and looking for the kids.and act like nothing ever happened.......they are amazing animals....some day if i get an answer on animals and pain i shall write a book
fact remains, if an animal is in pain....you will know, just have to pay attention. no need in worrying Jeep, as was mentioned....keep your attention tuned, your probably already doing that. if you know your cat well, you will be able to pick up on problems they are having.
Re: cat has no reaction to pain
thank you davet!!
it is because they are not trained to feel the pain. thier mother didin't tell them when they fell down and scrapped their knee..."this will only hurt a little" when cleaning it with alchohol. maybe if we were told "here, let me clean that up for you" (no reference to pain)...we would not have felt the cleansing of our bike wounds.
it is because they are not trained to feel the pain. thier mother didin't tell them when they fell down and scrapped their knee..."this will only hurt a little" when cleaning it with alchohol. maybe if we were told "here, let me clean that up for you" (no reference to pain)...we would not have felt the cleansing of our bike wounds.
Re: cat has no reaction to pain
Jeep,.....Jason has given you valuable insight to this, but I'd like to add a couple things.
First, pain is NOT a learned beahavior, not in humans and not in animals. It is a natural response, natural instinct to react. Animals show pain differently than humans, in that, the human brain equates pain with some sort of emotion. We are not taught pain, nor are we "taught" how to respond, react, feel, etc. We know it as we feel it. Even as newborns, we feel certain aspects of pain (your mother sure didn't tell you that you were in pain when you were teething, did she)
Cats are one species who show pain differently than other animals. Cats are good at hiding their pain, as it stems from their natural instincts. Think of wild animals who must survive on their basic instincts. When they are sick or hurting, they do not make it obvious for fear larger prey will instinctually sense it and prey upon their weakness and inability to survive. Domestic cats have somewhat adapted these instincts and may hide their pain. However, when you are in tune to your cat, the signs of illness should be clear and obvious to you. Hiding, withdrawal, crouching, sternal position, refusal to eat or drink, lethargy, are obvious signs of illness. There are other signs of course, such as vomiting, fever, diarrhea, painful abdomen or other parts of the body, third eyelid closures, skin pallor, dehydration, weight loss, etc etc.
Jason is right, you need a new vet. Your vet's theory on learned pain, is so totally out of context it is pathetic. As for the wound, perhaps it was not deep enough to cause an immediate reaction. But, I assure you, it was painful and probably will be until it is completely healed. Open wounds are painful in that when exposed to air, even when you're cleaning it, or when he licks at it himself, is painful.
First, pain is NOT a learned beahavior, not in humans and not in animals. It is a natural response, natural instinct to react. Animals show pain differently than humans, in that, the human brain equates pain with some sort of emotion. We are not taught pain, nor are we "taught" how to respond, react, feel, etc. We know it as we feel it. Even as newborns, we feel certain aspects of pain (your mother sure didn't tell you that you were in pain when you were teething, did she)
Cats are one species who show pain differently than other animals. Cats are good at hiding their pain, as it stems from their natural instincts. Think of wild animals who must survive on their basic instincts. When they are sick or hurting, they do not make it obvious for fear larger prey will instinctually sense it and prey upon their weakness and inability to survive. Domestic cats have somewhat adapted these instincts and may hide their pain. However, when you are in tune to your cat, the signs of illness should be clear and obvious to you. Hiding, withdrawal, crouching, sternal position, refusal to eat or drink, lethargy, are obvious signs of illness. There are other signs of course, such as vomiting, fever, diarrhea, painful abdomen or other parts of the body, third eyelid closures, skin pallor, dehydration, weight loss, etc etc.
Jason is right, you need a new vet. Your vet's theory on learned pain, is so totally out of context it is pathetic. As for the wound, perhaps it was not deep enough to cause an immediate reaction. But, I assure you, it was painful and probably will be until it is completely healed. Open wounds are painful in that when exposed to air, even when you're cleaning it, or when he licks at it himself, is painful.
..........Traci
Re: cat has no reaction to pain
just an after thought but i would have puppies come in for the series of shots, after the first one or two in a liter,,,i could predict the reaction...i would tell theowner watche for thie reaction..i would swab the skin, do all the shot preparing and then poke with my finger rather than the needle and the pup would howl like i was killing it,,,others in the litter would not stop wagging their tail while getting the shot...i don't know what they leraned but i had several grown dogs that would do this anticipation scream and then not budge when i gave them the reale shot....all animals are differe=
i still do not underwstand animal pain and have read the leatest material over and over....
i still do not underwstand animal pain and have read the leatest material over and over....