15 Ways Cats and Dogs Tell Us They're in Pain
I had a client tell me recently that her dog was “just getting lazy in his old age” — less interested in walks, slower to get up, occasionally sliding out from under himself on the kitchen floor like his legs had simply forgotten how to hold him up. She wasn't wrong that something had changed. She was wrong about why. That slide-and-splay on smooth flooring isn't always weak muscles. It can often be a dog deciding, mid-step, that finishing the movement is going to hurt too much — so the muscle relaxes and the legs go out from under him.
That's the theme running through almost every one of these fifteen signs: pain in dogs and cats rarely looks like the wincing, crying, or the obviously-injured animal we picture. It looks like avoidance. In the early stages a dog or cat that hurts simply stops doing the things that hurt — jumping, climbing stairs, greeting you at the door with the usual enthusiasm — and because that looks so much like normal aging or a change in personality, it gets missed. By the time we see limping or vocalizing, we're often already behind on treatment. Catching it earlier means better results, often with less medication and fewer trips back to the clinic.
Why Cats and Dogs Hide Pain So Differently
Cats and dogs are built to mask pain, but not in the same way, and understanding that difference matters for what you should actually be watching for at home. According to guidelines published in the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, cats behave as mid-level predators as well as prey animals in the wild, so they've evolved to suppress obvious pain displays — no limping dramatically, no crying out, not even using aggression as an early warning sign. Instead they go quiet: holding their breath slightly, licking their lips, looking away. Dogs are more likely to show pain through posture and movement — shifting weight off a sore limb, an awkward gait, a “tucked up” look through the belly.
That's also why what we see in the exam room and what you see at home don't always match. A stressed cat in a clinic often acts differently than she does on her own couch, which is part of why Gentle Vet became a Low Stress Silver Certified practice — the calmer we can keep a visit, the more the exam actually reflects reality. But for chronic pain in particular, your observations at home carry real weight. Researchers at Texas A&M's veterinary college make the same point: both species instinctively hide pain because that's what kept their wild ancestors alive, which means the burden of noticing often falls on the person who knows the pet best — you (see their full list of subtle pain signs).
Signs Your Dog Is in Pain
1. Slipping or splaying on hardwood or tile
This is the one I mentioned above, and it's one of the most commonly misread signs I see. Owners assume weak hips or bad traction. Often it's a dog avoiding full muscle engagement because using that muscle hurts — so the legs slide out rather than hold steady.
2. Trouble getting up or lying down
Watch for hesitation, groaning, or an awkward, multi-step process to stand or settle — circling repeatedly before lying down, or refusing to fully lie on one side.
3. Reduced interest in jumping
Skipping the jump into the car, onto the bed, or up the porch steps — or taking them more slowly and deliberately than usual — is often one of the earliest signs, well before limping shows up.
4. Uneven weight-bearing or a shifted stance
A dog favoring one side, standing with weight rocked back off the front end, or holding a limb at an odd angle (dogs with elbow pain, for example, will sometimes rotate the paw outward) is telling you something specific about where it hurts.
5. A tucked-up belly or hunched back
This posture often points to abdominal or spinal discomfort rather than a limb issue, and it's worth a same-week visit rather than a wait-and-see.
6. Less enthusiasm at the door or during play
A dog that used to meet you at the door every time and now stays on the dog bed isn't necessarily “over it” — that drop in enthusiasm is frequently pain-driven withdrawal.
7. Licking or chewing at one spot repeatedly
Focused licking at a joint, paw, or specific area of the body is a dog's way of self-soothing a location that hurts, even without an obvious wound.
8. Restlessness at night or trouble settling
Difficulty finding a comfortable position, repeated position changes overnight, or panting and trembling without heat or exertion are all worth mentioning at your dog's next visit.
Signs Your Cat Is in Pain
9. No longer jumping onto the counter or favorite perch
This is one of the most reliable signs in cats, and it's exactly the kind of change an owner notices at home long before we'd ever see it in an exam room.
10. Avoiding the litter box
Here's one that surprises a lot of owners: stepping over the lip of a litter box asks a lot of a cat's hips and spine. If that motion hurts, a cat may simply choose not to do it — and start urinating on the carpet, on clothing, or anywhere that doesn't require the climb. Before assuming it's a behavior problem, it's worth ruling out pain as a cause, alongside the other medical factors we look at with inappropriate urination.
11. A change in grooming — too little or too much
A coat that looks unkempt or matted can mean a cat has stopped grooming areas that are hard or painful to reach. On the flip side, excessive licking or chewing at one spot can signal localized pain.
12. Hiding more or resisting being picked up or petted
Reduced sociability, a shorter fuse when handled, or retreating to a new hiding spot are all meaningful shifts — cats don't usually change their social patterns without a reason.
13. Subtle facial changes
Squinted eyes, flattened ears, or a tense, closed-off expression — sometimes called the Feline Grimace Scale in veterinary literature — can be a more reliable read on feline pain than behavior alone.
14. A drop in appetite or water intake
Any unexplained change in eating or drinking deserves a call, whether or not pain turns out to be the cause.
15. Sleeping differently or a guarded, stiff-looking posture
A cat that used to sprawl and now curls tightly, or shifts sleeping spots to avoid a jump or stairs to get there, is adjusting its whole routine around discomfort.
What We Actually Look For in the Exam Room
Beyond what you report at home, one of the most useful physical findings for us is muscle atrophy — thinning over major muscle groups, especially through the hind end and hips. Muscle that isn't being used because it hurts to use it will measurably shrink, and that's a physical, checkable sign that backs up the avoidance pattern you may be describing.
When we suspect pain but the picture isn't fully clear, we'll often recommend a diagnostics such as an xray. We may also recommend a medication trial — typically an NSAID such as carprofen or meloxicam — for about 30 days. It's not unusual for owners to come back genuinely surprised: more running, more jumping, greeting at the door again, cats settling into laps they'd stopped visiting. One line I hear often is some version of “it's like he's a puppy again.” That response itself is diagnostic information.
Before starting that kind of trial, especially in middle-aged and senior pets, we typically want bloodwork — either as part of a wellness or senior panel that's already due, or a smaller focused panel if a full one was run recently. It's worth being clear about why: appropriately prescribed NSAIDs don't damage healthy organs. The risk shows up when a pet already has an underlying, undiagnosed organ issue that the medication can worsen. Bloodwork first is what lets us prescribe with real confidence instead of guessing — the kind of diagnostics-first approach we lean on across the board at Gentle Vet, not just for pain.
Weight matters here too. Research summarized in Today's Veterinary Practice found that even a modest 6% reduction in body weight measurably improved lameness in overweight dogs with existing joint disease — a reminder that pain management and healthy weight go hand in hand.
Frequently Asked Questions
My dog isn't limping. Can he still be in pain?
Yes, and this is the single biggest gap we see between what pain actually looks like and what owners are watching for. Limping tends to show up late. Avoidance — skipping jumps, hesitating on stairs, sliding on smooth floors — usually shows up first.
Why does my cat seem fine at the vet but different at home?
Cats mask pain more effectively than dogs, and a clinic visit adds stress on top of that instinct to hide discomfort. Your observations of daily behavior at home — jumping, litter box use, grooming, sociability — are often more reliable than what we see during a single exam.
Is it safe to try a pain medication before we know exactly what's wrong?
Often, yes, when it's done the right way. A short diagnostic NSAID trial can tell us a lot, but we want bloodwork first in middle-aged and senior pets to confirm there isn't an underlying organ issue that the medication could worsen. These medications don't damage healthy organs on their own — the concern is using them in a pet that already has an undiagnosed problem, which is exactly what the bloodwork is designed to catch.
Could my cat's litter box accidents actually be about pain, not behavior?
It's worth ruling out. Stepping over a litter box lip requires hip and spine flexibility, and a cat that's hurting may simply avoid the box rather than tolerate the discomfort of getting in and out of it.
If Any of This Sounds Familiar
If you've read even three or four of these and thought “that's my dog” or “that's my cat,” it's worth a visit — not because something is necessarily seriously wrong, but because pain caught early is almost always easier, faster, and less expensive to manage than pain caught late. We'll start with a conversation about what you've noticed at home, a hands-on exam, and bloodwork if a medication trial makes sense, all part of the diagnostic approach we use for pain in both dogs and cats.
Gentle Vet Animal Hospital
2560 University Ave, Green Bay, WI
(920) 435-5000
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