Pain and Problem Behavior in Cats and Dogs

skinnydipper · 2 April 2024

Interesting article on Pain and behaviour.

Lots of info, here's a couple of excerpts

Repetitive (apparently compulsive type) behavior, e.g., licking/chewing of the carpus [47] or tail, might also arise from pain [48], potentially leading to self-mutilation [49], presumably as the animal’s attention is drawn to the area of discomfort. Indeed, Denerolle and colleagues [47] highlight that acral lick dermatitis (“lick granuloma”) is often considered to be a behavioral problem but go on to describe several cases of other diseases causing lesions on the distal legs, which can mimic acral lick dermatitis, including lymphoma, an orthopedic pin, deep pyoderma, mast cell tumor, leishmaniasis, and (presumptive) sporotrichosis. Self-reinforcement may be obtained through repetition of the behavior [50], leading to a need for management of both pain and the compulsive element of the problem.

2.7. Other Examples from International Veterinary Behavior Meeting (IVBM) 2019

Many other forms of behavior problem can be caused by pain, and undoubtedly many cases remain undiagnosed due to a failure to recognize the relationship between clinical signs and pain. A failure to recognize the wider relationships between behavior and pain (considered in the following sections) is perhaps an even more common problem, but before discussing these, we conclude this section with a list of unpublished observations by the authors and the participants of a roundtable discussion of the topic at the 12th International Veterinary Behavior Meeting in 2019. There was a consensus on the validity of case studies relating to the following behavioral complaints being potentially pain mediated:

Destructiveness when left alone (see also next session on secondary signs for a case study);
Fear/anxiety for no apparent reason. A case observed by one author also engaged in trance-like states associated with an arched back (but without dorsal turning of the head). Stifle crepitus was apparent, and again the problem resolved with analgesic intervention, suggesting the episodes might be related to acute pain-induced spasms;
Resource guarding, including protectiveness of the water bowl, has been widely observed by the authors in association with both musculoskeletal pain (e.g., hip dysplasia) and chronic gastro-intestinal disease. This sometimes appears in a mild form as a tolerated issue secondary to other more overt forms of human directed aggression. Spontaneous resolution of the behavior has been observed when the animal was given analgesia for putative musculoskeletal pain identified as part of the wider medical evaluation of the case;
Aggression to the owner as a result of anal gland impaction in cats and dogs;
Refusing to go for a walk, freezing on a walk, or refusal to enter a part of the house with potentially slippery flooring (see also the case in the next section);
Disturbing/waking the owner at night—this might also be a sign of age-related brain degeneration in cats, and it is important to recognize when it is pain-related, since treatment is often very successful in these cases.

2.4. Attention Seeking Behavior and “Clinginess”

Comfort seeking, clinginess, and attention seeking are all widely recognized by owners as a response to pain in dogs [40], and thus it is not surprising that this behavior may become conditioned, especially in a species as sensitive to social reinforcement as the dog. While owner seeking behavior may be a well-recognized sign of disease and illness in dogs, it can present without overt signs of illness and thus appear to be a behavior problem. Attention seeking behavior takes many forms and is highly individualistic as owners may inadvertently reinforce behaviors of particular significance to themselves [41]. When sick, animals may learn what behaviors gain extra attention and resources, and this can develop into a more serious attention seeking problem, even after the illness has been successfully treated. The rate of these behaviors may decrease markedly (if not almost entirely) with analgesia without the need for specific behavior modification exercises when ongoing chronic (often musculoskeletal) pain is effectively managed. One such subject observed by an author had an unrecognized abnormal gait, especially after travel/exercise, and although no lesion could be identified, the problem was responsive to trial analgesia.