Animal Pain Awareness Month: How to Spot Hidden Pain in Dogs and Cats

Your pet is probably not going to tell you they're in pain

Not in any way you'd immediately recognise, anyway.

There's rarely a yelp. Rarely an obvious limp, at least at first. What pain usually looks like in a dog or cat is much quieter: playing a little less, hesitating before the stairs, sleeping in a slightly different position than usual.

Easy to miss. Easy to explain away as “getting older” or “having a lazy week.”

That's exactly why September is Animal Pain Awareness Month, an initiative recognised by the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (IVAPM). It exists to help pet owners recognise pain before it's had months to settle in.

Why dogs and cats hide pain in the first place

This isn't stubbornness, and it isn't a communication failure on your pet's part. It's instinct.

In the wild, an animal that shows visible weakness becomes an easier target. So dogs and cats evolved to mask pain rather than announce it. Even in a home with no predators, that instinct hasn't gone anywhere. It just means the signs of pain show up as small behavioural shifts instead of obvious distress.

Cats take this further than dogs. As a more solitary species by nature, hiding discomfort is even more deeply wired in. This is part of why pain in cats is so often missed entirely, sometimes for months.

What hidden pain actually looks like

Some of the most common early signs, in both dogs and cats, include:

• Decreased activity. Less interest in play, toys, or their usual routine.
• Hesitating on stairs, or refusing them. Often one of the earliest signs of osteoarthritis.
• Reluctance to jump. Onto the sofa, the bed, or into the car. This is especially telling in cats, who often stop jumping onto favourite spots long before anything else changes.
• Difficulty standing up after lying down. A brief stiffness that eases once they're moving is a classic early joint sign.
• A drop in appetite. This can point to something specific, like mouth or dental pain, rather than simple fussiness.
• Over-grooming or repeatedly licking one spot. This can be referred pain: discomfort showing up somewhere different to where it's actually coming from.

None of these signs look urgent on their own. That's exactly why they tend to go unnoticed for weeks, sometimes longer.

Signs that warrant a same-week call to your vet, rather than waiting for a routine visit, include a sudden and obvious limp, crying out or snapping when touched in one specific spot, a complete refusal to bear weight on a leg, or a cat that has stopped using the litter box normally.

Why nutrition has a role to play, without being the answer

Food doesn't diagnose pain, and it doesn't replace veterinary treatment. But two nutritional factors genuinely influence joint comfort over time.

Weight. Extra weight is one of the biggest amplifiers of joint pain in dogs. Carrying even a small amount above an ideal weight puts meaningfully more load through every sore joint, every day. Keeping a dog lean isn't cosmetic. For a dog with joint pain, it's part of managing the condition.

Omega-3 intake. Consistent omega-3 fatty acids support the body's normal inflammatory response over time. This is one reason fresh, real-food diets that include oily fish or fish oil are worth considering as part of a dog's or cat's everyday nutrition, alongside, not instead of, any treatment your vet has recommended.

A simple way to catch it early

Rather than waiting for something to look obviously wrong, try comparing this week to last week.

Over seven days, take note of three things each evening: how your pet moved, how much energy they had, and whether any habits (eating, grooming, how they're lying down) looked different. A single quiet day doesn't mean much. A pattern across a week tells you something a single glance never could.

If you notice a pattern, bring it to your vet. A week of honest observations is far more useful than trying to describe a vague feeling that “something's different” from memory.

The takeaway

Pain in pets is common, and it's commonly missed, not because owners aren't paying attention, but because dogs and cats are built to hide it well. Knowing what to look for, and checking in on your pet with a bit more intention this September, is one of the simplest ways to catch a problem while it's still easy to act on.

If anything in this article sounds familiar, the next step is a conversation with your veterinarian, not a guess.

This article is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for veterinary diagnosis or care. If you're concerned about your pet's health, please contact your veterinarian.