How to Tell if Your Cat Is in Pain: Signs to Watch

Cats instinctively hide pain, so the signs are usually subtle: hiding or withdrawing, grooming less (or overgrooming one spot), a reluctance to jump, a hunched posture with a tucked belly, squinted eyes and flattened ears, litter box changes, or flinching and aggression when you touch a sore area. Any suspected pain means a vet visit, and never a human pain reliever.

Because cats are so good at masking discomfort, recognizing pain overlaps heavily with spotting illness in general, so it helps to read this alongside the broader signs your cat is sick guide.

Why cats hide pain so well

Cats evolved as solitary hunters who were also prey, so showing weakness could make them a target. That survival wiring never left the house cat. As International Cat Care explains in its work on arthritis in cats, a cat in chronic pain rarely cries out or limps dramatically. Instead it quietly changes what it does, and those changes are easy to write off as the cat just getting older or grumpier.

That is exactly why owners are the front line. VCA Animal Hospitals notes that cats are far less likely than dogs to show outward pain, and that most cats in pain alter their behavior in some way rather than vocalize. You know your cat's normal better than anyone, so the smallest deviation from routine is a clue worth taking seriously.

Behavioral signs of pain

Behavior change is the single biggest signal. PetMD describes how a normally social cat that suddenly hides and withdraws from daily life may be trying to tell you something hurts. Watch for a cat that stops greeting you, retreats under a bed for long stretches, or loses interest in play, windows, and the people it used to seek out.

Grooming shifts in two telling directions. A painful cat often grooms less and develops a dull, unkempt, or matted coat because twisting to reach a sore area hurts. Other cats do the opposite and overgroom one specific spot, licking or biting at a joint or a patch of skin that aches until the fur thins. Appetite and litter box habits change too: eating less, skipping meals, or eliminating just outside the box because stepping over a high wall is painful. A cat that swats, hisses, or growls when you pet a certain area is not being difficult, it is guarding a part of its body that hurts.

Postural and movement signs

Pain reshapes how a cat holds and moves its body. A classic posture is hunched and tense with the belly tucked up, sometimes sitting upright and refusing to curl into a relaxed ball. A cat with belly pain may sit in a crouched, guarded position for long periods. Stiffness shows up as a shuffling or gingerly gait, and cats with joint pain often stop making their usual confident leaps.

The AAFP's Cat Friendly Homes lists reluctance or hesitation to jump up to or down from furniture and windowsills, and moving slowly or stiffly on stairs, as core everyday signs of feline pain. Instead of one clean jump onto a favorite perch, a sore cat may take several small hops, pick a lower resting spot, or stop using high places entirely. These mobility changes are common in older cats, which is why pain assessment is a routine part of good senior cat care.

Facial signs and the Feline Grimace Scale

A cat's face changes with pain in ways researchers have turned into a validated tool called the Feline Grimace Scale. Veterinary teams score five features: ear position (rotated outward and flattened with more space between the ear tips), eye opening (squinted or partially closed), muzzle tension (tight and tense rather than relaxed and rounded), whisker position (stiff and pulled straight or forward instead of loose), and head position (held low, at or below the shoulders). A relaxed, comfortable cat has forward ears, open eyes, a soft muzzle, and easy whiskers.

PetMD adds that a vacant or glazed stare, squinted or half-closed eyes, and a visible third eyelid can accompany pain. A free Feline Grimace Scale app exists and has been shown to be reliable even for non-veterinary caregivers, so it can help you check your cat calmly at home. It is a screening aid, not a diagnosis, and a low score does not rule out a cat that is simply very good at hiding pain.

Signs of pain by category

Pain rarely shows as one dramatic symptom. It usually appears as a cluster of small changes across behavior, posture, face, and daily habits. Use the grid below to scan the categories, and remember that several mild signs together carry more weight than any one on its own.

Sudden pain versus long-term pain

Pain shows up differently depending on whether it is acute or chronic, and knowing the difference helps you gauge urgency. Acute pain comes on suddenly from an injury, a blocked bladder, a dental abscess, pancreatitis, or after surgery. It tends to be more obvious: a cat may cry out, hide abruptly, refuse to move, breathe faster, or show clear Feline Grimace Scale changes in the face. Sudden, intense pain is a reason to contact your vet promptly rather than wait and watch.

Chronic pain is the sneakier kind. Degenerative joint disease, dental disease, and other slow conditions build over months, and the cat quietly adapts. VCA notes that most cats with arthritis simply stop grooming as well as they used to and take smaller, more cautious jumps to reach the same spots. Because these changes creep in gradually, they are the easiest to miss and the most often dismissed as personality or age. A useful habit is to picture what your cat did easily a year ago and compare it to now.

Pain versus normal sleeping and slowing down

Not every quiet cat is a hurting cat. Healthy cats sleep a lot and can nap in unusual spots without anything being wrong. What separates pain from ordinary rest is the pattern: a painful cat may sleep more but sleep restlessly, struggle to settle into a comfortable position, choose hidden or hard-to-reach spots, or rest sitting up in a hunched pose rather than curling into a relaxed ball. If your cat's downtime looks different from its lifelong habits, it is worth a closer look. For where that line sits between normal rest and a warning sign, see why is my cat sleeping so much.

The same caution applies to slowing down with age. Owners often assume a stiff, less playful older cat is just mellowing, but reduced jumping and a scruffier coat are exactly how feline arthritis presents. Age is not a diagnosis, so persistent stiffness deserves a vet's assessment rather than a shrug.

Never give human pain relievers

This is the one rule to memorize: do not give your cat any human pain medication. Acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), and aspirin are all dangerous to cats, and some are deadly. The ASPCA warns that human pain relievers are among the most serious household hazards for pets, and its Animal Poison Control Center reports that no dose of acetaminophen is safe for a cat. Cats lack an enzyme most other animals use to process it, and even a single extra-strength tablet can be fatal, causing damaged red blood cells, brown or blue gums, and trouble breathing.

Ibuprofen and other over-the-counter anti-inflammatories can cause stomach ulcers and kidney injury in cats. There are safe, effective feline pain medications, but they are prescription drugs dosed by a veterinarian for your specific cat. Never share your own medicine, a dog's medicine, or a leftover prescription. If you think your cat is in pain, the safest and fastest help is a call to your vet, not the medicine cabinet.

When to call the vet, and when it is an emergency

Because cats hide pain so effectively, a vet exam is the only reliable way to find its source and treat it. Call your veterinarian whenever you notice a cluster of the signs above, a limp or reluctance to bear weight, a new sensitivity to being touched, a drop in appetite, or any change that lasts beyond a day. Catching pain early usually means a simpler fix and a more comfortable cat. If you are unsure how often your cat should be seen even when it seems fine, review how often you should take a cat to the vet.

Some situations cannot wait. Treat these as an emergency and go to a vet or emergency clinic now: a male cat straining in the litter box while producing little or no urine (a life-threatening urinary blockage), open-mouth breathing or panting at rest, blue, gray, or brown gums, collapse or an inability to stand, crying out in obvious distress, a known trauma such as a fall or car impact, or a cat that stops eating entirely for more than 24 hours. When in doubt, err toward the exam. Managing a cat's stress on the trip helps too, and calm-carrier tips live in our guide to the best cat calming aids.

Frequently asked questions