Pain and Animals
Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1999 00:11:02, -0500 Subject: FEL-L: Pain/animals
I have always wondered if animals feel pain like we do. we may never really know. I'm sure some feel it more than others. just like people. I have a Q for you all. How many of you have had any sort of abdominal surgery? Gallbladder, apendix, hysterctomy etc. How long did it take you to recover and get back on your feet? Days, weeks. Now think of an animal after a major surgery, such as a spay. How long did it take for them to get back on their feet?. Hours, days? Are they just more heroic? Much higher threshhold? or do they really not feel pain like we do? Maybe it's because no one has told them how much it is supposed to hurt? I have no doubt that animals feel pain, just have always wondered how different.
Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1999 23:24:34 EST Subject: Re: FEL-L: Pain/animals
>I have no doubt that animals feel pain, just have always wondered how different. >>
Comparing animals to humans, I think a big difference is that animals don’t 'feel sorry' for themselves like us humans do. They just get up and go & never think about the pain. A good example I've seen is when a dog (or cat) has a limb amputated, the animal adjusts to the missing limb very quickly and is up and moving around just like before. ~Christine
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 11:30:16 EST Subject: Re: FEL-L: Pain/animals
<< I have always wondered if animals feel pain like we do. we may never
You pose a very interesting question. I have worked with animals 30 years + ;)
This is my theory from my observations. Most animals particularly wild ones will try and fake health if they are in pain or injured. I believe that this is so they do not appear to be weak thus making them more vulnerable to other predators. The innate survival mechanism kicks in. I have seen foxes and domestic cats that have chewed there own leg off to free themselves from a leg trap. I have seen a wild bobcat that climbed a tree with three broken legs and ribs, he was in shock had lost a lot of blood and still managed to climb the tree. (he was hit by a car and didn't survive). Some sheep will let dogs chew on them and not try to escape. Of coarse sheep aren't known as the brightest star. I also think that the way the central nervous system responds in each species also affects the pain factor. Pain receptors (sensory nerves) follow different routes through the body too. Some routes are surface others are deep, i.e., a scrape to the knee vs. a broken leg.
I have also seen domestic dogs and cats fake being sick because they liked the owners attention. One cat in particular, if it didn't get the attention he felt he needed from his owner he would start meowing, limping and holding his paw up. After getting the attention he would jump down and walk normally again.
I believe also that the pain threshold is different in each individual animal the same as it is in people. I have a very high threshold to pain my husband does not. I had a hysterectomy and some other major abdominal surgery, I was up walking several hours after the surgery. I don't feel pain like other folks do. This can be problem, I will often burn myself on the oven and not notice it until I see the sore. I broke my foot once and didn't realize I had done it until it had swollen up and turned all kinds of pretty colors.
My female cougar seems to be more acutely aware of pain than my male cougar. This maybe because she is very spoiled thus reducing her tolerance level to pain. ????
Good questions! Thanks for giving us something worth reading for a change. Sherry:)