please contribute: what are the signs of pain?

I know that cats are very good at hiding pain unless it becomes unbearable for them, so i think i twill be benneficial for everyone if they know what signs and signals your cat may give when they are feeling unwell.
all cats give different signs, (some even puring) but it will be good contribution if you can give some ideas.
What are the signs if your cat is feeling pain ?

This site lists several signs of pain http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/ivapm...cats.htm#signs

I will add that salivation is a sign of pain if they have soreness in their mouth.

Well, Glitch would purr when he was in pain, Eek normally doesn't move if its going to hurt him so you can tell if he's been in the same spot for a long time that he's a hurting unit, and I havn't quite figured out HoboJax signs yet!
BooBoo is tough as nails. He never had a sign of pain, even when he broke his leg! Now he favors it, but he doesn't do it when you're looking!

I've seen one of my cats frown when she was dealing with post-op major surgery. Another who has arthritis will lower her back hips if you go to do a full body pat from head to tail and sometimes cries when she is held around her back legs.

Whiskers being flicked straight to the sides or forward is another sign, a persistent slight twitch/swish of the tail tip, even just a closing of the eyes with a slight body shudder.

Cats may hide pain, but their entire bodies are so very expressive, that once you realize they are in pain, all the signs become clear.

Open mouthed huffing is another sign I've seen.

When Raven was having a bad day with pain (he had cancer) he would sleep in a loaf position. Barely ate. And spent most of the day in his bed not moving. We could always tell his bad days, because those days he wouldn't play with his puffballs. Playing with puffballs was normally a daily ritual for him.

If you have multiple cats in your house, watch the interactions between the cats. If one of the cats is suddenly being picked on, chances are they are ill and/or in pain.

Changes in behavior that include hiding, eating less, grumbling when you touch them are also very good clues.

One day I went to touch Coco and she screamed and hissed at me. It was by her her tail and spine. We called the Vet because she never hisses. It was terrible pain from her Arthitis. The Vet gave her a Metacam Shot and it helped alot. Sometimes when her Asthma acts up she wil cry when I pick her up. She hides pain good though. Yoshi before he was Pts would scrunch up in ball with his head down and would wine.

When Radar was sick last year, he spent a lot of time sitting in a crouched, hunched up position. Fortunately, I'd noticed small behavioural changes before that point, and he was already on antibiotics for his infection. Sleeping outside of usual nap time and not wanting to play were the signs that triggered me to get him to the vet, and it paid off because although he was showing more obvious signs of illness the next day, he was already getting treatment.

I think the most important thing is to be aware of your cats' normal routines and energy levels, because those will change before he shows the physical signs of illness and early intervention can make a huge difference.

Another one: Sometimes they get very clingy.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

If you have multiple cats in your house, watch the interactions between the cats. If one of the cats is suddenly being picked on, chances are they are ill and/or in pain.

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We also had that going on at our house.

Originally Posted by Epona

I think the most important thing is to be aware of your cats' normal routines and energy levels, because those will change before he shows the physical signs of illness and early intervention can make a huge difference.

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This is really important, because many of the signs of pain depend on knowing how your cat usually sits/talks/how active they are, etc, and being able to identify when it's different.

My cat was sick last month, he normally tears through the house like a madman and always comes when he's called, but at that time he would barely move around (when he did, it was like slow motion) and wouldn't even turn his head if we called his name.