home remedies for cat pain relief

Hello

To cut a long story short, my cat has sprained his leg again - about 4th time this year. 

Our vets don't want to give him pain killers, he has a limp but will run, play, eat, drink, go to the loo, jump and everything else he does before. It also takes about a week for his limping to start to get unnoticeable. 

So with this information, is there anything I can do to help the pain that he is having?

An family friend, suggested in giving him small amount of human pain killers like Calpol for babies - I am not doing this EVER. It is also suggested to give our cats anti allergy meds when the pollen his high and they sneeze a lot - Again not doing this EVER. I do not want anything that has not been given to my via my vet.

I am autistic and very attached to my cats, anything that may cause harm is off the table - why I am here really. 

I know what it is like be in pain from a sprain - I sprain my left ankle once per day and my right about 8 times per day - I take strong pain meds to get though the day.

I also know that things that are simple like a massage therapy, hot water bottles help, but would they help with my cat? would I be risking his health doing so? How can I get him to lay on the hot water bottle? - normally his head lays on the hot water bottle. Is there anything else I could do?

Calpol is parecetamol (acetaminophen in the US) and is NOT to be administered to cats.  Cats cannot clear it through their livers and can die from it.  I hope your family friend isn't administering it to his/her own cats.  Some human allergy meds are OK but still should be cleared by a veterinarian. 

If kitty only limps after a week or so of activity, that sounds like arthritis.  I'd be more concerned with getting something like Cosequin or Adequan to help with the arthritis rather than a pain killer.  Even chicken gizzards have lots of chondroitin in them that may be helpful for arthritis.

I'm sorry about the leg again. Since this is happening so frequently, I wonder if he's got some kind of minor deformity that makes that leg so vulnerable. As he gets older, it may become more of a challenge. It might be helpful to get a better understanding of why this is happening and work with your vet to determine a long-term plan for musculoskeletal health.

I'm glad that you are cautious and not giving your cat anything not prescribed by a veterinarian. As @peaches08  mentioned, some human medications can be quite dangerous to cats.

Flower essences work by way of energy healing and do not have to be ingested. Pet Essences has a few formulas, such as Pain Relief and Arthritis/Achy Pain. I have not used either and, therefore, cannot provide a testimonial regarding their effectiveness. You could also peruse Jackson Galaxy's Spirit Essences.

peaches08 said:

 
Calpol is parecetamol (acetaminophen in the US) and is NOT to be administered to cats.  Cats cannot clear it through their livers and can die from it.  I hope your family friend isn't administering it to his/her own cats.  Some human allergy meds are OK but still should be cleared by a veterinarian. 

If kitty only limps after a week or so of activity, that sounds like arthritis.  I'd be more concerned with getting something like Cosequin or Adequan to help with the arthritis rather than a pain killer.  Even chicken gizzards have lots of chondroitin in them that may be helpful for arthritis.

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Our family friend does not own a cat but does own a dog. As I said before I don't want to give my cat any medication as its not great for cats unless its an antibiotic for an infection due to what medications do to cats.

GoHolistic said:

 
I'm sorry about the leg again. Since this is happening so frequently, I wonder if he's got some kind of minor deformity that makes that leg so vulnerable. As he gets older, it may become more of a challenge. It might be helpful to get a better understanding of why this is happening and work with your vet to determine a long-term plan for musculoskeletal health.

I'm glad that you are cautious and not giving your cat anything not prescribed by a veterinarian. As @peaches08  mentioned, some human medications can be quite dangerous to cats.

Flower essences work by way of energy healing and do not have to be ingested. Pet Essences has a few formulas, such as Pain Relief and Arthritis/Achy Pain. I have not used either and, therefore, cannot provide a testimonial regarding their effectiveness. You could also peruse Jackson Galaxy's Spirit Essences.

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He has just turned 6, and it first started when he got his leg stuck in a chair and kept pulling at it to try and free himself - I had to break the chair to free him, but he wasn't limping then just sat strangely with his leg out - this was when he was about 4 months old. When he had his Neutering, the vet said he is just sitting in a way he is comfortable.

He is back on schedule for his normal healing times, normally takes about 2 weeks for him to have no limping. Currently he can put weight on his leg when standing still, but little weight when walking - He is still jumping, running, eating etc so I am just wanting to take away his pain without medication.

The flower essences sound like what I am after, something thats not ingested that won't do any harm.

As I mentioned that I have problems with spraining my ankles (and now hips), but to help heal, I have my leg completely strapped up, I didn't know if it would be worth me doing this to my cat to help his leg heal a little faster or would it be a bad idea?

I'm sorry he sprained his leg.

It's important to understand that pain serves a function. In humans, we can be told to stay still, or to leave the bandages on, or to avoid strenuous activity. Cats cannot be told this, so pain medicines should only be given if the animal is severely uncomfortable and cannot injure himself more. This might be why your vet doesn't want to give medicine for the sprain - he needs to feel uncomfortable in order to keep from injuring himself further.

I would not try to bind his leg. Again, you can't explain to him why the binding is helpful, so it will irritate him and he might hurt himself scratching or biting at the binding.

I would try soothing techniques to encourage him to rest. Not only will it help him feel calmer, he might heal faster. Massage and scents designed to relax kitties might help. A soft snuggly bed, maybe borrow a friend's hamster so he can sit and watch "television", and lots of sunshine!