Pain Changes Everything. So Can the Right Care
Pain changes everything. A dog who used to bound up the stairs now hesitates at the bottom. A cat who loved to be held tenses up when you reach for her. These changes can be easy to dismiss or chalk up to aging, but they are often signs that your pet is hurting, and hurting pets deserve relief.
At Madison Veterinary Hospital, pain management is not an afterthought or a single prescription. It is a thoughtful, individualized approach that considers your pet’s condition, age, health history, and quality of life. We draw on a range of tools, from targeted medications to therapeutic laser and supportive therapies, to build a pain management plan that works for your individual animal.
AAHA-accredited and named one of Newsweek’s Best Veterinary Hospitals in America in both 2025 and 2026, our practice has spent more than 50 years caring for pets throughout the metro Detroit area with the kind of attention and compassion that makes a real difference in how they feel day to day.
Recognizing Pain in Your Pet
Pets are instinctively wired to mask pain. It is a survival mechanism that goes back thousands of years, and it means that by the time an animal is showing obvious signs of discomfort, they have often been hurting for a while. Knowing the subtler signs of pain is one of the most important things a pet owner can learn.
Signs of pain in dogs:
- Limping or favoring a limb, even intermittently
- Reluctance to go up or down stairs, jump into the car, or rise from lying down
- Reduced activity or interest in play
- Changes in posture, gait, or how they carry their head
- Licking, chewing, or guarding a specific area of the body
- Changes in appetite or water consumption
- Unusual aggression, irritability, or withdrawal
- Whimpering, panting, or restlessness at rest
- Loss of muscle mass, particularly over the hindquarters
Signs of pain in cats:
- Reduced grooming or a dull, unkempt coat
- Hiding or withdrawing from interaction
- Decreased jumping or reluctance to reach familiar elevated spots
- Changes in litter box habits
- Facial tension, squinting, or flattened ears
- Reduced appetite
- Uncharacteristic hissing or swatting when touched in certain areas
- A hunched posture or tucked abdomen
If you are noticing any of these signs in a pet from Madison Heights, Royal Oak, Warren, or anywhere in the surrounding area, please do not wait. Early pain intervention produces better outcomes than waiting until symptoms become impossible to ignore.
Conditions We Manage
Pain management at Madison Veterinary Hospital supports pets dealing with a wide range of conditions, including:
Arthritis and Degenerative Joint Disease
Osteoarthritis is the most common source of chronic pain in dogs and cats and is dramatically underdiagnosed, particularly in cats. It affects joints throughout the body and worsens progressively without intervention. Effective management can restore meaningful quality of life and mobility, often dramatically.
Post-Surgical Pain
Every surgical patient at our practice receives a proactive pain management plan that begins before the procedure, continues intraoperatively, and carries through the recovery period at home. Managing post-surgical pain well is directly linked to faster healing and better outcomes.
Orthopedic and Spinal Conditions
Cruciate disease, luxating patella, hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, and intervertebral disc disease all produce significant pain that benefits from targeted management alongside any surgical or medical treatment.
Dental and Oral Pain
Dental disease is one of the most underappreciated sources of daily chronic pain in pets. Professional dental care is the definitive treatment, but pain management supports comfort both before and after dental procedures.
Cancer-Related Pain
For pets managing a cancer diagnosis, quality of life is the priority. Pain management is a central component of oncology supportive care, and our team approaches these cases with particular sensitivity to both the pet’s comfort and the family’s emotional experience.
Soft Tissue Injuries and Acute Pain
Strains, sprains, wounds, and post-traumatic pain respond well to a combination of appropriate medications and supportive therapies that help the body heal while keeping your pet comfortable.
Chronic Medical Conditions
Kidney disease, pancreatitis, gastrointestinal disorders, and other systemic conditions can involve significant discomfort. Pain management is part of how we approach long-term disease management in pets with complex medical histories.
Our Approach: Multimodal Pain Management
The most effective pain management in veterinary medicine today is multimodal, meaning it combines more than one method of pain control to target pain through multiple pathways simultaneously. This approach allows us to achieve better pain relief with lower doses of any single medication, which reduces side effects and improves safety.
At Madison Veterinary Hospital, our pain management toolkit includes:
Prescription Pain Medications
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the cornerstone of chronic pain management for many dogs and are highly effective when used appropriately with proper monitoring. We also use gabapentin, amantadine, tramadol, and other medications for nerve pain, chronic pain sensitization, and cases where NSAIDs are not appropriate. Cats require particular care in pain medication selection due to their unique metabolism, and our veterinarians are experienced in the nuances of feline pain management.
Therapeutic Laser
Our veterinary therapeutic laser uses targeted light energy to reduce inflammation, improve circulation, and stimulate cellular healing at the pain site. It is non-invasive, well-tolerated by most pets, and produces meaningful relief for arthritis, soft tissue injuries, post-surgical sites, and chronic pain conditions. Many pets visibly relax during treatments.
Injectable Therapies
For dogs with osteoarthritis, Librela (bedinvetmab) is a monthly injectable monoclonal antibody therapy that targets a key driver of arthritis pain at the molecular level. It represents a significant advancement in canine arthritis management and is an option we discuss with appropriate candidates. Solensia is the feline equivalent, offering cats with arthritis a similarly targeted monthly injection.
Joint Supplements
Omega-3 fatty acids, glucosamine, and chondroitin have genuine supportive roles in joint health and can modestly reduce inflammation and slow cartilage breakdown as part of a broader pain management plan.
Weight Management
Every pound of excess body weight places additional stress on joints, the spine, and the cardiovascular system. For overweight pets with pain-related conditions, weight loss is one of the most impactful interventions we can recommend. Our team supports this through nutritional counseling and regular monitoring.
Environmental Modifications
Sometimes the most meaningful changes happen at home. Orthopedic bedding, ramps or steps to help pets reach their favorite spots, raised food and water dishes, non-slip rugs on hard floors, and litter boxes with lower entry points for cats can all meaningfully reduce daily discomfort. We will discuss what modifications make the most sense for your pet’s specific condition.
Pain Management Across Life Stages
Puppies and Young Adults
Young pets can experience acute pain from injuries, post-surgical recovery, and developmental orthopedic conditions. We treat pain in young animals proactively, because undertreated pain in the short term can sensitize the nervous system and contribute to chronic pain states over time.
Middle-Aged Pets
This is when early arthritis, dental disease, and other chronic conditions often begin to emerge. Establishing a baseline and catching these conditions before they become severe gives us the best opportunity for long-term management.
Senior Pets
Chronic pain management is one of the most important services we provide for aging pets. A senior dog or cat who is comfortable, mobile, and engaged is experiencing a fundamentally different quality of life than one who is quietly hurting. We approach senior pain management as an ongoing partnership with you, adjusting the plan as your pet’s needs evolve. Regular wellness exams and periodic bloodwork allow us to monitor the safety of long-term medications and catch new sources of pain early.
Your Pet Does Not Have to Hurt
One of the most rewarding things we do at Madison Veterinary Hospital is help a family recognize that what they thought was their pet “slowing down with age” is actually treatable pain. Watching a dog rediscover the enthusiasm for a walk, or a cat settle back into the sunny spot they had stopped visiting, reminds us why pain management matters so deeply.
If you are concerned that your pet may be in pain, or if you simply want to have a proactive conversation about what we can do to keep them comfortable as they age, our team is here. Families from across Madison Heights, Royal Oak, Troy, Ferndale, Sterling Heights, and throughout the metro Detroit area have trusted us with these conversations for more than 50 years.
