Why is my cat so cranky at the moment?

[Noitsnotteatimeyet]

He's always quite forthcoming with his opinions on life but for the last few days he's been complaining pretty much non-stop

He's miaowing constantly, has hit dd, ds and my cleaner, is aiming swipes at the dog (who's now giving the cat a very wide berth and I just caught him about to jump on elderly girl cat who was happily snoring on the sofa

He had a run-in with a car 14 months ago which meant he had to have extensive orthopaedic surgery and his pelvis is held together by a plate and pins. He seems to have made a complete recovery and is as athletic as he was before the accident, but I'm wondering if his crankiness might be caused by pain or discomfort from the implant- is that likely and if so, what could we do to help?

[Hopefullyoneday1]

I don't own cats but I do have horses. If they are ever a bit out of character I can pretty much guarantee they are in pain somewhere. It's usually because they have been hooning about in the paddock and have twisted sharply or sprained.

I would keep any eye on him, if he lets you pick him up gently massage him looking for tender or sore points. You can take his temperature, that's a good indication if something is up

[Fluffycloudland77]

Is the weather bad and he can't go out?.

[Hassled]

Are there changes in the house freaking him out - smell of a Christmas tree? Twinkly lights? Different people coming and going?

[Noitsnotteatimeyet]

Hmm I suspect he's in pain
He's an ex-street car from Dubai so he is pretty unflappable normally. He's had so many changes in his life and has taken them all in his stride so things like the tree etc don't worry him. Dh had a similar accident last year and is also held together with bits of metal and he says it always hurts, sometimes just 1/10 but usually 3 or 4/10 and it's worse when it's cold

He's got a memory foam bed which he loves especially when the sun's on it. I'll look into using heat more.

[Noitsnotteatimeyet]

Cat not car

[Fluffycloudland77]

Maybe a heat pad would help then. They say in people it's hunger, tiredness and pain that are most likely to trigger "challenging" behaviour.