TMS in dogs?

No doubt: pain is a danger signal created by the brain in front of situations perceived as menacing or threatening. When the thread doesn't come from our body (illness, injury, pathology, damage) but from our emotions, beliefs, expectations, conditioning,..... (nothing strictly physical) then we talk of TMS pain (or neuroplastic pain).
I wonder if dogs or cats are susceptible to such pain not related to a «broken» body.

 

I've often wondered that too. And if were to offer my 100% non-expert opinion, I'd say, absolutely they are.
I'm more familiar with dogs and (obviously) they are very emotional. They worry and have irrational fears.

Of course, they probably don't see another dog with a bad hip and think, "Oh God, I hope I don't get that". They aren't affected by all the diseases in the media.

But I think it's completely plausible that their fear and emotions could put them and keep them in a pathological state.

 

Animals that suffer abuse at the hands of humans are certainly emotionally damaged, often for the rest of their lives. I've known, volunteered with, and lived with rescues that suffered various levels of anxiety due to prior trauma, sometimes known, often unknown.

Which begs the question, doesn't it - has anyone studied the relationship between certain chronic inflammatory conditions in animals and the possibility (known or guessed-at) of early trauma?

 

We think one of our cats may have tms.

 

I saw a video online of a dog limping along beside his person, apparently because the person was limping. When away from the person, the dog walked normally. It may have been due to empathy and compassion on the part of the dog rather than TMS, but I found it very interesting.

 

We have a dog now that is quite emotionally fragile. We have to give her lots of praise and love just to keep her on an even keel. If she gets upset about something, we can often tell, because her poop gets runny and even sometimes bloody.

 

This is absolutely one of my cat's symtoms. We had 9 cats at one point, and another one with TMS creating urinary problems. Our vet was amazing recognizing this, and helping us create an environment where she ended up thriving.