Why is my abdominal pain relieved by putting pressure on it?

I have abdominal pain that is centered in the navel area and mildly radiates to the left side and when my cat (who weighs 14 pounds, and yes kitty is overweight and currently on diet food supervised by a vet) sits on my abdomen the pain goes away. Does anyone have any idea of what may be causing this pain?? Does anyone out there experience the same thing??

Well generally, pain which is relieved by pressure suggests a peritonits. That is, inflammation of the peritoneum, or ‘membrane’, that covers your abdominal wall and internal organs. When the peritoneum is inflamed, it is highly sensitive to any pressure or irritation. When you push down on the abdomen, this pushes a bit of organ away from the peritoneum, relieving the pressure. A sign doctors look for is ‘rebound tenderness’ when the pain is elicited when removing the pressure. The doctor pushes on the abdomen, which may not be painful, the doctor then takes their hand away, the organ (which had been depressed) when released, moves back and scrapes along the inflammed peritoneum causing intense pain.

The key question for you is, is the pain worse when kitty jumps off?

This is the most important diagnosis a doctor would consider as patients with peritonitis are quite seriously ill. If you are unwell (temperature, vomiting) go see a doctor.

There are other possible reasons however, pain could be simple constipation. The pressure may have helped move the compacted faeces along and thus relieved the pain. If you are otherwise well I would suspect this is the case.

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