Do animals know if something's wrong with them?

[smg680]

I've got an interesting question. Do animals know if something is wrong with them? I ask this because one of the feral cats in my dad's garage moves strangely, and has done this for a long time. Lily-Roy (or as my neighbor calls him Shaky Jake) wobbles as he moves, and falls over a lot. However, he does manage to jump up on the chairs in the garage, and he does it as well as the other kitties. I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but he's one of an original litter of cats from either Little Mama or Cutie Pie before they were fixed. He has also not been fixed.

[hazelrunpack]

Typically, just like humans, they can feel if something is not right--if they're ill, they'll feel sick; if they've hurt a limb, it hurts or hitches and they move funny; if they get into something toxic, they would feel the side effects. If it's something they were born with, they may adapt to the condition because it's 'normal' for them and they've known nothing else, but if it's a condition that developed since birth, then it might be serious.

The only way to tell for sure what's going on is a vet visit.