Pain recognition in companion animals is a fundamental welfare skill — animals cannot verbalise pain, meaning subtle behaviour changes are the primary diagnostic signals.
Pain recognition is arguably the most important skill in companion animal welfare. An animal in unrecognised chronic pain suffers for months or years while owners and even veterinarians attribute behavioural changes to ageing, personality or environmental factors. The development of validated, accessible pain scales for dogs and cats represents a genuine welfare advance — tools that give owners and vets an objective framework. The Feline Grimace Scale in particular has transformed feline pain management by making a notoriously stoic species legible to clinicians.