Cats are masters of hiding pain — a survival instinct that means significant suffering often goes unrecognised and untreated. Learning to read subtle pain signals can dramatically improve feline welfare.
A cat with unrecognised chronic arthritis pain lives with significant ongoing suffering that its owner believes is just normal aging. Cats do not limp obviously until pain is severe — subtle gait changes are the first indicator. Treatment transforms quality of life. The welfare gap between available pain treatment and actual uptake in elderly cats is one of the most actionable in companion animal medicine.