Chronic pain in cats is frequently underdiagnosed because cats mask signs of pain as a survival strategy, requiring owners and vets to use validated assessment tools.
Chronic pain in cats represents a significant welfare burden that is largely invisible to owners and often missed by veterinarians. A cat that has stopped jumping onto furniture or interacting with family members may be dismissed as simply ageing, when in reality it is experiencing chronic musculoskeletal pain that is treatable. The stoic nature of cats means that obvious pain behaviours like vocalisation are absent, and subtle changes in behaviour, posture, and grooming patterns are the only signals. Effective multimodal pain management, including licensed NSAIDs, gabapentin, and environmental modification, can dramatically improve quality of life. Owner education about pain recognition and willingness to pay for diagnostic workup and ongoing medication are rate-limiting factors in welfare improvement.