Dental disease is the most common health condition in cats over three years old and causes significant chronic oral pain that is routinely missed because cats continue eating despite severe pathology.
Feline dental disease causes chronic oral pain at a scale that is almost entirely invisible to cat owners. The stoic nature of cats, combined with the strong drive to eat even when in pain, means that severe dental pathology including fractured teeth, tooth resorption, and periodontal disease can persist undetected for months or years. Cats with painful mouths alter their food handling behaviour in subtle ways - preferring soft food, dropping food, chewing on one side - that owners may attribute to preference rather than discomfort. Post-extraction behaviour changes are often dramatic: cats that were withdrawn become playful, cats that were selective eaters become enthusiastic. This retrospective evidence of pain relief underscores the extent to which dental pain was compromising quality of life. Regular professional dental care under anaesthesia, including full-mouth radiography, is the only reliable way to detect and treat dental disease before it becomes severe.