Dental disease affects the majority of cats over three years old and causes chronic oral pain — yet it remains severely underdiagnosed and undertreated, representing a significant gap in feline welfare.
Feline dental disease causes chronic pain that cats hide with remarkable effectiveness. A cat with three grade 3 resorptive lesions — painful cavities eroding into dental pulp — may continue to eat, groom, and interact apparently normally. The pain is real and significant, but prey-species survival instincts suppress visible signs. Owners who notice their cat eating more slowly, preferring wet food, pawing at the mouth, or showing subtle personality changes may be observing the only visible signs of significant oral pain. Annual veterinary dental examinations with probing, and radiographs when indicated, detect disease that is invisible to external inspection. Early intervention — scaling, polishing, and extraction of non-viable teeth — produces rapid, dramatic welfare improvement. Many owners report that their cats seem years younger after dental treatment, having adapted to chronic pain so gradually that its relief is startling.