Dental disease affects the majority of cats over three years old yet often goes untreated. Addressing this silent epidemic significantly improves feline quality of life.
Feline dental disease causes chronic pain that most owners are unaware of. Cats are evolutionarily programmed to mask vulnerability, so they continue eating and behaving relatively normally despite significant oral discomfort — an adaptation that allowed their wild ancestors to survive but now causes prolonged, unrecognised suffering in pets. The stoic cat with severe periodontal disease or tooth resorption may be experiencing constant pain that only becomes apparent after professional dental treatment when owners report dramatic improvement in energy, appetite, and behaviour. The scale of untreated dental disease in the cat population represents an enormous, largely invisible welfare burden that annual dental assessments and appropriate treatment could substantially reduce.