Dental disease is the most prevalent health problem in adult cats, causing chronic pain that owners and veterinarians frequently underestimate. Prevention and treatment significantly improve feline quality of life.
Feline dental disease is a massive, largely invisible welfare burden. A cat with advanced dental disease including multiple tooth resorption lesions, periodontal bone loss, and infected roots is experiencing chronic oral pain while continuing to eat — because the alternative, starvation, is worse. This stoic persistence in the face of pain is often misread by owners as evidence that the cat is "fine" with its teeth. The welfare improvement available through appropriate dental treatment is dramatic and often immediately visible in changed behaviour: cats that were withdrawn or less interactive become engaged and playful; cats that were slow to eat become enthusiastic; sleeping patterns normalise. The barrier to better dental welfare in cats is primarily the owner reluctance to pursue anaesthetic procedures. Modern veterinary anaesthesia in healthy cats carries very low risk, and the welfare benefit of treating established dental disease — eliminating chronic pain — far outweighs the anaesthetic risk.