Cats are notoriously stoic and mask signs of pain, making accurate assessment difficult. Better pain recognition tools are transforming feline welfare in veterinary and home settings.
The underrecognition of pain in cats has historically led to inadequate treatment in both clinical and home settings. Cats with chronic arthritis pain often show only subtle behaviour changes — less jumping, reduced grooming of hard-to-reach areas, reluctance to use stairs — that owners attribute to ageing rather than treatable pain. The development of validated tools like the Feline Grimace Scale has been transformative for acute pain assessment in clinical settings. The challenge remains translating this into better chronic pain recognition by owners and general practitioners. Effective pain management dramatically improves quality of life for cats with arthritis, dental disease, and post-operative pain.