Feline tooth resorption is among the most painful dental conditions in cats, yet it frequently goes undetected because cats continue eating despite significant oral pain.
Tooth resorption represents a painful welfare deficit hidden behind feline stoicism. A cat with multiple resorptive lesions may be eating through significant dental pain because the alternative — starvation — is worse. The welfare transformation after extraction of affected teeth — cats that were quiet and withdrawn becoming more active and playful, eating with apparent enthusiasm — reveals the chronic suffering that preceded treatment. Regular dental radiography (the only way to detect all lesions) is the welfare-critical diagnostic tool. Cats showing no pain signs cannot be assumed to have no dental pain; pain-free dental assessment requires anaesthesia and radiography. Owner education about the prevalence and silent nature of tooth resorption enables appropriate diagnostic vigilance.