Cat Pain Assessment: Recognising Suffering in a Stoic Species

Cats are expert pain concealment specialists whose suffering is frequently missed — validated pain assessment tools enable earlier recognition and more timely treatment.

Key Facts

Cats evolved as both predator and prey, making pain concealment an adaptive survival behaviour
The Feline Grimace Scale assesses orbital tightening, muzzle tension, ear position and whisker changes
Behavioural pain indicators include reduced grooming, hunched posture, hiding and altered facial expression
Chronic pain in cats manifests as activity reduction and altered interaction patterns over weeks
Owners consistently underestimate the degree of pain in their cats compared to veterinary assessment
Post-surgical and chronic pain are both systematically undertreated in cats compared to dogs in clinical settings

Welfare Considerations

Cat pain assessment is a welfare skill that transforms veterinary and owner interactions with cats from observation to informed recognition. The Feline Grimace Scale provides a validated, practical tool that enables pain assessment even for owners without veterinary training. Chronic pain in cats — from osteoarthritis, dental disease and other conditions — produces subtle behavioural changes that owners habituate to as "just getting older." Systematic pain assessment that challenges this normalisation prevents months or years of unnecessary suffering from conditions that are treatable when recognised.

What You Can Do

Learn the Feline Grimace Scale and use it to regularly assess your cat's pain level
Never dismiss behavioural changes in your cat as "just aging" without veterinary pain assessment
Advocate for routine pain screening to be included in senior cat annual examinations
Support development and validation of additional feline pain assessment tools
Share feline pain recognition resources with other cat owners to reduce the widespread underrecognition