Pain in senior cats is vastly undertreated due to cats' concealment of suffering and historical limitations in feline pain medication. New options and awareness are transforming welfare outcomes.
Senior cat pain management has undergone a revolution in the past decade. Historically, limited safe medication options and a culture of stoicism around cat pain led to widespread undertreatment of obvious conditions like arthritis. New feline-specific treatments, particularly frunevetmab, provide safe, effective pain relief for the majority of arthritic cats. The welfare impact of successful pain management is transformative — cats treated for arthritis move more, groom better, interact more, and show all the behavioral markers of improved quality of life.