Animals instinctively hide pain as a survival mechanism, making companion animal pain recognition a critical and often under-appreciated welfare skill for owners and veterinarians alike.
Pain recognition in companion animals is simultaneously one of the most important welfare skills and one of the most commonly neglected. Animals evolved to hide pain from predators, meaning that stoic presentation does not indicate absence of suffering. Cats are particularly adept at concealing pain, often attributed to aging or personality change. Validated pain assessment tools exist and should be routinely integrated into veterinary visits and home monitoring. Adequate pain management — pharmacological, environmental, and supportive — dramatically improves quality of life and should be treated as a fundamental component of veterinary care rather than an afterthought.