Geriatric cat pain assessment requires validated tools that account for age-related behavioral changes — new instruments are improving chronic pain detection in senior cats.
Geriatric cat chronic pain assessment welfare advances from a critical gap: most chronic pain in senior cats remains undetected and untreated because cats mask pain behavior and clinical examination sensitivity is limited for chronic conditions. Validated client-completed questionnaires that capture changes in home behavior — reduced jumping, altered grooming, sleeping position changes, reluctance to use stairs — detect chronic musculoskeletal pain that clinical examination misses. Activity monitors that quantify daily movement patterns provide objective chronic pain indicators without requiring the cat to perform pain behaviors in a clinical setting. The combination of regular owner questionnaires, activity monitoring where available, and physical examination creates a comprehensive chronic pain detection system that substantially improves senior cat welfare.