Cats are historically undertreated for surgical pain due to pharmacological differences from dogs, but evidence-based multimodal perioperative analgesia protocols are improving outcomes significantly.
Perioperative pain management in cats has historically lagged behind dogs due to genuine pharmacological complexity and an underestimation of feline pain expression. The consequence is that many cats undergo surgery with inadequate analgesia and recover in pain that is then unrecognized because they hide discomfort effectively. Evidence-based multimodal protocols now provide effective feline pain management by combining preemptive opioids, local nerve blocks, NSAID administration where safe, and careful postoperative monitoring using validated pain scales. These protocols are increasingly available and should be standard of care at all veterinary facilities performing feline surgery. The welfare case for rigorous feline perioperative analgesia is compelling — cats that receive adequate pain management recover faster, eat sooner, and have lower complication rates.