Geriatric cats commonly suffer from multiple concurrent painful conditions that are frequently unrecognized and undertreated, requiring multimodal assessment and carefully tailored management.
The geriatric cat represents one of the most complex welfare challenges in companion animal medicine. Multiple concurrent conditions interact and compete for treatment priority, with medications for one problem potentially contraindicated by another. The welfare consequence of inadequate pain management in elderly cats is a gradual but significant reduction in quality of life that owners may normalize as expected aging. Multimodal assessment using validated tools — owner questionnaires, veterinary pain scoring, and activity monitoring — enables more complete recognition of the pain burden. Treatment in complex geriatric cases requires creativity: alternative analgesics, adjunctive therapies including physical rehabilitation and acupuncture, and environmental modifications that reduce the functional impact of pain. The goal is maximizing quality of life within the constraints of concurrent disease.