Chronic pain in cats responds best to multimodal management combining different drug classes, physical therapy, and environmental modification to achieve adequate welfare relief.
Multimodal pain management for chronic feline pain reflects the same principles that guide human chronic pain management: no single approach provides complete relief, but combinations of complementary mechanisms achieve better welfare outcomes than any single drug or intervention alone. A cat with osteoarthritis managed with an anti-NGF antibody injection monthly, omega-3 supplementation, and environmental modifications including ramps and low-sided litter boxes may achieve substantially better welfare than one managed with NSAIDs alone. Building a comprehensive, individualized management plan with a vet interested in feline pain medicine is the welfare investment that matters.