Recognizing chronic pain in cats is challenging because they hide discomfort, making validated assessment tools essential for identifying and treating inadequately managed pain.
Cats living with unrecognized chronic pain represent one of the most significant welfare failures in companion animal medicine. Their stoic concealment of discomfort means that conditions causing obvious suffering in other species go untreated for years. An arthritic cat that stops jumping or grooming its lower back is telling a clear story to observers trained to read it - but most owners and even some veterinarians miss these signs. Systematic pain assessment using the Feline Grimace Scale and behavioral questionnaires can identify treatable pain that transforms quality of life.