Dogs consistently receive better pain management than cats in veterinary practice, and closing this gap is a major animal welfare opportunity.
The pain management gap between dogs and cats in veterinary practice represents a significant and addressable welfare inequity. Cats are systematically undertreated for pain compared to dogs across a range of procedures and conditions - this is documented in the veterinary literature and is not simply perception. The reasons are multiple: cats hide pain instinctively, making recognition harder; some common analgesics are toxic to cats, limiting options; and historical assumptions that cats are somehow more stoic or resilient than dogs have been slow to change. The development and validation of feline-specific pain assessment tools like the Feline Grimace Scale has been transformative, providing objective metrics that reduce the subjectivity of pain recognition. Clients can play a role by specifically asking about pain management protocols for their cats.