Companion Animals

Companion Animal Welfare and Feline Pain Assessment Tools

Validated pain assessment tools for cats are enabling more consistent and effective pain recognition in clinical and home settings.

Key Facts

The Feline Grimace Scale reliably identifies acute pain from five facial features
The UNESP-Botucatu Multidimensional Composite Pain Scale assesses post-operative pain comprehensively
The Montreal Instrument for Cat Arthritis Testing enables owner-based chronic pain assessment
Pain assessment training significantly improves veterinary staff pain recognition accuracy
Combining multiple assessment tools is more reliable than single-measure assessment

Welfare Considerations

Validated pain assessment tools are prerequisites for effective pain treatment. Using these tools systematically prevents unrecognised and untreated pain in cats.

What You Can Do

Learn the Feline Grimace Scale to identify acute pain in your cat
Ask your vet to use validated pain assessment tools during consultations
Advocate for pain assessment as a routine component of veterinary cat examinations