Long-term pain in cats: how much do we know about this important welfare issue?

Abstract

Practical relevance: Long-term pain in cats is an important welfare issue but is often overlooked and undertreated.

Audience: All practitioners are faced with cats that require analgesic intervention to improve their quality of life.

Patient group: Any cat may potentially experience long-term pain and discomfort. Degenerative joint disease and diabetic-related pain is more common in middle-aged or older individuals, whereas persistent postsurgical pain can occur at any age and is seen in young cats following onychectomy.

Evidence base: Robust evidence on long-term pain issues in cats - specifically, relating to prevalence, etiology, and treatment protocols and outcomes - is missing from the veterinary literature. The aim of this review is to summarise the current state of knowledge. In doing so, it takes a practical approach, highlighting the obvious, and some not so obvious, causes of long-term pain in cats; some aspects that warrant closer attention; our ability to recognize pain and monitor how this impacts on quality of life; and today's treatment options.