Pain Management

The 5 important characteristics of an ideal NSAID for use in cats are described in this article, the second of a 2-part series. The author provides guidance on treating acute pain in cats with NSAIDS currently on the market, including recommended dosages.

  At some point in a cat’s life, it will most likely suffer from pain related to an injury, disease, or surgery, and veterinarians have a duty to try to alleviate this pain. In the January/February 2014 issue of Today’s Veterinary Practice, Dr. Sheilah Robertson addressed the challenges of acute pain assessment in cats. However, …

Part 1 of a comprehensive look at managing chronic pain in dogs and cats. Here, an overview of osteoarthritis, including a treatment plan.

Finding precise, reliable, and accurate measures of chronic pain in animals is a difficult effort. However, much research has gone into developing measurement methods to evaluate chronic pain in dogs (and, more recently, cats); this article reviews the pain scales currently available.

  One thing clinicians and investigators can agree upon is that finding valid, precise, reliable, and accurate measures of chronic pain in animals is a very tall order indeed. However, the effort is important—if we are to effectively manage patients with chronic pain, we have to be able to assess it, which also allows us …