Studies were primarily related to the assessment of pain in relation to surgical procedures , and no clear distinction was made concerning the onset of acute and chronic pain .
The metrics used within the tools appeared to focus primarily on the sensory aspect of pain , with no study clearly discriminating between the sensory and affective components of pain .
Objectives The objectives were to review systematic ally the range of assessment tools used in cats to detect the behavioural expression of pain and the evidence of their quality ; and to examine behavioural metrics ( considering both the sensory and affective domains ) used to assess pain .
Efficacy of tolfenamic acid and meloxicam in the control of postoperative pain following ovariohysterectomy in the cat.
OBJECTIVE The hypothesis was that Visual Analog Scale ( VAS ) scores would be lower , and mechanical wound thresholds ( MWT ) higher , in cats receiving tolfenamic acid  compared to those receiving placebo in the postoperative period following elective ovariohysterectomy . ANIMALS Sixty-nine client-owned cats . METHODS A prospect i ve , r and omized , blinded and placebo-controlled study was performed in cats which underwent ovariohysterectomy following preoperative tolfenamic acid , meloxicam , or placebo . A second dose of the same analgesic was administered 24 hours postoperatively . Assessment s were made 1-hour before induction and 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 22 , and 25 hours postoperatively . Pain was assessed by a blinded observer using Numerical Rating ( NRS ) and VAS scales . The MWT were measured using a force-measuring device . Group comparison was performed by using one-way ANOVA and chi-squared test for qualitative and quantitative data , respectively , and a mixed model for repeated measurements ( p < 0.05 ) . RESULTS Sixty-five cats were included in the study . There were no differences between groups at baseline . There was a treatment effect on the NRS scores at 6 , 22 and 25 hours . The meloxicam group was less painful than controls at 6 and 22 hours ; both treatment groups were less painful than controls at 25 hours . There were no differences between groups in VAS for pain or sedation . The number of animals receiving rescue analgesia did not differ between groups . There was a treatment effect on MWT ; thresholds in both treatment groups were significantly higher than that observed in controls at all time points . CONCLUSIONS Preoperative tolfenamic acid or meloxicam reduced wound sensitivity following ovariohysterectomy in the cat . CLINICAL RELEVANCE Tolfenamic acid and meloxicam administered preoperatively provided a similar analgesic effect in the postoperative period lasting 24 hours . Mechanical thresholds may be a better way of evaluating postoperative analgesia provided by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in cats
Studies were primarily related to the assessment of pain in relation to surgical procedures , and no clear distinction was made concerning the onset of acute and chronic pain .
The metrics used within the tools appeared to focus primarily on the sensory aspect of pain , with no study clearly discriminating between the sensory and affective components of pain .
Objectives The objectives were to review systematic ally the range of assessment tools used in cats to detect the behavioural expression of pain and the evidence of their quality ; and to examine behavioural metrics ( considering both the sensory and affective domains ) used to assess pain .