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 .
Development of a pressure nociceptive threshold testing device for evaluation of analgesics in cats.
A pressure analgesiometric device was developed for unrestrained cats . Eleven cats were studied . Stimulation was via three rounded pins within a bracelet on the forearm . The pins were advanced by manual bladder inflation .  Bladder pressure was measured using a strain gauge pressure transducer . The threshold was recorded at the behavioural end point . Thresholds were measured at 5 and 15min intervals for 2 - 4h , after removal/replacement of the cuff , for 120min after SC butorphanol ( 0.4mg/kg ) , and with mild skin inflammation at the testing site . Data were analysed using ANOVA . Pressure thresholds in untreated cats were around 150mmHg . The minimum interval for testing was established as 15min . Data were reproducible over 4h and beyond 24h . Thresholds in 5 cats increased ( P<0.05 ) above baseline for 45min after butorphanol with a maximum increase of 270+/-182mmHg at 10min . Thresholds decreased with inflammation . The method appears suitable for feline analgesia investigations
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 .