Pain Assessment & Recognition

Animal Care & Nursing · page 77

• Pain is the 4th vital sign; animals mask pain, cats most
• Acute pain is sudden/protective (post-op); chronic is lasting/maladaptive (arthritis)
• Physiologic signs (raised HR, RR, BP, dilated pupils, drooling) are unreliable alone as they mimic stress
• Assessment order: observe undisturbed from distance, interact, palpate last
• Preemptive analgesia treats before pain; multimodal combines drug classes for lower doses