EXPRESS: Comparison of the feline Glasgow Composite Measured Pain Scale (CMPS-f) in a feline population without painful disease at home and in a veterinary hospital

Objectives The objective of this study was to compare the use of the feline Glasgow Composite Measured Pain Scale (CMPS-f) at home and in a veterinary hospital. The hypothesis was that pain-free cats would score higher in the CMPS-f, in a stressful situation than when calm and relaxed. Healthy, but stressed cats could appear to be in discomfort/ pain. Methods Healthy, non-painful adult cats owned by clinical staff were included in a prospective, clinical trial with two observers (caregiver and researcher). Cats were scored by their caregiver at home (H), after arrival in the clinic (C1) and after a routine health check (C2). A researcher pain-scored the cats at C1 and C2 concurrently with the caregiver. Friedmann’s test with Dunn’s multiple comparison test was used. The level of significance was set to α of 5%. Results Data from seventeen cats were included in the statistical analysis. Scores by the caregiver and researcher at C2 were higher compared to H (p < 0.01, p < 0.01 respectively) and C1 (p = 0.02, p < 0.01 respectively). The mean increase in CMPS-f scores from H to C2 and from C1 to C2 was 5.8 and 4.1, respectively. At C2, the CMPS-f intervention level ≥ 5/20 indicating pain was reached in 11 out of 17 cats. There was no significant difference in the scores assigned by the caregiver and researcher within each time point. Conclusions and relevance Pain scores recorded after examinations in the clinic were significantly higher than those recorded at home. This suggests that stress may lead to a misinterpretation of the CMPS-f, potentially affecting the recognition of pain in cats during clinical assessments.