Assessing pain and emotional wellbeing in feline patients with chronic kidney disease

Abstract

Pain is both a sensory and emotional experience and can be measured with the use of pain scoring charts. Pain scoring is seen as a valuable tool especially as an aid to post-operative nursing care. Currently pain scoring systems are designed for assessing acute post-operative pain and have been validated for use in dogs. However they can be useful in assessing pain experienced in cats suffering from diseases such as chronic kidney disease, and can assist the nursing care provided to patients hospitalised for treatment of the disease. Patient care could be improved if a more holistic approach to nursing was adopted which encouraged veterinary nurses to not only consider the physical aspects of pain but also the emotional side.