Characterization of pain behaviors in kittens following ovariohysterectomy using video assessment

This study aimed to characterize the duration and/or frequency of pain behaviors in kittens following ovariohysterectomy using video assessment. A total of 229 videos comprising 18 h of recordings were obtained during a prospective, randomized, clinical trial using an opioid-free protocol with (multimodal group, MMG) or without (control group, CG) multimodal analgesia. Videos included behaviors of 36 kittens (≤ 6 months) before and after surgery, as well as pre/post rescue analgesia. A veterinary behaviorist blinded to treatments and timepoints performed the behavioral assessment using an ethogram. Statistical analyses were performed using linear models (P < 0.05). Duration (%) of ‘no attention to surroundings’ (5 ± 16 and 0.0 ± 0.7, P = 0.02), ‘lowered head position’ (4 ± 12 and 0.3 ± 2,P = 0.009) and ‘eyes partially closed’ (15 ± 29 and 5 ± 17, P < 0.02) was longer in kittens before than after analgesia, respectively. When compared with baseline, kittens in MMG had longer duration of playing (i.e. ‘pawing’, %) (35 ± 34) than CG (7 ± 12, P = 0.001) at 1 h postoperatively. This study identified behavioral differences between painful and non-painful kittens following ovariohysterectomy contributing to feline acute pain assessment. © The Author(s) 2025