A condition affecting the vast majority of older cats is going largely undetected in homes across the world — not because owners don’t care, but because cats are exceptionally good at hiding the fact that they’re in pain.

Research from the University of California, Davis has drawn fresh attention to the scale of feline arthritis — a condition formally known as degenerative joint disease. The study’s authors note that feline arthritis is far more common than most owners realise. Citing prior research, they highlight that roughly 6% to 30% of cats under the age of 10 show signs of the condition — a figure that climbs to between 64% and 92% in cats over ten.”  The study was published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

That is a big number. And yet for most cat owners, it arrives as a surprise — because the animals themselves rarely appear to be suffering.

The biology of hiding pain

Cats are not stoic by choice. Their tendency to suppress visible signs of illness and discomfort is a deeply embedded survival behavior. In the wild, showing weakness invites predation. Domestication has not erased this instinct. A cat with advanced arthritis may slow down, become less willing to jump, or start avoiding stairs — behavioral changes that are easy for owners to misread as normal aging.

“Cats are great at hiding signs of pain,” said Carly Moody, senior author of the study and an assistant professor of animal science at UC Davis. “These conditions are prevalent and pain is a serious health and welfare issue that needs to be addressed.”

The consequence is a wide gap between how common the condition is and how often it receives appropriate care. Without a clinic visit and veterinary assessment, the pain goes unmanaged. Owners, unaware anything is wrong, don’t seek help. The cat continues to decline in silence.

Could a video call change that?

The UC Davis study was designed to test a practical intervention: whether video telehealth visits could help cat owners identify and address mobility problems in their pets without the added stress of a clinic trip. For cats with chronic conditions, the journey to a veterinary clinic can itself be a source of significant distress — unfamiliar environments, other animals, strange smells. That stress can actually make assessment harder.

Researchers recruited 106 pet owners whose cats had documented mobility issues. Half participated in six video calls — one every three weeks over four months — with a veterinary specialist. During those calls, specialist Grace Boone observed the cats in their home environment and offered advice on modifications that could improve their comfort. Suggestions ranged from raising food and water dishes to reduce neck strain, to adding steps near favourite resting spots, to switching litter boxes with lower walls for easier entry.

“There’s a lot of in-home modifications that can be implemented to increase cat comfort in the home,” Moody said. “Telehealth allows veterinary professionals to see and understand the cat’s home environment and make recommendations which can be helpful for the cat.”

The results were encouraging. Owners who participated in the video sessions reported feeling more confident in their understanding of their cat’s needs. More than 95% of participants said they would pay for telehealth consultations — though they were typically willing to pay a little less than for an in-person appointment.

What this means for the millions of cats at home right now

The implications extend well beyond the study’s 106 participants. If between two-thirds and nine-tenths of cats over ten years old have arthritis, and if most of those cases go unrecognized, then chronic unmanaged pain may be far more common in domestic cats than the veterinary community has typically acknowledged.

Telehealth is not a replacement for hands-on veterinary care. The researchers are clear on that. A registered veterinary technician or trained staff member can conduct these calls — they are not intended as diagnostic consultations, and they cannot substitute for clinical examination. What they can do is supplement it: catching things between visits, building the relationship between owner and clinic, and translating the abstract advice of a vet appointment into concrete changes in the living room.

“Rather than being something that detracts from in-person care, I think you can improve it and help supplement it,” said Boone.

The next phase of the research will investigate whether the specific home modifications recommended during telehealth visits actually improve measurable wellbeing outcomes — and which changes make the most difference for the animal’s quality of life.

For now, the study offers a quieter, more immediate lesson: if you share your home with a cat over the age of ten, there is a reasonable chance it is dealing with joint pain it will never let you see.