About Cat Grimace Scale

Cat Grimace Scale is an independent educational website. It explains the Feline Grimace Scale and provides a simple online tool that helps cat owners compare their cat's face with the five facial features used in the published framework.

What this website does

The site has two parts. The first is a set of informational guides that explain what the Cat Grimace Scale is, how it works, how the score is structured, and what can affect a cat's facial expression. The second is an interactive tool that walks through the five facial features one at a time and produces a score from 0 to 10.

The tool is designed to be practical for owners at home. A photo can be uploaded and compared with the reference illustrations, or the assessment can be completed without a photo using the skip option. Photos are processed locally in the browser and are not uploaded to an application server.

What the Feline Grimace Scale is

The Feline Grimace Scale is a research-based approach to observing facial changes associated with acute pain in cats. It uses five facial action units: ear position, orbital tightening, muzzle tension, whisker position, and head position. Each feature is scored 0, 1, or 2, and the values are added together to make a total from 0 to 10.

You can read more on the What Is the Cat Grimace Scale? page and learn how the process works on the How the Cat Grimace Scale Works page.

What this website is not

This website is not a veterinary service, and the tool is not a diagnostic test. It does not diagnose pain or illness, and it does not recommend medication. The score describes facial features observed in a single image; it cannot replace a hands-on examination by a veterinary professional.

If you are concerned about your cat's health, comfort, or behaviour, contact a veterinarian. The site's disclaimer explains these limits in more detail.

About the reference material

The site follows the five facial action units and the 0 to 10 scoring structure described in the published Feline Grimace Scale literature. The reference illustrations are provided to support visual comparison. This website is independent and is not affiliated with the developers of the Feline Grimace Scale.