Table 6 UNESP-Botucatu unidimensional pain scale for acute postoperative pain assessment in cattle

Locomotion

▪ (0) Walking with no obviously abnormal gait.

▪ (1) Walking with restriction, may be with hunched back and/or short steps.

▪ (2) Reluctant to stand up, standing up with difficulty or not walking.

Interactive behaviour

▪ (0) Active; attention to tactile and/or visual and/or audible environmental stimuli; when near other animals, can interact with and/or accompany the group.

▪ (1) Apathetic: may remain close to other animals, but interacts little when stimulated.

▪ (2) Apathetic: may be isolated or may not accompany the other animals; does not react to tactile, visual and/or audible environmental stimuli.

Activity

▪ (0) Moves normally.

▪ (1) Restless, moves more than normal or lies down and stands up with frequency.

▪ (2) Moves less frequently in the pasture or only when stimulated.

Appetite

▪ (0) Normorexia and/or rumination.

▪ (1) Hyporexia.

▪ (2) Anorexia.

Miscellaneous behaviours

▪ Wagging the tail abruptly and repeatedly.

▪ Licking the surgical wound.

▪ Moves and arches the back when in standing posture.

▪ Kicking/foot stamping.

▪ Hind limbs extended caudally when in standing posture.

▪ Head below the line of spinal column.

▪ Lying down in ventral recumbency with full or partial extension of one or both hind limbs.

▪ Lying down with the head on/close to the ground.

▪ Extends the neck and body forward when lying in ventral recumbency.

(0) All of the above described behaviours are absent.

(1) Presence of 1 of the behaviours described above.

(2) Presence of 2 or more of the behaviours described above.