Mitigation of pain for surgical procedures has become a topic of concern for the public, producers, and veterinarians. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of meloxicam for mitigation of pain in adult lactating dairy cattle following a right side laparotomy with omentopexy. Twenty-four dairy cattle >20 mo old and between 50 and 188 d in milk (mean 121 d) were enrolled. Cattle were acclimated for 7 d, assigned to blocks based on days in milk, milk yield, and pregnancy status, and randomly assigned to groups (MEL or CON). The study had 2 phases; sham (d 0–14) and surgery (d 15–28). On d 0, a sham procedure was performed on all animals. Cattle were prepared for surgery including local blocks with lidocaine. Injectable meloxicam (MEL) or saline placebo (CON) was administered (dose: 0.5 mg/kg) 5 min before simulated surgery (restraint for 30 min). On d 15, a right flank laparotomy, brief abdominal exploration, and omentopexy was performed on all animals. Meloxicam and saline were administered before surgery to each respective group. Blood was collected via a jugular catheter at hours 0, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 respective to the sham and surgery for cortisol, and at hours 0, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, and 168 for haptoglobin, PGE2, and fibrinogen. Mean nociceptive threshold (MNT) was measured using an algometer and collected at hours 0, 1, 4, and 8 after sham and hours 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 after surgery. Infrared thermography (IRT) was taken of the incision site at hours 0, 1, 4, and 8 h after sham and 0, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 after surgery. Haptoglobin was significantly increased in the CON 72 h post-surgery (CON mean 476.6 +/− 110.7 µg/mL; MEL mean 202.5 +/− 92.1 µg/mL; P = 0.01). Cortisol was significantly increased in the CON 4 h post-surgery (CON mean 22.7 +/− 4.9 ng/mL; MEL mean 9.5 +/−2.0 ng/ml; P = 0.009). There was no difference for fibrinogen (P = 0.08), PGE2 (P = 0.1), MNT (P = 0.14) or IRT (P = 0.68). The results demonstrate that meloxicam significantly reduced some indirect measures of pain and suggests meloxicam is effective in mitigating post-operative pain in adult lactating dairy cattle.