Cat High Blood Pressure

There are many different illnesses and conditions that your cat could get over the years and the most important thing for you to do as an owner is to understand and deal with the condition. High blood pressure in cats is very common although many owners do not even realize that their cat has it. It is usually only when it has lead to something else that the condition becomes apparent. High blood pressure can cause bleeding within your cat as the blood vessels become too small to cope and burst. Many little bleeds are quite common and can be fatal to your cat and you will need to ensure you’re your cat has regular checkups at the vets office to ensure that your cat is in good health.

What does high blood pressure do?

Problems will often occur with high blood pressure when the blood vessels simply cannot cope anymore. The blood vessels become too small to cope with the high pressure that is being pushed through them and eventually burst. Although the blood vessels are small and the bleeds are often not noticed over time they can cause major problems and even cause the death of your beloved cat. Blindness is one of the most common problems when the vessels burst as is the kidney area as the kidney relies on these blood vessels to carry away toxins from the body. Without them the body cannot function correctly.

What are causes of high blood pressure?

There are several causes for high blood pressure in your cat and often it is due to another illness or condition. Cat Renal Failure, Cat Diabetes, Cat Cushings Disease and Cat Hyperthyroidism are all linked to high blood pressure. If your cat is ill and being examined at the vets for a serious illness then it is very likely that they will have high blood pressure as well. Although a majority of the time it is often only checked when your cat is already suffering from another illness there are things which your vet can do to help with the blood pressure.

Identifying and treating the blood pressure

Finding out how high the blood pressure is can be done in a similar way to humans: a cuff is placed around your cats foot and sometimes even the base of the tail is used. The cuff is then inflated and an ultrasonic probe is placed on your cat’s artery so the vet can listen for when the vessel is opened. Your vet will understand that your cat will be stressed and more nervous than usual but they can still tell if the blood pressure is higher than normal. Often the best way to treat the blood pressure is to treat the other conditions. Once these are under control then you will find that the blood pressure begins to fall on its own. There are some medications which can be given to your cat to help with the high blood pressure but often these are a last resort.