Newsletter 09

Restless nights and yowling?

… your cat could have high blood pressure!

Did you know that a lot of older cats suffer from high blood pressure? While we don’t know how this makes them feel we do know that some of these cats start to yowl and become restless, especially at night.

High blood pressure needs to be detected and treated early because if left untreated the cat can suddenly go blind! This is because the increase in blood pressure can cause the retina at the back of the eye to partially or totally peel off.

Often, but not always, their high blood pressure is secondary to other diseases such as kidney or thyroid disease. Early detection of these diseases is imperative. Measuring a cat’s blood pressure is much like measuring a human’s blood pressure, just a little more fiddly. It is not painful for your cat and can be done during consultation.

Apart from making your cat feel calmer, treatment could also stop him/her going blind.