I
have a senior cat around 12 years old which I
rescued about 6 years ago. The one characteristic I
have noticed since I have known her is that her
pupils do not restrict with light. They are huge and
her eyes look black. The vet said high BP could be
the cause. Should I worry about this is she seems
happy and healthy and plays? I know her vision is
not great. Any advice would be appreciated as I
realize she doesn't have too much longer to live and
want to give her the best few years of her life and
want to spoil her. (Mandy Smith, Ontario,
Canada)
Your
vet should be able to measure your cat's blood pressure
for you to determine if there is a risk. Like in
humans, the most common way to measure blood
pressure is using an inflatable cuff and an instrument to detect arterial blood flow.
High blood pressure (hypertension) can
accompany heart or kidney disease, or
hyperthyroidism (thyroid disease). While there are
drugs that can reduce blood pressure in humans,
there are so far no approved drugs for cats.
It is indeed common in many mammals for blood
pressure to rise in old age. The question in this
case is whether the blood pressure is significantly
high to pose a threat to the health of your cat's
health. If it is, then the underlying cause of the
high blood pressure needs to be determined and
treated if possible. If it is not, then the pressure
is unlikely to be affecting your cat's quality of
life. Ask your vet to perform a blood pressure check
and compare it to the normal pressure for a cat of
this age.
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only and is not meant to replace an appointment with a registered
veterinarian. Users should always seek a second opinion. Unfortunately we
are only able to answer several questions per week so not everyone gets a
published answer. And, unfortunately we can't answer by email.
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I
have a senior cat around 12 years old which I
rescued about 6 years ago. The one characteristic I
have noticed since I have known her is that her
pupils do not restrict with light. They are huge and
her eyes look black. The vet said high BP could be
the cause. Should I worry about this is she seems
happy and healthy and plays? I know her vision is
not great. Any advice would be appreciated as I
realize she doesn't have too much longer to live and
want to give her the best few years of her life and
want to spoil her. (Mandy Smith, Ontario,
Canada)
Your
vet should be able to measure your cat's blood pressure
for you to determine if there is a risk. Like in
humans, the most common way to measure blood
pressure is using an inflatable cuff and an instrument to detect arterial blood flow.
High blood pressure (hypertension) can
accompany heart or kidney disease, or
hyperthyroidism (thyroid disease). While there are
drugs that can reduce blood pressure in humans,
there are so far no approved drugs for cats. 
