Feline hypertension, or high blood pressure, has many causes. In 13-20% of cases there is no underlying cause or disease, and this is called primary hypertension. More often cats will have a disease process that causes the high blood pressure. Some common causes of hypertension include chronic kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, age, and hyperaldosteronism. We can also see elevated blood pressure that is due to stress, or white coat syndrome. Therefore, we will often recheck blood pressures in cats after we get an initial increased result.
Increased blood pressure can be detrimental to many different organ systems in the body. Below is a list of some of the damage hypertension causes in cats (called end organ damage).
The goal in treating high blood pressure in cats is to minimize the damage to these organs.
At the Cat Hospital of Media, we use what is called indirect blood pressure readings. Most commonly, we use what is called a Doppler. The doppler uses a crystal to listen to the pulse, much like a nurse would use a stethoscope to get our blood pressure. A pediatric blood pressure cuff is used around one of the legs or tail. This is non-invasive and well tolerated by our patients. The doppler is what we will use during your cat’s appointment.
While your cat is under anesthesia, we use an oscillometric blood pressure monitor. This type of monitor automatically gives us readings and we monitor the blood pressure consistently during your cat’s procedure.
When measuring blood pressure in cats, we never take just one reading. We will take multiple readings and evaluate your cat’s level of stress. If we get consistently high readings, we may recommend you bring your cat back for a recheck before we prescribe any treatment. We need to make sure stress is not causing the increased blood pressure.
Your veterinarian may prescribe one of the following medications for high blood pressure.
Treatment depends on the severity and underlying cause:
Flea control: Revolution Plus or another veterinarian-approved product is essential.
Corticosteroids or other anti-inflammatory medications: Help reduce inflammation and itching.
Antibiotics or topical therapy: Used if secondary infection is present.
Allergy management: Food trials or allergy medications (such as Atopica or Apoquel in cats) may be needed long-term.
Environmental management: Reduce exposure to allergens where possible.
Some cats require ongoing maintenance therapy to prevent flare-ups.
Once treatment begins, your veterinarian will recheck your cat’s blood pressure every 3-5 days until it is normal. We will adjust the mediations as needed. Once the blood pressure is well controlled, we will monitor the blood pressure every 6 months.
