Hypertension in cats

[mom2rtk]

This is our 14 1/2 year old girl Fritz. We almost lost her in late 2021 before getting her diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. I medicate her twice a day and that seems to be under control. Full blood panel a couple months ago showed everything in the correct range. She was well settled into her bonus time with us until this week. Her eyes were unnaturally dilated. Also noticed her bumping into a couple things.

Our regular vet doesn't do BP in cats so sent us on to an eye doctor. Thankfully we found one to get her in quickly and found out her BP was 250 (should 150 or less). So now I'm giving her BP meds once a day on top of the thyroid meds. I'm so grateful to have a good system for getting her to take pills.

Mostly I'm looking for experiences others have had treating BP in cats. Do they settle in with a dosage and stabilize? It's not like I can just stop at Walmart and stick her paw in the cuff to check every week. We follow up and will check again in a couple weeks, but I'm curious what to expect over time.

Also, we think she's pretty much blind at this point, but the doctor was optimistic that the sight would return. That actually surprises me. Anyone else experience this with their cat and willing to share experiences?

 

[PollyannaMom]

- It's so tough when they are sick because they can't tell us exactly how they feel.

I don't have answers on this specific condition, but just wanted to comment on how pretty she is and what a great photo someone took!

I hope another poster can share some insights.

 

[mom2rtk]

- It's so tough when they are sick because they can't tell us exactly how they feel.

I don't have answers on this specific condition, but just wanted to comment on how pretty she is and what a great photo someone took!

I hope another poster can share some insights.

Thanks @PollyannaMom. I took the photo last fall. She loves that chair in the corner of the dining room. Unfortunately now she's been mostly hiding in a corner. I'm so nervous for her. I really hope her sight comes back. I'd love to hear some experience from others.

 

[Kitty 34]

View attachment 862866

This is our 14 1/2 year old girl Fritz. We almost lost her in late 2022 before getting her diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. I medicate her twice a day and that seems to be under control. Full blood panel a couple months ago showed everything in the correct range. She was well settled into her bonus time with us until this week. Her eyes were unnaturally dilated. Also noticed her bumping into a couple things.

Our regular vet doesn't do BP in cats so sent us on to an eye doctor. Thankfully we found one to get her in quickly and found out her BP was 250 (should 150 or less). So now I'm giving her BP meds once a day on top of the thyroid meds. I'm so grateful to have a good system for getting her to take pills.

Mostly I'm looking for experiences others have had treating BP in cats. Do they settle in with a dosage and stabilize? It's not like I can just stop at Walmart and stick her paw in the cuff to check every week. We follow up and will check again in a couple weeks, but I'm curious what to expect over time.

Also, we think she's pretty much blind at this point, but the doctor was optimistic that the sight would return. That actually surprises me. Anyone else experience this with their cat and willing to share experiences?

Such a pretty kitty.

 

[mom2rtk]

Such a pretty kitty.

Thanks Kitty.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I think thyroid medication is well known for being very volatile, meaning it is one of those if it is off even a bit the consequences can be extreme so some people stick with brand only and splitting pills isn't always a great idea. I know this from humans so I imagine it would also be true for pets.

Any chance the cat got into something? This time of year there can be all sorts of stuff that can hurt a pet, including bugs.

I would buy a Vet blood pressure machine and get comfortable using it, they don't seem too expensive compared to the worry and vet visits.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

So sorry to hear this about your kitty.

I had experience with this in my cat when she turned 18. We lost her around 2 months later.
The typical reason the cat loses vision from the high BP is it detaches the retina so sorry to say but I would not be optimistic about the vision returning.
I would just love up that kitty until she shows signs of declining quality of life.

 

[Imzadi]

Also, we think she's pretty much blind at this point, but the doctor was optimistic that the sight would return. That actually surprises me. Anyone else experience this with their cat and willing to share experiences?

I don't have any experience with cats. But, a co-worker of my Dad's was found to have hypertension when he had an eye exam done. Hypertension inflames the blood vessels in the eyes or something like that. So, if it's under control, yes, your kitty may get her vision back.

 

[lilmc]

Yes, they typically settle into a dose within a week or two. The ophthalmologist will let you know if she needs a dose adjustment. Don’t miss doses or the blood pressure will return to the high level. Even if she doesn’t get her sight back, she’ll learn pretty well how to navigate in her house. Especially once she feels better with that nasty headache gone.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think thyroid medication is well known for being very volatile, meaning it is one of those if it is off even a bit the consequences can be extreme so some people stick with brand only and splitting pills isn't always a great idea. I know this from humans so I imagine it would also be true for pets.

Any chance the cat got into something? This time of year there can be all sorts of stuff that can hurt a pet, including bugs.

I would buy a Vet blood pressure machine and get comfortable using it, they don't seem too expensive compared to the worry and vet visits.

No, I don't think she got into something. But no way to know for sure. We do have one who eats bugs but I don't think this one does.

The vet knows we split her thyroid pill. They don't come small enough for her dose. She's been well controlled at this dose for more than 2 years so I'm thinking she's hitting the therapeutic levels.

They do sell pet BP cuffs on Amazon. I'm not convinced she's going to sit still for me to use it on her but I'm mulling it over.

 

[mom2rtk]

So sorry to hear this about your kitty.

I had experience with this in my cat when she turned 18. We lost her around 2 months later.
The typical reason the cat loses vision from the high BP is it detaches the retina so sorry to say but I would not be optimistic about the vision returning.
I would just love up that kitty until she shows signs of declining quality of life.

Yes, they think her retinas probably detached. Oddly enough though, the eye doctor was actually optimistic that the vision might return in a few weeks. Dr. Google says the odds are high if you catch it quickly, but even a few days delay would change that. We did get her in pretty quickly, so I guess we'll see.

She's getting lots of love right now and becoming more of a downstairs cat (after being mostly an upstairs cat). She's hanging out behind a chair in the living room but enjoying lots of attention from us.

 

[mom2rtk]

I don't have any experience with cats. But, a co-worker of my Dad's was found to have hypertension when he had an eye exam done. Hypertension inflames the blood vessels in the eyes or something like that. So, if it's under control, yes, your kitty may get her vision back.

Thanks Imzadi. We're medicating for the BP now so hoping things improve as that gets under control.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yes, they typically settle into a dose within a week or two. The ophthalmologist will let you know if she needs a dose adjustment. Don’t miss doses or the blood pressure will return to the high level. Even if she doesn’t get her sight back, she’ll learn pretty well how to navigate in her house. Especially once she feels better with that nasty headache gone.

Thanks. I hadn't even thought about her having a bad headache from it. I bet she has. In the last couple of weeks, she has seemed to be moving a little slower. I even said we should all keep a close eye on her as I didn't think she was looking great. Hopefully she'll feel better soon. Now if I can just keep the younger cat away from her. She's been blowing at her when she gets close. Ugh.

 

[mom2rtk]

It's been a challenging week with Fritz, but she's hanging in there. The good news is that we think she can see again! Huge relief. She's tracking our fingers pretty well.

The bad news is that I think this was all precipitated by a spike in her thyroid again. After being well controlled for an extended time (2 1/2 years) it spiked sometime since her last labs in February. A few days ago we noticed she was really lethargic and when she did get up she was stumbling and having trouble with her hind quarters. I worried her BP was too low now and went back to the eye doctor to check. It was down to 190 from 250, so making progress but not enough to be causing her symptoms.

So back to the regular vet only to discover her thyroid numbers were up. They had us increase her dose and she's been on that a couple days now. She's a little better but still having trouble with her back legs. Gets around but you can tell she's a little weak.

So she's not better, but she can see again. She purrs a lot and I think her quality of life is enough to keep trying.

I do think the only reason she got sight back is because we started BP meds so quickly. So please don't delay if you see issues with their eyes.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Sometimes a thyroid thing is autoimmune & that could explain the swings. Is there a way to watch more closely?

I wonder if there is anything in urine that might be a hint to help as the urinalysis tests are cheaper, there is a lot on this for humans so maybe there is pet overlap, I would imagine it is a little similar in some ways.

https://www.palomahealth.com/learn/hypothyroidism-hashimotos-kidneys

these strips are under $10

 

[RoseColored97]

We have an 18 year old cat that also has thyroid and blood pressure issues. He was diagnosed around ~3-4 years ago. He is on amlodipine and methimazole, both taken once daily along with an occasional gabapentin 1/8 pill dose for arthritis. He was on both twice daily, but his levels ended up needing them only once daily. He is doing MUCH better with this combo of medications (behavior, coat is more shiny). Our vet told us that he was having issues with eye dilation due to his blood pressure, but he seems to be seeing just fine now at 4 years later. You would never guess he was 18 years old, he still runs through the house and is sassy as all get out.

I hope those medications help your kitty!

Edit: Also, he was losing weight. I think he used to hover around 13-15 pounds, but then had dropped to around 8 pounds when his thyroid was having the most issues. He has been maintaining at 8 pounds and 10 or so ounces, which is great all things considering.

 

[mom2rtk]

Sometimes a thyroid thing is autoimmune & that could explain the swings. Is there a way to watch more closely?

I wonder if there is anything in urine that might be a hint to help as the urinalysis tests are cheaper, there is a lot on this for humans so maybe there is pet overlap, I would imagine it is a little similar in some ways.

https://www.palomahealth.com/learn/hypothyroidism-hashimotos-kidneys

these strips are under $10
View attachment 865127

That's interesting. I had no idea they sold home tests for pet urine. I can ask when I'm at the vet's again (which probably won't be long at the rate we're going right now). We did end up doing a full blood panel again this week and everything was in normal range (except for the thyroid) so I assume the kidneys are OK right now.

 

[mom2rtk]

We have an 18 year old cat that also has thyroid and blood pressure issues. He was diagnosed around ~3-4 years ago. He is on amlodipine and methimazole, both taken once daily along with an occasional gabapentin 1/8 pill dose for arthritis. He was on both twice daily, but his levels ended up needing them only once daily. He is doing MUCH better with this combo of medications (behavior, coat is more shiny). Our vet told us that he was having issues with eye dilation due to his blood pressure, but he seems to be seeing just fine now at 4 years later. You would never guess he was 18 years old, he still runs through the house and is sassy as all get out.

I hope those medications help your kitty!

Edit: Also, he was losing weight. I think he used to hover around 13-15 pounds, but then had dropped to around 8 pounds when his thyroid was having the most issues. He has been maintaining at 8 pounds and 10 or so ounces, which is great all things considering.

Oh wow, that's impressive! We're 2 1/2 years into methimazole and started amlodipine just over a week ago. That's great that your cat is doing well. It's a booger of a disease. How awesome that he's running through the house still at age 18.

Our girl is still having some leg weakness that I don't even have a working theory on. She jumped up on the sofa tonight and surprised us all, but sort of collapsed on her legs when she jumped back down. I had heard low potassium could do that, but the blood work this week showed that in normal range.

We are moving her care to a different vet's office in a week and a half. We love our regular vet but they don't do blood pressure readings there, so we're moving her to one who does (eye doctor is further from home and can't give us input on her other issues). I'm hoping the new vet will have more suggestions on the leg weakness.

 

[RoseColored97]

Oh wow, that's impressive! We're 2 1/2 years into methimazole and started amlodipine just over a week ago. That's great that your cat is doing well. It's a booger of a disease. How awesome that he's running through the house still at age 18.

Our girl is still having some leg weakness that I don't even have a working theory on. She jumped up on the sofa tonight and surprised us all, but sort of collapsed on her legs when she jumped back down. I had heard low potassium could do that, but the blood work this week showed that in normal range.

We are moving her care to a different vet's office in a week and a half. We love our regular vet but they don't do blood pressure readings there, so we're moving her to one who does (eye doctor is further from home and can't give us input on her other issues). I'm hoping the new vet will have more suggestions on the leg weakness.

That is so odd about the leg weakness. Our cat was having some difficulty with walking/jumping up on lower surfaces, but since adding on a very low dose of gabapentin it has mostly resolved.

I wonder if your cat might have some arthritis pain. I forgot to mention our cat also gets a monthly shot of Solensia. It's a pretty new treatment (he's been on it for a year, but the medication is new), but that has also helped a ton. It might be worth checking out at your vet if you are interested and if they think that is the cause. I do want to mention, it is anywhere from $85-100/month depending on your vet (ours just raised their rates, unfortunately).

We call our cat high-maintenance. Between his $100/month Solensia shot and the other medications I think his health maintenance costs more than mine! haha But they're worth it! I'll be keeping my fingers crossed they figure out your kitty's situation and she starts feeling better soon!

 

[PollyannaMom]

That's interesting. I had no idea they sold home tests for pet urine. I can ask when I'm at the vet's again (which probably won't be long at the rate we're going right now). We did end up doing a full blood panel again this week and everything was in normal range (except for the thyroid) so I assume the kidneys are OK right now.

I've actually seen an ad somewhere for a kitty litter that changes color to indicate certain things in their urine. I didn't pay much attention, as my cats are old and I wasn't looking to change something they like, but someone at a pet supply store might know of you ask.