There are so many vets who never take a cat’s blood pressure despite the fact that it is crucial. One of the leading causes of blindness in cats is hypertension (high blood pressure). There are also many many causes of cats having strokes and their cat parents finding them dead. This can easily be avoided by simply getting your cat’s blood pressure taken. This is especially important in older cats or cats with chronic renal failure (CRF). Â The vet or tech puts a small cuff on your cats leg and it takes less than 5 mins to check it. They typically take it a few times and use an average. They also take into account that blood pressure in cats can go up by 20pts due to stress. If they blood pressure is elevated the vet will put your cat on blood pressure medication and recheck in 7-10 days to assure it has not gone too low. Once the BP is stabilized your vet will check it every few weeks or months depending on your cat’s health. There is a symptom of high blood pressure that many people do not even know about…night howling. Cats with high blood pressure many times will howl at night. Recently one of our cats started doing this and sure enough his blood pressure was off the charts! If I had not known about checking blood pressure or night howling, there is a good chance that our kitty could have had a stroke or have gone blind. If you vet does not take blood pressure…find another vet!