Blood pressure checks

Tiny is just on his way home after having his blood pressure checked. He sat quietly while we wrapped a cuff around his arm. He thought the cold gel we put on his wrist for the Doppler probe was the worst part.

Because a cat’s pulse is so small we have to amplify it with the Doppler. We pump the cuff up until we cannot hear the pulse and then slowly let the air out until we hear the pulse. At this point we read his blood pressure from the dial.

Tiny has a heart murmur and kidney problems. Heart disease often lowers the blood pressure but kidney failure increases it. Fortunately Dr Kate found that Tiger’s blood pressure is quite normal.