At Hayle Veterinary Surgery we feel it is important to keep our patients up to date with the latest developments in veterinary care and protocols. These developments are always a step forward in how we can help your pets and often improve their quality of life and prolong survival.

We currently monitor blood pressure under general anaesthetic as a routine but wish to extend this to all our feline patients.

High blood pressure is common in cats especially as they get older, which is why we recommend annual blood pressure screening on all cats over the age of 7 years.

Prolonged high blood pressure in cats causes damage to organs including their eyes, kidney, heart and brain. It is also often associated with other diseases such as chronic kidney disease or hyperthyroidism so it is important that we screen your cat so we can catch any changes early.

This is a simple non-invasive procedure that cats tolerate well; it's very similar to how a doctor will take a blood pressure reading from us, using the tail instead of the arm.

Initial blood pressure screening checks are carried out free of charge by our experienced hypertension ambassador nurses. If this reading is within the normal level, no further action will be required. If the reading is abnormal, we would advise a repeat check-up which is charged at a reduced cost of £15.00.