Facial Paresis

The facial nerve is the nerve of facial expression. It commands muscles that close the eyelid, move the ears, retract the lips or open the nostril. Facial paralysis is quite common in dogs and cats, particularly in middle to old age. The term is simply the description of drooping of muscles in the face, which is caused, not by damage to the muscles themselves, but to the nerves supplying them.

Reversible facial nerve paralysis in a cat suspected to be associated with systemic hypertension

Not the most common cranial nerve deficit that we are presented with in cats! As you can see from the video attached, it appears slightly different from the expected drooping face seen with this condition in dogs but facial asymmetry is still the most important manifestation.

Facial nerve paralysis secondary to hypertension is recognised in human medicine, particularly in children, and in this report is suspected in a cat. MRI and treatment of this cat is described.