SUGGESTED ANSWER TO QUESTION 2A-3(b)

When the study was ended about one year later, we found out that our cat actually had been receiving the placebo. The fact that her blood pressure decreased over the first few weeks of the study is easily explained by the fact that getting her blood pressure checked was, at first, a novel and frightening experience for her. The fright she felt was reflected in a heightened blood pressure. Over the first few weeks, however, she got used to the procedure, so that she no longer showed an increase in blood pressure when it was checked. The placebo pill that she was taking probably had no influence on her blood pressure, at all.