Cat Seizures
The other day our cat, Chunk (2 years old), had a grand mal seizure. I woke up in the middle of the night to him darting off of our bed and when he got to the floor he collasped on his side and started seizing. He also started salivating profusely. All of this lasted for several minutes before the seizing stopped. It took him a couple of minutes for him to become coherent again.
The next day we called an made an appointment with the vet who did some blood work and offered to do a CAT scan. The blood work came back normal. She then told me that she highly didn’t recommend getting the CAT scan don, as she put it then you would know one way or another if he has brain tumors but what are you going to do with that knowledge? Good point. So right now we are assuming he has epilepsy as when the blood work is normal thats what they then assume. She told us that we could start medication right away, 2 times a day for the rest of his life, or we can monitor it for now. What they recommended is that if he has more then 1 major (grand mal) seizure in a month or 2-4 cluster seizures in several days that he should get put on medication. Since this medication is really hard on a cats body we are monitoring him for the time being.
Has anyone else had a cat who has epilepsy? Any advice you can give us? Did you put your cat on medication?
Robin,
If you read through all of these you will see quite a few postings on me and some advice I have given other folks like yourself regarding seizures. Your cat should come around and start responding to the meds soon. The mere fact your cat’s seizures have seemed to stop since being put on the meds, it is quite possible he was suffering from something he ate, or an infection of some sort. At his age, it is HIGHLY unlikely he is suffering from anything like a brain tumor which is very common n older cats(I have q 17 yr old who has one) and he is on phenobarb and steroids to keep the brain tumor at bay and keep him from seizing. He suffered from the same symptoms as your cat though. My advice(I am NOT a Vet BTW) is to cancel your appointment with the neurologist. They can’t really do anything for your cat to be honest other than take your money. There are no “operations” for cats as far as I know in regards to “Brain Surgery”. So all they would do is take a VERY EXPENSIVE cat scan of the cat, and tell you this or that, and still only prescribe the same meds you are getting now. So, its is up to you, but I do believe your cats illness is not from a brain tumor, but more like something he ate, or an infection. He is waaaaayyy tooo young for tumors(I guess its possible, but VERY UNLIKELY). One other thing, when feeding him the meds, I dunno if he likes cheese at all? My cat LOOOOVES cheese, so what I do is take his pill, rollit up in a SMALL piece of cheese and then give it to him. He eats it very easily, and has NO idea he is also getting meds at the same time. Try that and tell me how that goes. I hope this information helps you and the little kitty out.
Eddie
Robin: My cat tigger was pretty out of it for 2 weeks when put on phenobarb… however he wasn’t nearly as out of it as you are describing
I’m so happy I stumbled upon this site! I was worried my 2 year old kitty was the only young cat presenting with seizures, and was afraid there was no hope for him. I awoke at 4 am yesterday morning to him convulsing and “screaming.” I have NEVER seen anything like it– not in human or animal.
The seizures were coming every few minutes. Between each episode, he would pant heavily. After about 3 seizures I rushed him to the 24-hour emergency vet clinic in blizzard conditions (thankfully no one was on the road). They stabilized him and he was well enough to come home this evening. He’s on phenobarb, and they’ve also put him on clavamox in the event this is a bacterial infection spread to the brain. Because of the snow they haven’t been able to send out his blood work. In any case, I have an appointment to see the neurologist this week.
Since he’s arrived home, my kitty is completely out of it. Although the clinic indicated he was eating well earlier he has not consumed anything since arriving home, except when I force-fed him the phenobarb and antibiotic with only about a tsp of wet food. He has been sleeping all evening and is barely responding to me. There have been a few times he’s acted really nauseous and like he was about to vomit (which can be a result of both the clavamox and phenobarb). Is this “out of it” state common with initial phenobarb use? Will it go away? He’s not acting like himself at all, and I worry this will be permanent. Particularly if he has to be medicated indefinitely.
Ray,
I am glad to hear the Pred you gave the cat is working. Keep in mind, there might be some set backs, so just remain as calm as possible and let the MEDS do the work in time. Why wouldn’t your Dr. prescribe the cat Pred or Phenobarb?? Sounds to me like you need to change Vets… This one don’t seem all that knowledgable…. Let me know if I can answer any more questions.
Eddie
eddie,i couldnt get prednisone from the vet.
my wife was on prednisone for polymyalgia.
knowing i had nothing to lose,i disolved half a prednisone in milk and gave it to charley,i really though he would be dead when i woke up thr next morning,which was saturday,charley was sleeping in the den,thought he was dead, woke him up,he walked around,wanted his breakfast,fed him,than he started playing with our other cat,hasnt done that in 2 years,
hasnt had a seizure,hasnt even bit or scratched himself,3 days now and no seizures,will continue to give him a half of prednisone every evening.
thanks a million for your advice,ray
rmrusmc333@yahoo.com
Ray,
PLEASE read this before you put your cat down! All you have to di is get him on Prednesone and Phenobarbitol and that should help with your kitts seizures. Mine as well as alot of people here’s cats have had the same symptoms yours has. I KNOW what is wrong with your cat Ray. If your VET don’t know, then he obviously isn’t a real Vet. Your cat suffers from a brain tumor. That is what causes the seizures. PLEASE, PLEASE do not put your cat down, this can be fixed fairly easily and fairly inexpensively. Just take him to the Vet, tell them your cat is having seizures and you BELIEVE they are from a brain tumor, your Vet should agree and prescribe the meds for your kitty. I hope you get to this in time. Best of luck. Your CAT WILL GET BETTER, just get him on the meds!!
Eddie
I am happy to report that Tigger has been seizure free since the start of September (knock on wood). Like Deb’s cat, he is on 2 pills/day of phenabarbitol. It took a few weeks for the pills to start working, and during the first week he was really dopey, but hes 100% now. I cant even notice a difference in his behavior at all.
Ray Rei: Maybe you could direct your vet to this page and ask about trying phenabarbitol?
my cat charley has terrible seizures,had him for 11 years,they start with severe scratching,than he begans to bite himself,and than flips and falls all over,rolls into the walls, furniture, anything by him,losses control of his bladder and urnates on everything near him,they last about 30 seconds,
had him to a vet,cost $300.00 but he had no idea what was wrong with charley,right now i can only belive i will have to put him to sleep to stop his suffering,and that is the last thing i want to do, as i know it will bother me for the rest of my life.
ray,
My 5 year main coone has been having seizures for 3 years. She is on 30mg a day of phenabarb. It has not eliminated her seizures, bt they are less frequent and do not seem to last as long. She does nto seem to be having any side effects from the medicine. My cat gets a pill twice a day, every 12 hours. I just treasure every day. Do not pay for any tests except blood work. My vet said most of the time they do not show anything. good luck Deb
Michael,
Everything you described about your cat, my cat was doing. I have had him on phenobarb and prednesone since last August(when the first started happening) and he has some good months and bad months. At first, after he received the meds, he seemed to be doing good, then a few months later he would have the seizures again(even being on the meds) I would up the dose for awhile and that seemed to work, then I would bring the doses down and he seemed fine. Right now, he is doing well,(no seizures since June 22nd) having said that ofcourse, he will end up having them TODAY JUST because I JINXED him by saying he hasnt had any seizures in awhile.. Anyway, once the cat is on the meds, he SHOULD start to decrease in episodes and duration of said seizures. I know its hard to watch, breaks my heart everytime i saw him go into one.(My cat, Sniffy is 17 years old too!!) Hope this helps. Hang in there!
I saw the vet on monday, bloodwork was normal and the pills were just prescribed this afternoon. I really hope they start to work quickly
If Tigger is indeed having multiple seizures you need to call your vet. My cat never had multiple siezures in a day however we started out with heavy drooling and progressed into full blown (lose bladder control) siezures. She is now on two seperate medications, which seems to be working wonderfuly. Afterwards she gets super friendly and purrs …….
I have done quite a bit of research as has our vet. If you have any questions please let me know.
My cat Tigger started having seizures last week. He starts off by pulling his “lips” back from his teeth and he looks really angry, then he starts drooling very heavily, sometimes he wanders in a circle. This evening I gave him his first pill (Phenobarbitol), but he’s had 2 seizures since then.
I think he knows whats happening to him because he is very scared for 20min afterwards, then he returns to his normal loving self.
Im really scared. How many medication doses before other’s cats stopped having the seizures?
SkysMommy,
Your story has truly broken my heart, and I feel very deeply for you and your little one during this time. I will be 100% honest with you. From what you are telling me, your cat(somehow, someway) has suffered what I think is a stroke, and this is leading up to all the problems. What your cat is going through, and what mine did is two totally different things. My cat has a brain tumor which was making him go into these seizures. The medication he is on has 100% stopped the seizures and he is more or less back to his normal self. As long as he stays on the meds, he will be okay. YOUR cat has suffered TRAUMATIC NEUROLOGICAL disorders. I encourage you to take him back to the Vet and do the right thing. It sounds to me like your kitty is suffering gravely. I know you dont want to see him/her suffer like this anymore. Do the right thing for your beloved cat. At this point, I seriously doubt there is anything else a Vet can do. This is not a problem that will go away. It will get worse and worse. Please do your kitty a favor, and let the Vet end the suffering. I know this is hard to hear, and believe me, it hurts very much, but afterwards(after time ofcourse) you will realize you did the very best thing for your kitty. No one wants to suffer, not us Humans, or our furry 4 legged friends. I feel for you tremendously. Best of luck to you.
My cat – about 12+ years old – a stray – caught a cat cold from my other stray cat – it lasted 4-5 days with first one. Then Sky, other stray got it and went thru the same, but because he is skinnier, it lasted longer – with complications, one eye infected, nose more plugged. He didn’t look that bad – he still ate, but I gave a 1/4 tab of a 250mg Z-Pak just incase since he still was not fully recovered after 8-9 days. Then he started to get worse – stopped eating and was dehydrated – he was always at his drinking bucket so I assumed he was drinking it but he may not have drank it – so I had to force feed him and started to give him water thru a dropper. Then I noticed that his muscles atrophied and he was not able to walk – got worse by the day – he looked like he had a stroke – one eye appears to have lost nerves – it remains open most of the time – all the text/internet said that for a kitty cold, it would take about 14 days to complete its cycle – well, on the 10th or 11th day, he started to wobble – and then the next day, he would walk in circles – looked like his neck was locked – but he fell from my bed to my carpeted floor at night – maybe he hurt his head. I took him to the Vet on the 14th day – yesterday, but the Vet said that it was too late – that he is dying and nothing can be done – that I should put him to sleep or give him morphine. I couldn’t. He can’t walk – he is a like a total rubber – all this in just a few days!! I cannot imagine what caused it. After the vet visit, he started to have a spell – like he was possessed – he went into a trance – both of his eyes glowing – very big and he twisted and jerked – I thought maybe he had a pulled muscle from his falls but then, he was fine. Then a few minutes later, again – he glared and started attacking me – like he was in a middle of a serious cat fight – and he is such a baby so it was shocking to see this side and very scarey – then I took him to the vet this afternoon to see if I can get a blood test – so I will know what will cause his death – and he did the attack thing right at the vet’s office. They didn’t say anything because they think I should put him to sleep…as I am typing this, my cat is behind me on a couch and he is starting this attack !! But I realized that this was like a seizure! He pees during it – and i thought that he was shy to go to the bathroom in front of me since he is unable to move/walk so he went into this body arching episode just to pee – but now, I think it is a seizure based on these posting at this website.
I am wondering – is there some sort of virus that has a side effect of these seizures? I know that flea treatments will cause this also but all my cats are natural and no chemicals on them. I’ve been to the vet a few times years ago and have seen cat seizure from flea dips – they are way too strong for these tiny cats!! Poor things!
My cat started out with a cat cold/flu = runny nose, sore throat, plugged nose and then all of this….. the Vet said that he may had other problems that triggered this current condition but she has no clue that my cat has “seizures” – sad thing is because I do not want to put my cat to sleep, he is just on his own. His lungs are gurgling and I want to take him to another vet/emergency now but need to wait for blood work results tomorrow – could be too late… I feel so bad… now after the last seizure, his tongue is sticking out on the side. It is an awful site – I feel so helpless – it looks like he lost his tongue muscles for now – but I noticed that during his seizures, all his muscles work….can’t wait to bring my kitty back to normal – he is a stray cat that is such a humble loving cat – he is so quiet and never complains about anything – nothing like my other cats – and he is so attached to me – he will do anything to please me and I feel so bad. I just called another emergency hospital and they said that it would cost me in the $3,000 – $6000 range to see a neurologist, etc. I am unemployed so I can’t spend that much money. I am so distressed!! I wish I can help him or find someone that can help him. He looks at me constantly for help….even if it did not work, I still would like to try some treatment – I think he has pneumonia now also….hope he makes it til tomorrow so I can find another vet – not too expensive!!
Steph,
Sorry to hear about the Cowboys(I watched the game too) Are you from Dallas? Or are you just a Cowboys fan? I have pics of my kitty cat if you want to see them, Ill need your email though..
I don’t want you to think you made me feel bad. I think in my own grief I just feel guilty like maybe I didn’t try hard enough for her, but then I remember everything she went thru in just 9 days and how fast it got so bad. There was just nothing else I could do to save her and it wasn’t even possible to bring her home. She was gone before the 9 days, but she only survived that long after symptoms started. So, I’ll be ok. I know in my heart I did the right thing. I am so happy you still have your kitty. My aunt has a 16 year old cat that she has had since it was 6 weeks old. She is horrified of losing it like I did, but I think at 16, it would’ve already happened and she will go more peaceful and quick. I guess you can just never tell.
On a lighter note, now I’m also sad ’cause the Cowboys just lost
Take care and thank you so much for your concern. I can tell it is real and hearfelt.
Oh okay. I think the seizures your cat was having might have been a bit more severe than mine then. I didnt mean to make you feel bad, so Im sorry if it came out that way.
I mentioned steroids to the dr., but my cat was so far gone, there really looked like no hope for her to have any quality of life. I could not bear for her to suffer. She was seizing every few minutes and each time was worse and worse….and that is a bad signal leading to the end. So, I don’t want to doubt I did the right thing. I believe you about the prednasone, but it was too late. Her brain was gone.
Steph,
I am so sorry to hear this. It truly breaks my heart!! I just feel sick! In the future if this ever happens again to a dog or cat, please try the pregnasone(steroids) first. It really could make a difference. My cat didnt respond well to the phenobarb either, but the pregnasone worked.. Please remember that just in case this ever happens again to any of your dogs or cats.. Best of luck to you..I truly share in your sorrow over the loss of your kitty cat….
Well, bad news. The vet called me at 7am and told me the seizures were not stopping and I decided to have her put down. So, I gathered up my 2 daughters and my husband and we went to say goodbye and my daughter held her while they gave her the injection. It was very sad, but she had seized so bad overnight, that she may have also had a stroke and she just was not there…you could tell she was already gone on the inside and nothing was going to bring her back. She passed before he even finished giving the injection. We love her so much that I think that was the most unselfish thing I could’ve ever done. I still have her daughter, Belle, 2 labs and a designer dog. I can’t imagine going thru this again. Best of luck to everyone else. Thanks for your support.
Steph
Steph,
If I may suggest.. You should talk to the Vet about also putting the cat on the steroids(Prednisone) as well. My cat first started using the Phenobarbitol alone and it wasnt really working till I incorperated it with the Prednisone. So, if the Pheno dont work on its own, ask the Vet to also use the Prednisone with it. Here is a tip in giving your cat the meds.. My cat LOVES to eat, so he is not picky at all as to what I feed him. Here is how I give him his meds. I get just a table spoonful of wet food in his bowl and inject the phenobarbitol(liquid tuna form by the way) into his wet food. He eats it all, and has no idea he is actually taking medication(phenobarbitol comes in both pill and liquid form).. as far as the Prednisone, I give him half a tablet every day(now its every other day because he is doing so much better now) and I put it in a TINY piece of cheese, and roll it up into a little ball, and he gulps the little piece of cheese down again having no idea he has just ingested medication too. My cat LOOOVES dairy products. Anyway, those are some suggestions, hope this all helps you out. I know its hard to watch a pet go through seizures… HEARTBREAKING. My cat hasnt had any seizures since taking these medications and its been almost 3 months! so they DO WORK!!
Thanks Eddie. I just got back from the emergency hospital. Calli began today acting normal and then all of a sudden, she had a seizure and then 2 more that were spaced apart a little. Then all of a sudden, she was having them every few minutes. I left her overnight for observation, and they immediately put her on the phenobarbitol and it looks like I will be bringing her home tomorrow if all goes well with the seizures. I now believe it could be a tumor as well. But, i threw the cat food out and bought more just in case. How do people take care of their pets with seizures when they have to work? If we didn’t happen to be home to catch this I’m not sure what would’ve happened. Anyway, I have a little hope now that the drugs will help and she can get back to normal and have a good life.
I’m glad I happened upon this site. Thanks again
Steph
Steph,
Your cat is having grand mal seizures… There are several reasons for them. Your cats age is right about the time they would start IF he was having either Kidney, Liver, or Cranial problems. There is a SMALL chance the food could be poisoned doing it too…My cat Sniffy is 16 and starting early September, he started having these seizures too. He would also make this “Howling” meow that was freaky(with the heavy drooling, swimming, peeing, etc).I took him to the Vet, they did all kinds of blood work and deducted any chance of kidney or liver problems causing the seizures, therefor there was only one other reason for the seizures. He has a brain tumor, and this is what was triggering his seizures. The Vet put my pet on medication called phenobarbitol and some steroid meds, these have stopped his seizures all together. He is doing great now for a 16 year old cat. I suggest you bring this story to your Vets attention and see if your cat qualifies for the meds. I hope this helps. I know how terrifying it is to watch your beloved pet go into a seizure. Your kids were right though by saying let him finish the seizure, as there is NOTHING you can do about the seizure while its going on, sad as it is to say. Hopefully, your cat was just poisoned somehow by the food, but if it continues, I would take him in as soon as you can to get down to the bottom of it. Good luck!!
Eddie
Hi all…I have been reading all these comments and my cat, Calli had a seizure tonight for the first time. I was so traumatized. My kids were the ones calming me down and saying to let it happen, don’t touch her, she’ll be ok, etc. I don’t ever want to see that again. I am wondering if she has been poisoned some how?? She is 9 yrs old and this all started about 7 -8 days ago. She stopped eating and so we’d carry her to her food. She did go to her water bowl on her own and to the litter box, but she has only gotten worse. I took her to the vet twice this week and they say she has no feeling in her face and no response when they do eye tests. We noticed that our other cat won’t touch the food we bought about 7-8 days ago when this began. I have only fed them Iams dry cat food for about 3-4 years now. I have never seen anyone or a pet have a seizure. All I could do was cry. Then I had to give her a bath because some liquid came out of her before the seizure and she laid in it. The seizure sounds like some of your stories. She actually came downstairs by herself, ate some of her cat food, walked around (she is VERY weak and wobbly) then I caught her out of the corner of my eye and it looked like she was trying to catch something in the air. Next thing I heard was my daughter yelling, “The cat peed on the floor”, then it was “I think the cat is having a seizure, the cat IS having a seizure”. I got up and ran to see and it lasted about 30-40 seconds, she was “screaming” and when she was coming out of it, she could not get up and she looked like she was side swimming. So sad. The thing that really gets me is the vet says she seems to be acting like she was poisoned and after discussing it with my husband, he said this all started when we bought this new bag of food.
I feel the same way about “Sniffy”.
Animals are not for everyone, thats for sure. She is quite possibly the neatest cat I will ever have. Half cat half dog…….sleeps with the dog or with the people and is a huge garbage gut (will steal food off plates).
I wish you luck ……
Wow Christine. That is quite the story… I am sorry your lil kitty has had so many problems.. My cat takes the phenobarbital and pregnason(sp?-Steroids) He had the heavy drooling and the seizures, and he would make a “Howling” sound right before he went on the seizure… He has been seizure free since September 9th.. My cats problem is age(16), and with the age, his brain tumor. Cats sure can be a pain in the HEART, huh??
Cali kitty has had numerous siezures starting shortly after we moved. It started with massive amounts of drool, and then last December progressed into full blown siezures. Nothing shows in her blood work and further testing would be cost prohibitive. In September the decision was made to put her on phenobarbitol, since that time she has only had 1 small siezure. Not only is she almost siezure free, she is more playful, loving and active. Cali is approximatley 3 years old and had a previous trauma that resulted in two surgery’s (she is very lucky to be alive)22 staples plus drain tube then stitches and another drain tube with countless antibiotics, pain meds, sedatives.
Susan, Is your cat on the steroids now?
We have an almost 17 year old cat Gizmo. Several months ago he had a small seizure. I chalked it up to going into my husband’s shop and sniffing around into something (last time that will happen.) Tonight he had a grand mal seizure, really scary. Afterwards he was confused for about 20 minutes, then settled down. He has been diagnosed early this year with hepatic lipidosis. With Eddie’s experience with the steroids, I will call the vet monday to see what we can do for him.
Susan
Oh, one thing I will say about the meds and the Brain Tumor is this.. One thing I have noticed with Sniffy nis this.. Since he has been on the meds, his balance “Equal-Librium” is off slightly, but other than that he is doing great. One thing I just noticed today was, I have another cat, “Tiny” as well. Tiny is way more playful than Sniffy. Today while they were playing, this was the FIRST TIME I saw Sniffy beat Tiny in a wrestling match. It is always the other way around with Sniffy running off when Tiny gets to aggressive, today, it was TINY who ran off first. Does this have to do with the STEROIDS Sniffy is on? Who knows? I just know that was a first…Sorry for all the BABBLING!!
Carolyn,
Let me first by saying my heart and prayers go to your sister and Lilly. The GREAT news, Lilly is going to bounce back quickly from these seizures. The Phenobarb, and steroids will start to work on the seizures within 2-3 days of the first dose. She will start feeling fine after a week I’d say. Sniffy has bounced back un-believably well. He has gained 2 lbs since he has been on the meds, and he has that little bounce to his step he was lacking for probably a year or more…Sniffy has always been a rather, SLEEPY CAT.. But, I did notice he was kind of drugged out for the first couple days, maybe 3 days, then his body began to absorb the meds, and he is fine now. I would just give Lilly a good week for the meds to go fully through her system and she will be fine. If I can offer some advice on giving the meds.. The steroids, I just give Sniffy half a pill a day and what I do is, (he is a huuge cheese freak/like me..lol) anyway, I will take a very tiny piece of cheese, out the pill in itm roll it up into a BB size ball, and he eats it and never even knows he is taking his meds.. As far as his Phenobarb, I put it in his wet cat food, and again, he has no clue he is taking meds. He is very easy to please, and very NON finiky… Just thought I’d offer that.. Best of luck to Lilly. I KNOW she will pull through this fine..
Eddie
147501 Hi Eddie –My sisters cat Lilly just started having seizures and she is 12–they said it could be a brain tumor-they put her on phenobarb and steroids and she is really drugged(just yesterday). Did Sniffy go through this and how long did it take before he wasn’t drugged anymore. Thanks Carolyn
Thanks Christi I can send you a picture of him if you give me an email addy!!
Eddie~
I’m so glad to hear that Sniffy is doing better. I know I’m a firm believer of if you can help an animal please do unless keeping them around would mean keeping them alive in allot of pain.
Sniffy Update.. He has not had a seizure since 9-3-2008. He is on Prednasone and a anti seizure med and they have completely stopped his seizures!! He has also gained almost 2 lbs and looks very healthy again.. Is this a miracle, or what???? Im so happy for him. He seems sooo much more comfortable and happy…
Why were my comments removed from this message board??
Update!!! My cat(Sniffy) came back from the Vets a few days ago, and had MANY, MANY tests done to him via blood work.. all his tests came back normal for his age, so what the Vet and I agreed on was that he 99.9% has a brain tumor that is bringing on the seizures… So he was put on Anti-Seizure Meds, along with STEROIDS and since then, he has not had one seizure!! Its been 4 days!! Before that, he was having them 2 times a day. So, all I can say is these steroids have really helped him out a lot. My advice to ANYONE out there thats in my shoes, before you put your cat down, please try the steroids.. Now, granted, even though he is feeling MUCH better, he still has the brain tumor, the steroids seem to be shrinking the swellage around his brain, thus stopping the seizures(for now).. Hopefully he won’t have anymore. Thanks everyone for your thoughts!
Eddie
My cat also was spinning in circles while having seizures, and she’d lose bladder control while doing it, so your cat’s not alone in the spinning. Maybe they’re trying not to fall down? Probably a complex partial seizure, they’re supposedly common in cats, and given that your cat’s still standing, a grand mal is unlikely.
Mine was having a *lot* of them a day for the last several days, judging by the number of puddles of urine and spit splatters (we’d always find them together – I thought she was just leaking when she sneezed, since she had allergies too, and I hadn’t seen them happen, only the mess, and sometimes I heard the sneezing/coughing noises she’d make in the middle, for the first few days) I was cleaning up, only actually saw one happen yesterday, which is why I didn’t get her to the vet sooner.
I’m not sure I believe that the animals feel nothing, they may not have any awareness *during* a seizure, but ask a person with epilepsy how they feel *after* a seizure, and chances are, they’re not going to say it’s particularly great.
She was 8, probably not organ failure or “regular” epilepsy, couldn’t find anything she might have gotten into, and a head injury seemed incredibly unlikely, in my estimation. No neurologists at the emergency vet clinic on a weekend, and I just wouldn’t be able to afford a spinal tap and MRI for her, so I had to have her put down, but I feel really horrible about it.
Hope your kitties have fewer seizures!
Eddie~
The one thing we were told about seizures which may help you is the cat doesn’t even know whats happening to them. Its harder on us because it scares us so bad but it doesn’t harm the cat unless they are on stairs when its happens. You can get medication for them though and so I would reccomend contacting your vet about that. If nothing else it may be an effect of the treatment your cat had. Its not going to hurt anything. By the way I have heard every cat has seizures differently so maybe this is his type of seizure. I hope that helps but if you have further questions let me know!
I also have a 17 year old cat who had radiation treatment in may of this year for Feline Hyperthyroidism disease. Then, last night he started frothing at the mouth and started to slowly spin in circles(like he was chasing his tail or something?) Then, faster, faster, and started howling, like a deep throated meow, like he was scared or something…I was scared when this happened, then he came out of it, and I just thought it was one of those things? Then tonight(next day) he had the very same thing happen, and its really scaring the CRAP out of me.. He is my best friend, and I just cannot see having to witness this… I have not seen anyone else state their cat starts spinning around.. Is that a certain type of rare seizure? I am sure its a grand mal, but not sure if there are degrees of these seizures.. anyway I am really worried about “Sniffy”. I dont want to see my best friend go through such an ordeal again. Thanks for any advice. Just to let you all know, he is de-clawed, fixed too.
Kerry~
My cat did fall on his side and would twitch and drool profusely and then would come out of it 30-40 seconds later. The vet states the animals have no idea of whats going on during the seizure but we did put him on medication for it and he hasn’t had any since. Let me know if I can be of further help!
Hi all,
My 17 year old cat has been having seizures I think,
she at any given time will drop on the floor and kick her legs for about 40 seconds, her stare is blank and she cannot move afterwards, then she drools profusly, then she comes out of it. Its really scary when it happens and I talk to her softly and let her know I am there. Does this sound like what your cats are doing that have seizures also?
We have had our cat on medication for 6 months now. Our vet said that after about a year that we would probably be able to wean him off the pills as then he will have the medication built up in his system. Since we have put him on the medication he hasn’t had any seizures. I can’t advise you one way or another but our cat is almost 2 now and the vet also gave us the option whether we wanted to put him on the meds or not. The vet did say that Chunk (our kitty) wouldn’t know one way or another when he was having a seizure. I don’t know if I necessarily believe that so we decided for him and us that we would put him on the medication. Hopefully that helps somewhat.
My 2 year old kitty is also having seizures. She has had 4 since December 2007, all of them have been early in the morning 4-5am ish until tonight. It is scary watching your beloved friend, and be unable to help them. My vet said it was up to me if I wanted to pursue medication but that with such a young cat it could eventually be very hard on her body. I am contemplating alternative therapy as the regular vet doesn’t seem to be much help.
Last Thursday my youngest cat 9 months of age started
having small seizures. He had over 17 that day, the
next day he vomited all day. I took him to the vet
twice Thursday and Friday. He refused to draw blood
to see what the matter was. He did give him meds for
the vomiting to heal the stomach the second visit.
I used a dropper and fed him back to where I thought all was well, this Monday morning I saw where he had
had an accident on my sofa again. Soon after he had
a grand mal seizure that lasted for several minutes.
We made the decision to end his suffering, I have cryed all day missing him. He was such a lovable kitty. He would always jump up when I was eating to
take the spoon out of my mouth and when he jumped up
on my lap it was always with force using both front
feet at the same time. I hope I made the right decision as he seemed to be suffering terrible thru
the seizures.
Colleen~
After I posted this post our cat had another Grand Mal seizure and we ended up having to put him on medication. Basically they told us if he had more then one Grand Mal seizure in a week they highly recommend the medication. We did find out though after a year he will probably be able to be weaned off the meds. Here’s Hoping!!
Christi
Hi Christi, my 7 yr old cat had a siezure at 4 am this morning. This is only the second one she has had. I would hold off on medicating until you see the frequency of the attacks. The last one my cat had was 5 yrs ago. I hope this will be the last. Good luck.
Hey Christi…
I’ve never had a cat with epilepsy, but Shannon’s dog Lady has it. When I was living with them in college is when it started, so I got to experience a lot of them, and it’s really scary!!
Lady has now been dealing with it for about 5 years now (is that how long we’ve been out of college?!?) They changed her diet (no more people food!) and were careful with other things. They found that she would have a seizure if she were in close contact with wool for a long time. So one thing you may want to do is watch what happens prior to a seizure (hopefully it’ll be a long time before another one!) and see what your kitty is around or has eaten.
Shannon and John decided not to medicate Lady. They figured if it was bad enough for medication that she would be suffering enough and they should put her down. She sometimes has long stretches in between seizures, and sometimes short. All you can do really is wait and see what happens. Hope that helps a bit!