How I Learned to Deal with My Sweet, Elderly & Newly Epileptic Cat
My beloved 17 year old cat named KITTY II has been with me since I was in middle school and I'm now approaching 30. That's actually more than half of my life. As old as she is, she still looks young, a trait that runs in my family 
. Here's Kitty starring in a poorly Photoshopped (her right eye was too bright) picture:
Kitty is still energetic and vocal -- super vocal. I now keep a pair of ear plugs by the bed because she likes waking up at odd hours to yowl like she's dying. If I yell her name, she suddenly goes from Death Meow to innocent kitten meow; it's really unnerving. Kitty lives with me now but she didn't last year when I had a high school friend, Mel, take care of her for a while. Kitty enjoyed the stylings of a large family home in Oceanside, complete with a backyard and koi pond while I worked things out with my apartment.
One day when Mel was taking care of Kitty, I received a call from her saying that she thought Kitty was dying. Apparently, Kitty did this weird thing where she fell on her side, "ran in place, feet in the air" and peed everywhere for about 30 seconds. When she stopped doing that, she woke up dazed, cried out when went eat tuna like nothing happened. My heart sank, I really thought Kitty was gonna go soon and did what I could to visit more even though I lived in San Francisco. I learned at some point that Kitty was having a classic seizures and that elderly cats could live for years with them.
A few months later, I was able to take Kitty back and I immediately took her to the vet to see what could be done. They ran a good $1100 worth of tests and found nothing that could be causing the seizures. That likely meant it was adult-onset epilepsy or a brain tumor. If it was a brain tumor, I wasn't going to try to artificially extend her life so I figured it didn't matter what was causing it, as long as it wasn't something that was preventable.
The first time I saw Kitty have a seizure, it had such a bad impact on me that I called in sick to work; I was a mess. It was about the most awful thing ever. She was sleeping on my pillow and the alarm went off, apparently, loud repetitive noises trigger her seizures, and she started going crazy on the bed. I could see every muscle tense and pee was flying everywhere. I tried to cover my eyes so not see it but I could still feel her shaking the bed. My poor friend, I felt so bad.
Once the seizure was over, I cleaned up and wrote down the date and duration-- something my vet had told me to do. I brought her back to the vet and asked for any sort of advice. "The first one you see is always the hardest and your ability to handle the seizures will get better over time." He was somewhat right and his words really helped me to deal with seeing my little friend suffer. There was only one that was worse than that -- the first time she started running while seizuring, she ran into a wall twice and was jumping uncontrollably in a corner, slamming up against some really hard server rails. I was panicked and couldn't find my glasses. I finally gave up and grabbed her so that she'd stop slamming into things.
I know that you aren't supposed to restrict animals or people having seizures and I made sure not to restrict Kitty as I held her. I just let her do her running and shaking in my hands. My left hand was holing her rib area lightly and my right hand was holding her stomach lightly. Once she was done, I placed her gently on the floor and let her "come to." Even though this was the worst experience thus far, it was the first time I felt like I was able to help Kitty and that made all the difference in the world.
The next time she had a seizure (they occur every 3-8 weeks), I immediately picked her up and let her have a seizure in my hands. It was the first time I didn't have a breakdown.
Once the seizure is done, there's about two additional minutes that she's stunned and her muscles start tensing and curling her paws inward, like a temporary paralysis. Then she wakes up and meows like she's sad or scared and the temporary paralysis wears off.
The last time that Kitty had a seizure, I placed her on my shoulder; one of her favorite spots and I waited for her to wake up. Once she did, she meowed the sad meow but for a much shorter time. Then she was ready to eat. So, if you have recently discovered that your cat has epilepsy, here's a summary of what I learned:
| - | Cats can live for years with seizures, even elderly cats. Someone I know had a cat that developed seizures at 17 and lived another 4 years. |
| - | The first time you see your cat having a seizure will likely be the worst. From there, it gets better. You'll eventually learn how to handle seeing your good friend have a seizure. Remember they are unconscious when it's happening and they aren't hurting. |
| - | Look out for patterns that may trigger the seizures and refrain from doing that. My cat seems to be triggered by loud, irritating or repetitive noises such as knocking a fork on the side of an aluminium can, a ringing alarm clock or unwrapping crinkly paper (like a Cliff bar). |
| - | Holding your cat gently in the air by supporting its rib cage area and its stomach area lightly will allow your cat to have a seizure without running around and hurting itself. It also helps to make you feel useful. It also doesn't feel freaky, it just feels like the cat is running while you're holding him or her. |
| - | The barbiturates they recommend to suppress seizures may make things worse in the end. They can never stop taking the medicine and you have to give it to them every single day at the same time of day. If you have to go out of town for the weekend and your cat doesn't receive it's daily dose, it is likely to have a seizure. Sometimes, however, there's no other options left. |
| - | Be sure to time how long the seizures last and how often your cat is having them. This will help the vet to treat your cat. |
If you have a newly diagnosed epileptic cat and you have any questions or just want to talk, feel free to contact me.
About
-
We are IT consultants
who grew up living and loving life
in Cajun Country.
Authors
Categories
What's Your Job Title?
Loading ...
information
wants to be free
January 5th, 2010 - 12:27
My 17 year old cat, Squeak, is a diabetic, and on insulin shots twice a day.We constantly monitor him, feed him high protein food, etc. He drinks and pees a lot, a result of his system trying to rid the body of the excess sugar. He’s had a couple of seizures that have been from low blood sugar. In cats, diabetes can instantaneously reverse itself, so you give the insulin, then the pancreas turns back on and bam, no sugar. He’s had several over the last couple of years now, but as he gets older, they have been happening about once a month. He had one this morning, totally triggered by sound. Starting a couple years ago we have seen him flinch to sharp sounds (keyboard tapping, shoes on hardwood floors, etc) and I now believe that the most recent seizures are sound related and not sugar related. His kidneys are slowly failing, part of the disease, and it makes sense to me that the poor functioning kidneys are the underlying cause of his particular seizures. He has the same symptoms as above, twitching followed by full grand mal seizure, then slowly coming around, confused, walking in circles or unsteady, etc. Then he walks around the house, looking at everything, a bit unsettled, and then he’s fine the rest of the day.The seizures are always followed by voracious eating. That is a result of the low blood sugar, We give him Karo syrup, drip it into his mouth with an eye dropper, to help stop the seizures. Please note this is for diabetic cats. The vet says that the seizures won’t kill him and they are much worse to witness then they really are to the cat. Although certainly not pleasant for him either.
I will not put him on any tranquilizers since they don’t happen often and aren’t that dangerous. The best is to try and keep him safe when he seizes. I gently hold his body so he’s not banging into anything and then hold him and pet him when he comes out of it.
I told the vet about the sound twitching and she was not familiar with it. Maybe it’s time some of these vets get some updating. Looking at this site shows how many cats have these sound induced seizures, so it’s not an “unknown cause” it’s just that they don’t know.
Good luck to you all with you furry loved ones!
February 19th, 2010 - 14:52
i am so curious if anyone has learned anything more about the sound-triggered tics/twitches. even my neurologist was unfamiliar with it. i induced the cat to twitch once in his presence and he said “that’s weird”.
i have checked everything i could find on the net for brain tumor symptoms and it was not listed among them. i am reluctant to get Ruth an MRI for numerous reasons aside from the heavy cost. if i see more brain tumor-specific symptoms i may change that, and would give feedback to anyone here.
an out of left-field notion. with no awareness on the part of vets is it possible that this condition is growing in recent years. i have commented before that the tic reminds me of a less severe version of a tourette’s or prion disease (kuru, CFJ, et al) spasm and he did grow up in an era where he could have been exposed to mad cow beef. i am sure pet food was not policed as closely. the sound sensitive aspect may render this guess useless, but it is just a guess.
January 7th, 2010 - 07:59
Hi
My elderly cat Marti started having seizures when she was 19. She has had them for 2 1/2 yrs now. They started about every 5 to 6 months then got progressively worse, about every 4 to 6 wks. I found out from the internet that sodium nitrites cause seizures in elderly cats. Sodium nitrite is a preservative found in some cat foods, namely fancy feast, nine lives, and purina. Also in deli meats. Once I took my cat off that cat food..now she is on pro plan, the seizures have stopped. She has not had one in over 2 months. I am positive if I keep her off of that chemical she will stay seizure free. It mainly applies to elderly animals, by the way..she is 22 now, and doing quite well
January 12th, 2010 - 14:09
My 16 1/2 year old cat, Snow, had his first seizure about one month ago. At least, I think it was his first. And he had his second seizure today. I am so worried and sad because I can’t imagine my life without him. I took him to the vet last summer and was told that his blood work was excellent. I was so happy to hear that my little old man was doing great. Now I worry that these seizures may be a sign of his slow end. I was hoping he would be one of those cats that lived to the age of 25. My concern is that I don’t have the money to take him to the vet right now and I am looking for ideas on what i can do to make his quality of life better while I get my finances in order. I appreciate any advice I can get. I love my cat and I am not a very nurturing person. But even my daughter finds it interesting how I just melt when my little guy is around. He has been with me through some of the most difficult times in my life and I want to make sure that I honor him by taking care of him the best way I can.
January 13th, 2010 - 07:06
Thank you Chrissy and all who have shared. Mittens just began having seizures, 4 thus far one per month. Mittens is a 19 year Blue Russian mix and we’ve had her since she was a kitten. I’ve read many of the comments on this blog and will concur…her hearing has become very sensitive to certain sounds. This has been noticiable during the last year or so. She will flinch and twitch at certain sounds such as scraping her food can, tapping, rustling of paper and the like. I know two of the seizures occurred instantly with the rustling of paper. Convulsing on the floor, drooling, urinating, muted sounds and some gutteral sounds, curled spine and pawing. Last year I had her to the vet for a tooth extraction and he ran several tests. Bladder was OK but her kidneys were retaining some toxins. He suggested changing food to lower protein diet. I did and she wouldn’t eat it. So, I returned to the regular can food and continued providing dry cat food for seniors which I started some 10 years ago.
After the seizures she’s dazed and tired. She will go to eat and drink once she gets her bearings then she roams the house sniffing and exploring as though she experiencing a “new environment” or just getting reaquainted with her old environment. Also twice just prior to the seizures and after hearing the sounds of paper crinkling she bolted around the house from room to room bumping in to walls and furniture. The other two seizures I’m trying to recollect what was occuring when they happened.
January 17th, 2010 - 15:23
i tried to contact you but was unable
February 5th, 2010 - 22:20
my 19 1/2 year old cat also has seizures from the crinkling of potato chip bags. She seizes for about 45 secs to 1 minute then meows and walks in circles no peeing though, I’m really glad i found this because I thought I was imagining things. I never have taken her to a vet glad to hear she may live an even longer life.
February 12th, 2010 - 09:55
Chrissy.
I am so elated to have found your post. My 12-13 male cat (Ruth) has evidenced seizure-spectrum activity since I got him. He has been through the mill of tests and seen neurologists several times. He had radioactive iodine treatment for hyperthyroid but still had some of the symptoms attributable to that (including distressed meowing and pestering me during the night…similar to Kitty II). Epilepsy seems possible, as does a brain tumor. The problem is that his symptoms that would be tumor are not regionally consistent and MRI has risks due to kidneys, heart, and age.
The reason I am so elated to read these posts is; He has the same sound-sensitivity issues a couple of you described. I can tell they can begin to trigger seizures and they also cause a Tourette’s looking tick frequently. The same sort of sounds.Tinny, hollow, crinkling. Last night I put the cable remote down on the nightstand and it made a noise that caused him to attack it. My neurologist acted as though he has never heard of this tick (even though he saw it once) or any sound sensitivity related to neuro problems.
My question for you or Sally is. How do you help increase the kitty’s comfort level with some of the underlying stress or anxiety? Have you been able to learn more about the sound response cause or physiology?
February 22nd, 2010 - 21:03
My cat is 18 years old and recently had his first seizure (at least that I know of). My vet put him on Phenobarbital, a tiny dose, twice per day. It is a tiny amount and easy to give him and inexpensive. My vet is a cat specialist and has successfully treated several other elderly cats for seizures with this medication. This seems to be a rather common possibility for elderly cats. My cat also has sound sensitivity like several of the previous posts mentioned.
March 25th, 2010 - 07:22
Finally some posts I can relate to. Our 17 year old diabetic cat Spooky has been experiencing seizures now for 2 months (I think). I have witnessed 2 completely different types of what I believe to be seizures. The first is the most awful thing to experience which is the convulsive, lying on his side jerking, running type (he’s had 2 of these 5 wks apart). It lasts less than a minute and sometimes it takes him 5 to 15 minutes to recouperate. First thing he does once he gets his bearings is eat. Because he is diabetic, this poses an issue so I only allow him to finish what he has left in his dish from his feeding/insulin injection time. The second type of seizure is the sniffing/searching type. It is very bizarre. This type lasts longer than the convulsive type. It can go on for 5 plus minutes. He walks around the house usually following a wall or piece of furniture sniffing his way about with no regard to where he is stepping. I have watched him walk right through his water and food dishes and continue on. I have watched him get behind my computer desk and get tangled in the wires and get stuck. I have watched him circle the couch a half a dozen times just sniffing and sniffing. Last night he had one of these searching/sniffing seizure while laying on the bed next to me. He never actually stood up he just sniffed and pushed his way up towards the head of the bed moving his head back and forth sniffing. When I put him on the floor he seemed disoriented but within seconds he headed off to his food dish. I have not seen the connection between sound and seizure. Both of his convulsive siezures happened around midnight. I was sleeping and the sounds he was making woke me. It almost sounds like he is hacking up a hairball. His sniffing seizures don’t seem to have a pattern, but until last night all were daytime episodes. Since Spooky’s diabetic diagnosis 4 years ago, I have done everything I can do to accomodate him. Insulin Injections every 12 hours, diabetic dry food, etc….I called the vet a month ago and the first suggestion was bring him in, we’ll run some tests, perhaps put him on seizure meds. I refused. Insulin injections are enough both financially and commitmentwise. I love my cat, he is 17 years old and has been with me a third of my life. All in all he has a good life. My feelings are he is old and inevitably he will die one day. I will try my best to keep him out of harms way and continue to tend to his needs, but I will not add more pharmaceuticals into the mix. I don’t feel he is experiencing any pain, if I did I wouldn’t allow it. I am so glad I found this website. Hope my post helps someone.
March 30th, 2010 - 10:15
Hello,
Brodie Boy is my 16 year old male kitty. His first sound induced seizure, which occurred approximately 18 months ago, caught me completely off-guard. Brodie was asleep in my lap as I worked on my computer when a repetitive series of key strokes prompted him to abruptly awake and convulse. I rushed him to the vet and began what has turned out to be a long search for a diagnosis, answers and hopefully, a cure.
Brodie has had at least seven similar seizures since that initial episode. His sensitivity to crackling, tapping, clicking and similar sounds has increased. Three seizures were triggered while he was eating dry food and a few nuggets hit a plastic or metal surface or due to the crunch of attempting to chew multiple pieces at once. Two other attacks were set in motion by clicking bike tires and then a child striking a snare drum in an adjacent room.
Neither my vet or I have found any definitive causes for the condition. It may be associated with kidney disease and/or genetic time bombs. The best we have been able to accomplish thus far is to address the symptoms.
I now keep his dry food on sheets of paper towels, which cover a paper plate. The paper plate is positioned on a cushioned mat. This combination has reduced the risk of any nuggets striking a hard surface and generating a potentially harmful sound. I also turn on a nearby exhaust fan as white noise seems to help filter threatening sounds. This seems to help with the crunch of chewing the dry food. And, of course, Brodie gets canned food whenever he asks per his doctor’s instructions.
Filtered water and regular 60 cc injections of Lactated Ringer’s solution support his kidneys. Brodie’s BUN and creatinine numbers have changed only slightly over the past few years. There have been no unusual blood values or test results to suggest a link to the seizures.
Our options for drug treatment are limited due to the potential damage to Brodie’s kidneys. We treated him with Diazepam (.05 to 1 mg pill every 12 hours) until two months ago when we switched Brodie to Levetiracetam (0.8 ml oral solution every 8 hours) as an experiment. The Levetiracetam seems to have elevated his resistance to the sound triggers a bit, but not nearly as much as we wanted. The next step will be to explore using a combination of both drugs.
Diazepam (Valium) is fairly inexpensive, while the Levetiracetam costs $20 every three weeks. Unfortunately, both medications cause drowsiness, which means he is not nearly as active as he was pre-seizures. The only other medicine I regularly give him is Lactulose Solution (2.0 cc oral solution per day), which is excellent for promoting consistent bowel movements.
I use the words “we” and “our” when describing Brodie’s care as his condition has been a new experience for the veterinarians at his clinic. It has necessitated research, joint planning and open communication by all his caregivers to attempt to help him. There does not seem to be a magic pill or easy fix for the condition. We have even discussed muffling or purposely deadening his hearing to halt the threat or seizures and eliminate or limit the need for the medicines.
My biggest concern is Brodie’s quality of life. He eats well, goes to the bathroom regularly, drinks a ton of water due to the kidney disease and sleeps a lot. He does not seem to have any ongoing pain, only the discomfort associated with threatening sounds. I consistently pray I will know when the good no longer outweighs the bad. I love Brodie dearly, but do not want him to linger even one minute longer than what is best for him.
I wish you and your loved ones the best.
April 28th, 2010 - 15:10
Scott,
I really appreciate you posting your experience. My male cat has a very similar profile. He has only mild to moderate kidney disease (high BUN, high normal creatinine, very low end of normal specific gravity) but difficulties concentrating. First seizure a year ago (seemed to be a stress trigger) but the last several have been sound induced. He has had some things that would seem to be petite mal seizure spectrum ever since I rescued him 3 and 1/2 years ago, and has long shown tics/twitches in response to noise.
A couple of questions; Does Brodie respond to sounds in that “sharp and/or tinny” range with tics or myoclonus, even if it does not progress to seizure? Did you ever do an MRI? I have not because most symptoms don’t match well with brain tumor, although meningioma still seems a possibility. Ruth also sleeps a good deal, but I cannot really tell that this is excessive lethargy considering he is a senior cat. He grooms, eats, drinks water, etc. He does experience a higher level of anxiety at night.
I had come to the conclusion from what I have read that there was a good chance of this being related to his kidney function. My vets don’t rule it out, although they are not familiar (even the neurologist) with the symptom set I am describing. Do your vets have an opinion? Do you have any other resources to recommend? One only has to read the above posts to realize there is a reasonably sized population of cats that experience sound induced seizure. I guess us owners of such cats are waiting for veterinary knowledge to catch up.
May 8th, 2010 - 09:12
Matt,
The vets I have consulted know little about the sound induced seizure phenomenon in felines. Most of what I have learned has been gleaned from the internet. The tests and treatments have been pieced together. His BUN and creatinine have changed little over the past four years or so. Tests have ruled out a brain tumor.
Yes, Brodie responds to those certain sounds as if someone pricked him with a sharp pin. The only times the situations have progressed to seizure have been when the sounds where repeated quickly for long enough to push him over some unseen threshold.
He sleeps much of the time during the day and especially enjoys basking in the warmth of a sunny spot. A heating pad or electric blanket on low works, too. Brodie eats, drinks and makes litter box stops regularly. He does not groom nearly as much as he used to and seems to have adopted a “take me as I am” approach. Since he sleeps by my head or on my chest at night, I insist on some grooming.
I consider each seizure-free day he enjoys to be a major blessing. I can still hear the clock ticking, so I cherish each peaceful day.
Best,
Scott
May 10th, 2010 - 06:43
Put us in the “sound induced” category. My 17 yr. old Sweet Pea just started having them in the past couple of months. The first one my husband saw was induced by him tapping his pen. Crinkly noises are a guarantee. I caused the last when I squeezed the moist food pouch as I was dumping it onto her plate. Her symptoms are the same as most have already described … total system freakout … lasts less than a minute – thank God – then a period of disorientation, crying, and regrouping. So far there have been no observable residual effects other than tiredness. I’d been noticing a slight twitchy reaction to “sharp” noises for maybe a year, but couldn’t really pin it down. Now it’s an instant full seizure immediately after that kind of sound and there is absolutely no doubt. Thanks for posting this.
June 3rd, 2010 - 18:01
Mu 17 year old cat Blackie had her first seizure in Dec then April and are now becoming more frequent. Thanx to everyone on the sound induction – am now going to pay attention for that being a possible trigger. Doing bloodwork tomorrow but wonder about diabetes as she eats ravinously after her seizure. Have heard that thyroid problems could also be a cause. Has anyone had experience on this? Having old furkids is a real trial – also have my shepard0husky going thru chemo for lymphoma.
Thanx to all for the info I have gotten from all of you
June 4th, 2010 - 12:32
I am so glad I found this blog entry. Yesterday, I was home and lounging with my 16 yr. old, Little One. She’d been flinching at high, tinny sounds (especially my mouse click) for about 6 months, but I thought maybe her ears were just dirty (cleaned them), then maybe ear mites (had them checked). Yesterday, all it took was opening a potato chip bag to set her off. She flattened both of her ears, shut her eyes, and proceeded to launch herself off of the bed – running headlong into walls. I jumped off the bed to intercept her as she fell on her side and propelled herself sideways across the room using her back legs. The whole event was surreal. I caught her up in my arms and held her as she finished the seizure – about a minute. She frothed at the mouth, but there was no releasing of bowels or anything like that. Afterward, she was confused, eyes dilated, and walked around in circles. I had no idea what to do for her. I felt so helpless – like crying. It is so painful watch my friend of 16 years go through this.
She has a vet appointment today just to confirm that there’s nothing else going on – but I can’t tell you all how much your stories mean to me. They helped Little One and me sleep last night.
June 9th, 2010 - 20:46
I have a 17 yr. old cat, Clementine, who started having seizures in December. I cannot afford to have a lot of medical tests done so I am glad I found this site. I quickly deduced that her seizures were sound induced. I purchased a product called Calm Down! for cats and put it in her food. It’s a homeopathic solution to help reduce stress. The amount of seizures have decreased but I am also making an effort to not make any sudden sounds around her. I also learned not to wake her up, she’s more prone to have a seizure than if she wakes up on her own. Her weight and alertness are both good, no problems with going to the bathroom.
I love my girl – I hope to have her with me for a long time!
June 25th, 2010 - 18:17
Wow, am I glad I finally found this site. My can Pebbles (15 yrs old), Had her first seizure about 2 months ago. I was lying on my bed with her watching some TV. I was eating a bag of M & Ms when all of a sudden she went into a full seizure. She flopped to her size and was moving so much she fell off the high bed to the floor. She was propelling herself with her back legs as if she was running. It was the most frightening thing I had ever seen. The seizure lasted about 3 minutes. When it ended I rushed her to the emergency vet 30 minutes away. They ran a few tests and $600 later I had no answers.
I watched her very carefully for the next few days hardly letting her out of my sight. About a week later when I opened a bag of chips I noticed that she hunched down and seemed irritated with the sound. I had never noticed this before. No I am well aware. Whenever I open a package that makes sounds I can see her ears go back, her twitch for a minute and have the same look as the day of the seizure. She is really sensitive to the sound and if I am not carefully I can see that it will cause a seizure.
It is a relief to know that I am not nuts. I was beginning to think I was. I had never heard of anything like this. You think how can sounds trigger such a violent reaction. I feel much better now and I am very carefully when I open any packages.
Thanks for sharing your stories.
July 7th, 2010 - 20:28
Thank you, everyone. I’ve only skimmed the comments as yet, and am already grateful that you all have shared your experiences. Our fellow is 17 years old and has had several seizures in the past six months. Not sure of the cause of the initial two, but the most recent seem to be sound induced seizures. His are almost exactly four minutes in length, occur in a small space (no running into walls), and generally very violent.
The first seizure I witnessed seemed like a choking problem. Just as I pried open his mouth, the seizure kicked in and he crunched through four of my fingers for four minutes. We both went to emergency that day.
The confusion, circling the house, and howling after seizures is terrible isn’t it? Positively unnerving. They seem inconsolable. I’m very sorry to read you all and your furry friends are experiencing this. I am, however, very grateful that you are sharing your knowledge. I wish you and the kitties well.
July 11th, 2010 - 16:43
I am a member of the sound-induced seizure club also. It is comforting to read others’ stories. My 16-yr old siamese-mix cat Oscar has been having sound-induced grand mal seizures for two years. The first one was triggered by mouse clicks (he was sitting on my lap as I worked on the computer). He has had about 17 so far, and ALL have been preceded by noises that are percussive and repetitive in nature (including one in his cat carrier on the way to the vet triggered by my car’s turn signal). They used to come every 3-5 months, but have increased in frequency over time; now they come every 3-4 weeks. I have learned to recognize times when they are most likely; although he is always twitchy with those kinds of noises, his sensitivity increases dramatically for a couple of days before a seizure, so that he is visibly flinching with any clicky or crinkly noise. It is hard on our family – we tiptoe around for days until the inevitable happens. You can see the pressure building in him, waiting to blow. Today, for the first time, I decided to take control and induce it myself and get it over with. I laid out a soft towel, got ice packs ready (more on that later) and placed Oscar in front of me. I used a small wind-up toy of my daughter’s to make the noise. The seizure started right away, but I was able to help him stay safe. It was much faster than any other one he has ever had. When he recovered, he was ravenous. And now that it is over with, he is calm and I don’t have to worry that I will miss it and he will hurt himself. I don’t know that I could have brought myself to do this two years ago, but I feel like this may actually bring some peace to our family. The dread of wondering when the next seizure will be has been difficult for us. And I suspect that by triggering it myself, instead of waiting for him to blow, it was less traumatic on his body.
I have chosen not to medicate Oscar with pheno because I feel it would change the quality of his life. He is also in kidney failure (as are many of the cats written about on this page), so I don’t want to stress him with drugs if I can avoid it. The vet doesn’t believe in sound-triggered seizures. I do have him on some Chinese herbs for slowing tumor growth (as the vet thinks it is a tumor that could be the main reason for the seizures).
One of the most helpful things I have learned is to apply a gel-type icepack to his lumbar spine (the part at the end of the back, before the tail) during the seizure. This has been shown to reduce the length and severity of seizures in dogs. If you google “dog seizure icepack” you can read other people’s stories. For some reason it isn’t widely known in cat circles – maybe because cats seize less frequently. Anyway, I noticed an immediate difference in Oscar’s seizures once I started doing this. We keep two gelpacks in the freezer (I use Boo-Boo Buddies, made for kids). Whenever he seizes I grab him and run to the kitchen with him, get a gelpack, hold him on his side with one hand and hold the gelpack in place with the other. It’s easier with help. If my daughter or husband is home, they also hold one on his head (brain area). We hod them there until he is done, a few minutes. I think the gelpacks are better than ice because they aren’t quite as cold, and gradually lose their coldness.
Anyway – I hope that my experience will help someone out there.
July 12th, 2010 - 03:31
I thought about my post, and realize that it could sound very strange to some people that I intentionally made my cat have a seizure. It is not something I recommend, or that I could or would have done even a year ago. All I can say is that after two years I feel I have learned to recognize the signs that precede his seizures. Seizures are horribly upsetting to witness, and in part because we have no control over what is happening to our cat, and we are scared they will hurt themselves. (One time Oscar got a bloody tooth from his head banging against the floor before I could get to him.) Recently a friend told me about someone she knew who had epilepsy, who learned to trigger her own seizures; by doing this she regained some measure of control over their unpredictability, and could live a more or less normal life. I had been thinking a lot about that when I realized that maybe I could lessen the trauma of Oscar’s seizures by inducing them myself. As I wrote, the seizure today was much briefer than usual, and he bounced back quicker, and all day has seemed to be more comfortable than he was for the last two days when he cringed at every sound. I don’t know if I will do it again, but I may. It is a personal choice, and again – not something I would recommend for others. I do, however, highly recommend using the icepack treatment. Good luck to all -
August 17th, 2010 - 08:41
I am so thankful you all wrote your stories…my cat had a seizure just 20 minutes ago and we were freaking out
Thanks for sharing so we know what to expect!