Cat related question
We have a calico Reese, who is about ten years old and recently, like within the last week or so has been going through what seems like seizures. She'll be sitting or laying still, and then without warning, she'll start twitching and sometimes she'll roll over on her side. This twitching only lasts for a few seconds, but is long enough for it to seemingly confuse Reese as once it's over, she just sits there for a few seconds and then gets up and walks away like nothing happened. And maybe to her, nothing did happen. This sadly happens when she's laying on chairs, tables or any elevated surface which puts her at great risk of rolling of and onto the floor where she could be injured from said fall. We've got an appointment to see the Vet, but I was just wondering if anyone has any experience or insight for us now. This is 'Jen's' cat and she will not take bad news about her well at all. So i'm fearing the worst at this point. Thanks, Vance |
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I'm so sorry your poor kitty (and you guys) is going through this.  My cats are younger, so I don't have any personal experience. My neighbor's poodle had seizures. Along with meds from the vet, they were told to put fish oil on his food. Let's just say, the fish oil seemed to help some since they didn't want to spend any money on him and refused the meds.  They also noticed his seizures were worse near the time for a full moon. While this may or may not be a similar thing across the board, it may help know when to keep a closer watch on her.I hope you get good news at the vet and find out how to help sweet little Reese. Keep us posted.  |
| I'm very sorry that your Reese is having seizures. She's fortunate to have a loving, observant family. I have had two geriatric kitties & may be able to give a general sense of what to expect. I will apologize in advance for being guarded, as senior kitty seizures are always concerning. After taking a history, the vet should do a complete physical with neurological evaluation. A comprehensive senior blood panel will likely be run to rule out diseases which may predispose Reese to seizures via electrolyte imbalance etc. Uncontrolled hyperthyroidism, liver or kidney disease can also cause seizures via encephalopathy. In those cases, treating the primary disease should resolve the seizures. Another potential cause may be clots causing transient ischemic attacks (TIAs). Suspicion for this goes up is Reese has a heart murmur. Unfortunately, epilepsy is far less common in cats than in dogs or humans. In an older cat, a brain tumor is the most common cause of seizures. (For younger cats & also those who roll around with an OES, we'd worry about head trauma). About 50% of those tumors will be meningiomas. A smaller percentage will be metastatic brain lesions from a cancer elsewhere in the body. There are other benign leisions, but they are more rare and I cannot give an estimate as it's been a few years since i read the literature. X-rays will not be helpful for a primary brain tumor diagnosis. MRI's are cost-prohibitive, esp as the results would not change the treatment, which is to control seizures with medication (eg phenobarbital). There are some specialists who will operate, but meningiomas tend to reoccur. That said, kitties can do very, very well on phenobarb & sometimes seizures can be controlled for many months to years, depending on the cause and extent of the primary cause. I will cross my paws and say a prayer for Reese & your family to receive good news this week. |
| My only experience with seizures is with humans, so I'm not of any help. I just wanted to say I'm sorry Reece/you and your wife are going through this. I hope you can find your answer as to what it is and cause. |
| No experience with seizures but I have experience with getting bad news about my cats health so I feel for you. Sending wishes for good news  |
| I don't have much experience with seizures in cats, but that's certainly what it sounds like. Just a thought - have you brought in a new houseplant recently? Or something else she may have started nibbling on? Good luck at the vet. Hoping it is something manageable. |
| That's scary... hope you hear something good at the vets. |
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