Seizures in cats

My cat Taffy who was 6 years old passed away in October 22, 2009 as she was having a seizure so I took her to the vet and she was badly dehydrated although she was eating dry wellness core food and fancy feast wet food. She got sadly worse and had a severe seizure after the vet put her on an I.V. fluid and anti-inflammatories and antibiotics and her heart stopped and the vet couldn't revive her.

In July 2009 , she had her first seizure and I took her to an emergency clinic 30 minutes away the day after her seizure stopped and they checked her and gave me some pills to give her if she had another seizure but she didn't until October 22nd..the day she died.

I took her into her own vet a month later August 2009 for her yearly physical and shots. They got the invoice and notes from the emergency clinic and I told them about the pills but they assumed she got into something.

Neither of these vets did blood and urine tests. I have no idea what caused these seizures. My vet in October who put Taffy on the I.V. assumed that she either got into something (poisoned), an infection or something is wrong with one of her organs. I suggested along with my mom was to put her on an I.V. and do blood work but the tests never got done as Taffy got worse and died.

What are your thoughts if something happened to one of your cats like this? I know I did all that I could. I couldn't give Taffy any of the pills on October 22nd as she had the seizure from 11pm October 21st until I took her into the vet on October 22nd and you have to give the pills to the cat after the seizure stopped and it never did.

I miss Taffy so much. Its been hard but I know that she's a kitty angel now.

Hugs,
Anne

I am very sorry for your loss, and have lost two cats to seizures over the last 15 years. The first one died from a severe reaction to the cheap flea medication. He licked the oily spot when he was sleeping in my bed, and the next thing I knew, I woke up to him having a seizure. I was only about 14 at the time, and my mother would not take him to the vet at that time of night. So passed Crybaby.

The other was a beautiful rescue. His name was Blacky, (at the time we already had Soot, Midnight, and Coal, his siblings) and he was long haired and solid black. His seizure was from a snake bite, and he died before I could get him to the animal hospital.

If your cat was allowed outside at all, it could have been reactions to something like a snake bite, or rat poisoning. If your cat was indoor only, it could still have been a reaction to anything from flea meds to cleaning supplies to something strange they ate, if they suffered from Pica.

It's never easy to lose a cat, even harder when you don't know exactly what the cause is. Shame on the vets for not giving you more information. If you have any other cats that were related to the one that passed, it would be worth the vet trip to see if any of them have any neurological issues and get some labs done to check to see if it's a genetic thing that causes the seizures.

Again, I'm sorry for your loss. Welcome to TCS.

I have 2 seizure cats currently - 1 is my own, 1 is a foster. My cat has infrequent seizures, and does not require medication. Bloodpanels reveal her internal organs are in good health. The other, the foster kitty, will require Phenobarbitol/an anti-seizure medication 2x/day for life. Bloodwork last week revealed her internal organs are in good health.

More often than not, seizures in cats is caused by epilepsy, according to my vet. Basically, there is no particular reason.

My Manx had them from the time we got her asa kitten until she died from one at age 11.
TY was having then non stop when he was pts Nov 20th 2009.
It was his liver.

I'm sorry to hear about your Taffy. My youngest cat (Marvin) began having grand mal seizures the day after his neuter surgery, at about 5 months of age. They continued here and there for about 7 months. At that time, he had an ultrasound and extensive blood work to rule out liver shunt, and continues to have full vet screens done 2x a year now at age 2 (now just to see how his liver is handling his medication). He's been on Phenobarbital 2x day since his seizures began, and (thankfully) it's now been one year since his last episode.

In his case, despite all the testing, we just don't know what caused this (although I have my suspicions about the anesthesia), and therefore his diagnosis is Idiopathic Epilepsy. Seizure disorders in older cats are more common (if any are truly 'common'), and an underlying cause can usually be found. With a young cat, my understanding is that many times you just don't know what the cause is. If his/her body is otherwise healthy, it could just be their 'wiring'.

Again, sorry to learn of your loss.

Thank you for all your advise and condolences on my cat Taffy. She did go outside but stayed in all night. My cats Taffy and Misty , who I own now were adopted from two different shelters. I got Taffy when she was 1 1/2 years old at an OSPCA shelter and Misty was 1 and I got her from my own town's shelter four months after I got Taffy.

It could of been anything and I'm glad now that she is not suffering anymore and at peace. Misty is doing just great. She will be 6 years old in January 2010.

I guess I'll never know what caused it but the vet did say Epilepsy but they never diagnosed it. Well, I thank you for all your feedback though as it helps me alot.

Hugs,
Anne

Welcome Anne, and I am very sorry for the loss of your beloved Taffy. My Tolly boy has a seizure disorder, it started when he was three years old. He is 11 now, and has been taking phenobarbital for 8 years. He gets blood work annually, including a phenobarbital level test.

Tolly had all the tests done, I am fortunate to live only a two hour drive from Cornell University. The Companion Animal Hospital there is terrific. He saw a neurologist, had a brain scan and all kinds of tests. His diagnosis is Idiopathic Partial Seizure Disorder. (Idiopathic means they don't know the cause)

His are considered partial seizures because he does not have epileptic fits. Rather, he has fly chasing episodes, where he runs around and around chasing a bug that is not there, biting his flank, biting the floor, crashing into things. FHS (Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome) was considered as a possible diagnosis, but the neurologist ultimately decided it was indeed seizure activity.

It took about 18 months to find the lowest possible dose needed to control the episodes. Tolly has now been seizure free for over 6 years. I will never take him off the medication. I have had people suggest to me that I stop it now "to see what happens". It's not worth it to me. The episodes were horrific, and I never want to see him go through that again.

The danger of phenobarbital is liver damage, and I will face that when we come to it. There are other medications, potassium bromide, that can be tried. If his life is shortened by a few years, at least it was a life filled with pleasure and quality. His prognosis way back then was 10 years. he's 11 now and still in perfect health.

I am so sorry for what happened to your Taffy. Sometimes there just aren't any answers.

Hurry for you for adopting from shelters. Perhaps there will come a time when you will be ready to get Misty another brother or sister. You might want to consider keeping Misty and any other cat in future inside.

Thanks for your thoughtful condolences to Taffy. We are still thinking about getting a new cat for Misty. So far Misty is doing great on her own.