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Seizure/Fainting & Low Appetite?

post #1 of 17
1/27/11 at 7:17pm
Thread Starter 
My cat has been having seizures or fainting, I’m not exactly sure what it is. The first time it happened he seemed to be twitched and freaking out, but the last few times he just kind of puts his head down and doesn’t move. His eyes dilate and he begins panting, but isn’t really responsive for about a minute. Afterwards, he slowly returns to normal, first just looks around and then eventually gets up. He seems to go to his food immediately and eat everything in the bowl.

He hasn’t had one of these episodes in the last few days, but his appetite is poor. He’ll eat a few treats or take a few licks of his food, but rarely eats more than a couple bites. He’s had pancreatitis for a few years, but in the past he would just stop eating entirely and he never had these seizure episodes before. Lately his mood seems normal, but he is not active at all. He spends most of the day lying around wherever we are, and although he hasn’t been very active in years, he usually moves a lot more than this. We are giving him some Pepcid AC in case it is the pancreatitis, but I’m not convinced that would have caused the seizures.

In the last year or so he has been howling a lot more. He generally will go downstairs and howl if he doesn’t see us. As soon as we call him, he stops and comes to us. Also, his thirst seems to have increased. He has always drank out of the faucet, but he spends more time drinking and is seemingly still thirsty after drinking, since he goes for more water shortly thereafter.

If anyone has any idea what might be going on, I’d love to hear it. He’s been traumatized at the vet before, so between his age and the pancreatitis, we don’t want to bring him back. Any information that can be provided will be much appreciated.
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post #2 of 17
1/27/11 at 7:59pm
Glad you found this site. And so sorry about your cat having some health issues. I know you said he gets stressed going to the vet. Most cats do. But I seriously would take him in. With the combo of health issues going on, I wouldn't wait. Increased thirst could mean a few things, i.e., diabetes being one. And the fact that he seems so lethargic and hungry after these episodes can be common with epilepsy. Really the only thing most would say is to take your cat to the vet. Someone might have some other answers for you and hopefully very soon!! Good to you and your cat.
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post #3 of 17
1/27/11 at 8:14pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you Feralvr. I know it sounds like he should be taken in, but honestly, I feel like there isn't much that can really be done based on his age and history. Between the costs and the fact that they will probably want to keep him overnight, I don't think we'll be able to do it. Over the last few years we've brought him in for the pancreatitis, but only got that diagnosis after three vets and thousands of dollars. I was concerned about diabetes, but would that really cause him to faint like this? I'm thinking he may have hypoglycemia, but AFAIK, that's only caused by an insulin overdose in diabetes. Even if it is diabetes, administering insulin daily is unfortunately not an option. Financially it is unfeasible as is the twice-daily regimen.

One thing I read about the seizures, is that with a seizure it would take hours for a cat to return to normal. He seems to recover fairly quickly in terms of mood, I'd say within five minutes. The site I was reading seemed to claim that recoveries of that speed are not seizures but rather fainting.
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post #4 of 17
1/27/11 at 8:34pm
How old is your cat? I don't think you posted that. I have a dog, Wilbur, a twelve year old, and he is everything to me. He has many health issues, one of which is similar to your cat. They call them Elemental tremors/seizures. It is neurological. The drugs to control it would cause other side effects, so I opted NO at this time due to his age and past history of health problems and a few surgeries as well.

I am wondering if it is a heart condition????? That could cause these episodes/blackouts and the other symptoms. I do understand about the costs of treating our pets and only you can determine what is right for you and your cat. But bottom line, we don't want the cat to be uncomfortable and just a visit to the vet shouldn't cost that much, right?? If after discussing things with your vet and the costs involved, you can then along with you vet decide what is best. Most office visits where I live are around $50.00. And it sounds like you have some sort of relationship with your vet caring for this cat, so he would know the history and could help you determine what could be going on with your cat. Right??
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post #5 of 17
1/27/11 at 8:48pm
Thread Starter 
I could have sworn I wrote his age, but I think I reworded the post and left it out by mistake. He's turning 15 this summer and has had numerous times already where we thought it would be the last night with him over the years.

Thanks for the info on the tremors, and sorry your dog is experiencing them as well. The possibility of a heart condition popped into my head too actually. I discussed bringing him to the vet with my family, but the consensus was that no matter what, they're going to want to perform a variety of tests on him, which we don't want both for his comfort and unfortunately for financial reason. Also, any of the potential diseases I've looked up, whether it's pancreatitis, diabetes, or heart disease, there is no feasible way of treatment, adding to our hesitation to bring him in. I feel like we would be unnecessarily stressing him out and end up leaving without helping him at all. I agree we don't want him to be uncomfortable, but his actions seem to not to indicate discomfort, unlike past pancreatic flareups, when he would lay in odd positions to take the pressure off.
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post #6 of 17
1/27/11 at 9:03pm
Wouldn't your vet just understand that you want a consultation as to his opinion on what "might" be going on with your cat? You shouldn't feel that bringing him in would commit you to all sorts of costly test. You are looking for guidance and need to decide to treat or just keep the cat comfortable for as long as possible at this time. And that financial constraints play a role in your decision as well. It sounds like you have taken wonderful, loving care of your cat over the years and I applaud you for that. . It is hard, isn't it when our companion pets get old and we have tough decisions about their care. I wish I could tell you what to do and help more than I am. I am so lucky in that I have a vet (15 years we have worked together) who I trust completely and we discuss all options, possibilities and diagnosis, and then I have some concrete facts to go on to make my decisions. You love your cat, I can tell. Wish I could say more.... I hope someone else comes to read this thread and offer some advice, as there are alot of experienced people out there in TCS land. I am signing off for the night and will check in tomorrow. OK??!! Good vibe to your cat tonight
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post #7 of 17
1/27/11 at 11:09pm
Thread Starter 
I actually suggested a consultation as you said to my family but they felt like we wouldn't get any useful information from that. It's still an option, although the fact he stopped having those seizure for the last few days makes me feel like we may be able to just continue monitoring him for now.

It's definitely hard seeing them get old, especially when you see them in pain or temporarily paralyzed from a seizure. I hope this is just a passing phase and we're not stuck with a very tough decision down the line if it ends up where he's uncomfortable. He's had many close calls, including the first week we got him, when he had an allergic reaction to a vaccine and was at death's door. You can't imagine how happy I am that he's made it all these years already, but hopefully he still has a few more.

Thank you for your concern. I know ideally he'd see a vet, but I figured at least in the mean time, I would check online and see if anyone has experienced anything similar. The one vet that finally diagnosed his pancreatitis had only seen him for that one time, so unfortunately we don't have a relationship anything like the one you've established with yours.
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post #8 of 17
1/28/11 at 6:25am
I do feel for you and it is so hard when our pets are getting older with failing health. I am glad you found this site and was hoping other's would have responded to this thread over night with possibly having the same issue with one of their cats. Hang in there and I am glad your cat has been better these past few days because when they get to be fifteen they are definitely senior cats who we want to keep comfortable and happy for the time they have left. The meowing at night could be the start of senility and some confusion so just going to him and comforting him is what he needs. I had an very old cat (who has past a few years back) that roamed around the house meowing on occasion like she didn't know where she was or where anyone was. I would go to her and pick her up and bring her back to bed and then she would settle and be herself again. Hope your cat is feeling better today
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post #9 of 17
1/28/11 at 6:49am
It does not take "hours" for a cat to recover from seizures. Every cat is different of course, but that is just not true in all cases or even most.

I have a cat with a seizure disorder. Eating voraciously after an episode is very common.

Please take your cat to the vet. You aren't a vet so you don't know what can be done. Perhaps he's developing hyperthyroid disease or high blood pressure (which the crying points to). Both easily treatable with medication.

Don't give up on him just because he's 15 and has a chronic illness. Get him to the vet for diagnosis and treatment.
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post #10 of 17
1/28/11 at 12:30pm
He has to go to a vet. If this was a human I highly doubt you would say the same thing. Maybe we should have let my grandfather die years before he did(he was buried on his 84th birthday) because he was old and had 2 chronic illnesses. He had essential tremor(it's kind of like Parkinson's disease, he'd had it as far back as I can remember and I'm 31, he was only in his 50's when it started) here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_tremor and he only had one lung(he lost the other at 70 due to cancer.) I guess he shouldn't have gone to the doctor when he was ill or go in for checkups, or we should have let him die from the lung cancer(we only would have lost the last 14 years we had with him), after all by your reasoning he was old and had a chronic illness so why go to the doctor, just let him die even if what he had was easily treatable or curable(OK the lung removal wasn't easy but it cured the cancer.) That is the same thing you are doing to your cat, just telling him he might as well die because you aren't going to do anything to help him. I want to say my grandfather was sharp and lived on his own and still drove right up to the end.

He has to go to the vet to be checked out, if you refuse then at least take him in to end his misery. If you won't help him medically then the kindness thing to do would be to end his suffering. I don't know about you but I think having seizures or whatever go on untreated would constitute suffering to me. He has a medical problem, no one on any message board could help you beyond saying he HAS to go to a vet so they can find out what is wrong.

Seriously, you have 2 choices- vet to be treat or vet to be euthanized. Don't force him to suffer because you won't take him to a doctor for treatment. Most likely he has an easily treated problem but if you refuse to treat it all you're doing is forcing him to suffer.

I spent thousands of dollars(in vet bills) on a cat that only lived to be 17 months old and had a FATAL virus(feline leukemia) from birth, and I don't regret a dime I spent on Attitude. I knew there was no chance of a cure or even a treatment for the leukemia, but she still went to the vet when she was sick and when everything had been exhausted the vet helped her cross the rainbow bridge. Less than a week before her death I spent over $200 for a vet appointment to see if there was anything else that could be tried, we tried one last thing, a fungal test and a different antibiotic. The antibiotic failed and she got worse. I actually had her put to sleep before I got the results of the fungal test but it was negative when it came back so it didn't change anything. I don't regret the money I spent on that either.

I'm sorry if this sounds rough or mean, I'm not meaning it to sound that way. Please take your cat to the vet.

Taryn
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post #11 of 17
1/28/11 at 2:20pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you for the replies. I'm going to continue researching what he may have, but as I said, he has not had any seizure since this weekend. It's interesting to hear that eating voraciously after a seizure is common, because I did not find much about that online. The main point of posting was to get an idea of what he may have, if anyone else has experienced a similar situation, and then evaluate the likelihood of being able to treat it. Considering surgery and daily medications are not an option, that doesn't mean many things to actually do, hence our delay to go to the vet.

Taryn, honestly, I think you need to ease up with judging my family's decisions. It's ironic that you used your grandfather, because once people hit the upper 70s and 80s, many people decide to refrain from surgery/treatment due to their age. That's a very personal decision, and one that only a family can make. 15 years old for a cat is the equivalent to a mid 70s person, and considering my cat has had other health problems throughout his life, he is effectively even older. Coincidentally I happen to know a lot about the dilemma of treating terminal and senior patients, as I am working to become a surgeon.

You may not have regretted the thousands of dollars you spent, but that sort of money for 17 months is unfortunately not an option at this time for my family. We have already spent thousands on my cat, and much of it was spent without any new information or treatment. That was earlier in his life however, which we don't regret either, but the situation has changed since then.

I certainly love my cat, and will ensure that he is not suffering. That said, seizures themselves are not what I consider suffering, for animals or humans. They are not painful and the only real danger is from falling during one. You may think that justifies euthanasia, but I certainly disagree at the frequency that they are occurring right now. If it happened every day, things would have to be reevaluated, but it's only happened for a total of three days in his life.

If anyone has any more ideas about what could possibly be affecting him, I would love to hear them.
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post #12 of 17
1/28/11 at 2:39pm
I don't know where you live, but if you are in a warmer climate, my thought would be feline heartworm disease. if he does have this and it isn't treated, he will die. If you live where there is 7 feet of snow on the ground right now- then he isn't a candidate for it. he really does need to see a vet though only a vet can really tell you what is wrong
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post #13 of 17
1/28/11 at 2:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hissy View Post
I don't know where you live, but if you are in a warmer climate, my thought would be feline heartworm disease. if he does have this and it isn't treated, he will die. If you live where there is 7 feet of snow on the ground right now- then he isn't a candidate for it. he really does need to see a vet though only a vet can really tell you what is wrong

Not quite. We don't have quite seven feet, but more than half that, and the temp hasn't been above 28, and usually much lower, in a couple of months, but we have heart worm disease in cats here now too. Vets, at least at the clinic I go to, routinely test for it in cats now.
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post #14 of 17
1/28/11 at 3:32pm
Thread Starter 
I'm in NY, and he's an indoor cat (and only pet), so I figured that would be safe to rule out.
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post #15 of 17
1/28/11 at 3:36pm
That is a myth, just to let you know. In a recent study in NC 28% of cats tested for heartworm had the disease. ALL these cats were indoor only cats. Mosquitos can get in anywhere- just because you keep them indoors doesn't mean they are safe. It is a nasty disease and not easily treated in cats- because once the worm dies, it causes more damage than if just left to live and if the worm is fully matured and passes away inside the cat- the cat will die days later.
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post #16 of 17
1/28/11 at 4:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by otto View Post
Not quite. We don't have quite seven feet, but more than half that, and the temp hasn't been above 28, and usually much lower, in a couple of months, but we have heart worm disease in cats here now too. Vets, at least at the clinic I go to, routinely test for it in cats now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nyr56 View Post
I'm in NY, and he's an indoor cat (and only pet), so I figured that would be safe to rule out.
See my post above yours. No you cannot rule out heartworm,, mosquitoes come in the house. I too live in NY, a very cold snowy part of NY, and as I said, vets here routinely test cats for heartworm, because it is here.

But anyway, I don't understand letting a cat go on, obviously ill, and not doing anything about it. Not eating, seizures, howling, "laying around", any one of those things would have me at the vet with my cat, senior or not.

(And yes, voracious appetite after a seizure is quite common. Excessive affection may also be noticed.)
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post #17 of 17
1/28/11 at 5:26pm
Hi, please see my notes below...
Quote:
Originally Posted by nyr56 View Post
Also, any of the potential diseases I've looked up, whether it's pancreatitis, (Treatable) diabetes (not curable, but treatable), or heart disease (not curable, but treatable), there is no feasible way of treatment, adding to our hesitation to bring him in. I feel like we would be unnecessarily stressing him out and end up leaving without helping him at all. I agree we don't want him to be uncomfortable, but his actions seem to not to indicate discomfort (IMHO he is showing signs of discomfort... He is not eating, is lethargic, and howling... These are all signs of discomfort), unlike past pancreatic flareups, when he would lay in odd positions to take the pressure off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nyr56 View Post
I certainly love my cat, and will ensure that he is not suffering. IMHO he is suffering... But he can't say it like a human being... All those signs in a cat, indicate suffering.
Quote:
Originally Posted by otto View Post

But anyway, I don't understand letting a cat go on, obviously ill, and not doing anything about it. Not eating, seizures, howling, "laying around", any one of those things would have me at the vet with my cat, senior or not.

I can't either...
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