Kitten Seizure?

I got in three 4-week old kittens last Thursday night. There mom was killed by a dog protecting them. They came into our rescue on Monday night and I picked them up to care for them Thursday. Well everyone was doing wonderful, eating, drinking, playing, going to the bathroom, until Friday night. Around 11:30 Friday night one of the kittens started throwing up. So I kept an eye on him trying to find out if he was ok. I went and sat back down on the couch but had the cage in site. About 10 minutes later I walked back over there and this kitten clearly had something wrong. His eyes were glazed over and rolling back into his head, he had peed and pooped all over himself, he couldn't lift his head up to walk he dragged it, and it all started going downhill from there. I had no idea what to do so I put him on a heating pad and syringe fed him some mushed wet food and called my rescue director at 1:00 a.m. crying for help. She told me to give the kitty Karo Syrup and if he made it through the night at 8:00 a.m. bring him to the vet (our emergency clinic would euthaize a kitten that age). Anyways I was POSITVE this kitten was going to die. He was barely breathing, couldn't move at all, and was just limp for about another hour. Around 2:30 a.m. he started meowing at me! But then he started walking in circles. Anyways, still with no sleep yet, I kept watching him. Around 4:00 a.m. he started eating, drinking, meowing and playing like nothing ever happened. I watched him until 7:30 a.m. when I left my house and headed for the vet. They found absolutely NOTHING wrong with him but said everything I described was the behavior of a kitten after a seizure. How could this happen and then the kitten have nothing wrong? I am sooo worried. She has been compeletely ok since Friday night but why did this happen and what are the chances of it happening again?

Well, first of all - good work. Your instincts are excellent.

(I'd ask why the emergency clinic won't treat a kitten that age considering that they often respond well to just IV fluids and dextrose, but that's a whole different story.)

I don't know a lot about kittens and seizures but I know there is a Yahoo group dedicated to people with epileptic cats (I don't know the address or anything, unfortunately). You probably will find very knowledgeable people there.

Hopefully whatever this was, it was a one-time random thing and it won't happen again. But if not, then you can pursue further diagnostics with the vet.

Originally Posted by ryobious

. About 10 minutes later I walked back over there and this kitten clearly had something wrong. His eyes were glazed over and rolling back into his head, he had peed and pooped all over himself, he couldn't lift his head up to walk he dragged it, and it all started going downhill from there. I had no idea what to do so I put him on a heating pad and syringe fed him some mushed wet food and called my rescue director at 1:00 a.m. crying for help. She told me to give the kitty Karo Syrup and if he made it through the night at 8:00 a.m. bring him to the vet (our emergency clinic would euthaize a kitten that age). Anyways I was POSITVE this kitten was going to die. He was barely breathing, couldn't move at all, and was just limp for about another hour. Around 2:30 a.m. he started meowing at me! But then he started walking in circles like he was retarded. Anyways, still with no sleep yet, I kept watching him. Around 4:00 a.m. he started eating, drinking, meowing and playing like nothing ever happened. I watched him until 7:30 a.m. when I left my house and headed for the vet. They found absolutely NOTHING wrong with him but said everything I described was the behavior of a kitten after a seizure. How could this happen and then the kitten have nothing wrong? I am sooo worried. She has been compeletely ok since Friday night but why did this happen and what are the chances of it happening again?

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Hi. I would recommend that you get a chest x-ray for your little one if you can afford it. It may be a one-time thing or your cat may be epileptic, which is difficult but manageable, but it also may be indicative of feline cardiopathy (enlarged heart), which is sometimes accompanied by fluid in the chest cavity or abdomen. I lost my little Peanut because of this, and he was seizing.
Not to scare you...it is probably not that, but it may be good to check. If you catch cadiopathy soon enough, you can prevent further trauma. It's a great sign that the emerg. vet didn't hear a heart murmur.

Again, not to scare you. I wish you the best of happenings.
Beth

Our rescue can't afford to get a chest X-ray of the little kitty right now. We have had emergency after emergency in the last month so are funds are a little low. I also had a kitten die on me a couple years ago because of an enlarged heart and it was terrible! This girl seems to be doing very well now and I am hoping this was a one time thing. My rescue's director's first thought was epilepsy too since kittens this age usually don't get diabetes. I will just keep my fingers crossed and my eyes on her for the next couple weeks and hope for the best! I can't tell you how devestated I was when this happened. I really thought I was going to lose this baby. I thought there was absolutely no chance in the world this kitty was going to make it through the night! I know I can't save them all and in rescue work not everyone makes it but it devestates me to no end every time!

Hope it was a one time thing.