5 Year old Orange Tabby suddenly suffering from seizures.

[rblen]

Hello, I am new to the forums and I appreciate any advice you may have for me in advance.

I'll tell you about my current situation with my dear friend kitty. He is turning 5 in a month or so now, and out of the blue he has started to have cluster seizures(roughly 2 per day). He has had a relatively normal life. He is an indoor cat, and loves to laze around the house mostly.

It all started last week when I saw that he had a twitch in his face and I though maybe it could of been a dental problem, so I searched his gums but found little. The next day he started to have another one and by this time it was occurring about twice a day. I thought I would take him in for a check up with the vet and try and determine what was going on with him. I waited until the next morning, and this seizure was alot different. He began running in a circular motion, face twitching and salivating heavily from the mouth. Each one of these last from anywhere from 15-30 seconds. Once he 'comes too' he looks around and meow's a bit and then goes straight for his food dish. After 10-15 minutes or so he is back to his regular self.

Now a little bit leading up to the seizures. My cat has always been quite a scardy cat.. He is easily spooked, and has always been kind of a lone ranger in a way.. does his own thing, comes around when he feels like it. The day before the seizures started I asked myself what had changed in the past that may have triggered these seizures and I have only come up two possibilities. I bought him some kat nip, which he never has had before. I sprinkled a pinch or so down and he rolled around and loved it. I later put some on a toy of his and left him to play. I am not sure if somehow he managed to hit his head somewhere inbetween that time, or that the nip somehow triggered some sort of epileptic break?

Here is what I have done so far. I have taken him to my vet, and he checked his temperature and made sure he didn't have any sort of fever. He looked at his pupils, and looked around a little more. He told me that to better predict what could be causing the seizures that we would likely want to do a full blood sample and tests for any irregularities.

I haven't had the blood test completed yet just because I haven't quite got the money, especially if it is going to come back normal and will result in having to do more tests and prescriptions. My Dr said that he recommended we try putting him on valium so that we can break the seizures because he has been having 2-3 / day. I started him on a dose of valium Thursday, and he is getting 2.5mg every 6 hours. This dose has pretty much sedated and he just lays there. Last night he got up around midnight and walked around and meowed for about 5 minutes. He then went back to lay down and turned and had a little bit of a seizure where his face twitched and he started salivating quite a bit. The thrashing wasn't as bad but I expect that was because he was pretty loopy and couldn't really move his body all that well anyhow.

I guess my question is, I have no idea what to do next. My Dr said we can try and put him on phenobarb, and see how he reacts to it, and see if that helps with the seizures. All I know is that having him doped up on valium all day to stop the seizures is pointless because hes like a cat with no soul, he just lays there helplessly and that is know way for him to live. He is so young at age 5, and I am shocked that this has even happened. I hope anyone out there could give me some advice on what I should do next? Should I start the phenobarb and see how that works? Or should I schedule him to get his blood work done up?

Also, I have recently changed his diet since the seizures because I read that sometimes diet can effect them also. I he was on Whiskas's for most of his life, but have recently changed to a grain-free high fat content dry food.

I appreciate any help or advice. Thanks
+6

[rblen]

It's really funny you say that because for longer than I can remember we have fed him Whiska's and would get those temptation treats quite often. Between the 3 of us in the house, he would be getting quite a few a day because he knew just how to work us each morning to get a handful from each of us!!!

I had stopped giving him those temptation treats for about a month,and then went and bought a package the day before the seizures.. SEAFOOD!

I have relayed alot of this to my vet because I was thinking the same thing as you.. Since then I have switched his diet to a grain-free , high fat cotent diet.. I am giving him some coconut oil mixed in with his food which he seems to love, and have definitely thrown out any remaining packs of those temptation treats!!

My vet seemed to think that if it were from the treats, or a toxin in his body, that it would pass through within 48 hours and he should become healthier within 3-4 days.

I appreciate your advice on the phenobarb as well, because this was a concern to me when my vet brought it up. I don't want to pay a fortunte for blood work, but thats not to say I won't pay it.. I will pay it, and I can live with that.. but what I can't live with is mis-diagnosing him with a medication that may just mask the real under lining problem, which might be resolvable with a cheaper/ less harmful medication.

I think typing alot of this out has almost been therapeutic in a way and allowed me to really figure out what I want to do next. I am going to schedule the blood work for next week, and will go from there.

Ohh, and I did give him his 1st dose of flea medication called  Revolution. I gave him his first dose of this medication in September and he didn't have any negative side effects from that, but maybe they took this long to appear?

I appreciate your input, and have written all the valid concerns I have down for my next visit with my vet. Will let you know an update when I know. Cheers.

[Jade59]

Hi again...did you happen to feed your kitty those TEMPTATIONS cat treats?  (specifically, SEAFOOD types).  In doing some research, I see everything from vomiting to death with this product.  We used to feed Jade these ALL the time.  She also used to vomit ALL the time.  She has had this issue since we got her in 06, however, once we stopped feeding her these treats, the vomiting episodes have have become fewer and farther between by Far.  

Yes, as Opus said, flea treatments and vaccines can cause this reaction in some cats, as well.  

Looking forward to your update...

[opus88]

meant to add this quote and also the drug info on Phenobarb


"quote"
Immunologically, the rabies vaccine is the most potent of the veterinary vaccines and associated with significant adverse reactions such as polyneuropathy "resulting in muscular atrophy, inhibition or interruption of neuronal control of tissue and organ function, incoordination, and weakness,"[1] auto-immune hemolytic anemia,[2] thrombocytopenia, anorexia, regional lymphadenomegaly, cutaneous ischemic vasculopathy;[3] autoimmune diseases affecting the thyroid, joints, blood, eyes, skin, kidney, liver, bowel and central nervous system; anaphylactic shock; aggression; seizures; epilepsy; and fibrosarcomas at injection sites are all linked to the rabies vaccine.[4] [5] It is medically unsound for this vaccine to be given to any animal deemed unhealthy by a veterinarian

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=522

[opus88]

hi....I too thank you for the well documented post. the ladies above have given some very good suggestions. I was wondering if you had maybe given him a flea treatment recently? these too can be toxic. or a rabies vaccine?
I found on some reading that a Thiamine deficniency from a high Fish diet can also lead to seizures. a blood test would show if there are any metabolic diseases. but it would take an EEG to spot a pattern of epilepsy. and an MRI to rule out a brain lesion, of course all these get expense, a blood test however isn't costly.
the dose of valium is indeed very high...no wonder the little guy is zonked out...request a much lower trial.
one word on Phenobaritol, it may be needed if everything else fails but it can lead to liver failure in cats. also once begun it cannot be discontinued it has to be given forever..
I also read somewhere that using extra Taurine in the food can sometimes reduce seizures. taurine is an amino acid that is normally added to cat food but sometimes isn't high enough. I make a homemade diet for one of my kitties and I add 1/4 teasp. per 6oz of food. but you can use higher as there is no trouble with too much.
good luck, and yes keep us posted we are all rooting for this little one:))

[zodiacqueen]

Hi, I've had cats a my whole life and am thinking along the same lines as Jade.  When I read over your post, my first thought was some sort of poisoning.  Could he have gotten into someones pills, or a cleaner, or has someone sprayed any insecticide?  Think really hard about this.

I would actually sit down and write a list of everything I could think of that your cat might have gotten into and bring it with you to the vet.  And, your next step is blood work.  I really do think it's very important at this point to get it done.  If it's an accidental poisoning it will show up in the kidney or liver values.  If cost is a problem, call your local ASPCA.  They are very very reasonable.

Please keep us posted.

[rblen]

Thank you for your feedback. I think we will go ahead with the blood tests.. I was not aware of all the things that could potentially cause seizures. ie) liver shunts, diabetes, hyperthyrodism.. Its best to get the tests to rule those out I suppose better be safe than sorry.

I did check for toxic chemicals around my condo and removed anything I thought he could of gotten into..

It was just so strange that all of a sudden with no warning he started showing these symptoms and having 3 seizures a day with no past history of this kind of behaviour. Guess we will see waht the tests have to say. Thanks for the support.

[Jade59]

Hello and Welcome...thank you for going in to so much detail, that is always helpful.  Other than through head injuries, I know nothing about seizures, but my first thought is...could the catnip have been tainted?  Where did it come from?  I'm sure you've removed any trace of it by now?  I am just trying to think of things that may suddenly bring seizures on.  Do you use those toilet cleaners that you stick on the inside of the bowl...and maybe kitty got into the toilet bowl?  Plants?  

I'm not surprised to hear how kitty is acting on the Valium, as that dose is HIGH for a little cat.  I was given 2mgs to help my bladder relax, ONCE A DAY, and could definitely feel it.

If I were you, I would have the bloodwork done next.  I know it's expensive (we are dealing with a sick kitty ourselves), but well worth it to find out what is wrong with your boy.  Forget the Valium, and try the phenobarb while waiting for the results.  

I'm sorry not to be of much help, just wanted to reach out to you anyway.  I wish you the best of luck.  Hugs to you; I'll be keeping up with your thread....