Scary stuff -- Shylo just had a seizure in front of me

From elation to Hendrick going OTJ to abject terror as I watched Shylo seize right after hacking up a big hairball. He had finished ejecting the hairball and went to walk away when it was like all his limbs suddenly went tense and he flopped on his side, eyes wide as his limbs all extended out from his body at weird angles and he flailed around. It lasted a few seconds and then he recovered, howled a few times, walked a few feet and now he is just sitting loaf-style and hasn't moved for 10 minutes or so.

Talked to our vet, described what I saw, they can't see him they are booked solid. They said they recommend taking him to the local ER vet immediately.

 

well the local ER vet won't see him they said just one seizure that lasted only a few seconds, for now just monitor and if he has one that lasts longer than 3 minutes or if he has 2 within 24 hours, then call them back or take him to my regular vet if possible

what a terrifying #$%^ experience watching him seize I thought he was dying. Called wife she ran home quick, on the phone with our old vet maybe they have a spot.

was it @jillnc1 with Mac and seizures? Not sure if I am remembering that right.

 

no it was @LoufsMama I think. Sorry for the tag Jill, nm.

I found some old threads, looks like phenobarbitol is often prescribed. The ER vet said it's not an emergency unless he has one that lasts for more than 3 minutes or has seizures twice within a 24 hour window.

 

OMG how terrifying! And how utterly distressing are those Vet responses.
Sending positive thoughts and prayers your family's way.

 

as far as what could have caused it, all of the reading I have done has not helped me one bit. Toxin ingestion, various diseases, several possibilities but nothing that makes any sense or that we can put a finger on. I guess there's a chance it's like, a one-time deal and doesn't happen again? For some reason I don't think this is likely.

 

I've never dealt with this in a cat but Cynthia's mom had a seizure right in front of us, about 20 seconds of a blank look and then it was over. I was under the impression "seizure" meant flopping limbs and a lot more drama than what we saw. The doctor set me straight on that.
In our case it was a one-time deal, no amount of testing gave us a reason. Neurology is a strange dark world, I've been there.
The weekend is here so emergency means triple the price with vets who will assume you know nothing about your cat. Just keep an eye on Shylo and don't drive yourself crazy looking for an answer that isn't there. You might want to keep your phone handy for video "proof" which might get you somewhere at the vet.

 

Seizures are scary but depending on the cause can be controlled by medication. I used to have a dog that had seizures. Once we put her on phenobarbital she went from having multiple seizures daily to only a few each month. I had her for several years after that.

 

I did whip out my phone and start recording but it was already over. I cannot imagine watching a cat spasm like that for 3 solid minutes, I would lose my mind

ty for the post and your perspective.

 

Thank you for this, exactly why I posted, was looking to hear from someone who had dealt with something similar. I guess it's a waiting game now to see if he has another.

 

I get a little nuts sometimes checking the basement for anything toxic that might be oozing from a rusty can. Having a cat swallow a staple will do that to you.
He pooped out the staple, a one time thing which with a bit of luck will be you too.

 

My buddy at work has a husky that has recurring seizures (actually how I chose my vet though unfortunately he has no experience with TR he's been wise enough to sign off on the protocol and step into an advisory position with regards to insulin). The way he's described it is a good vet who knows their pharmacology well can go a long way to reducing frequency if it comes to it but it can be a bit of trial and error until they dial the dosages. But hopefully this a one time deal or worst case something predictable like epilepsy.

 

So, oddball opinion...maybe he ran out of air from the hacking?

Seizures are the hardest things to diagnose, hoping very much it was one time thing.

 

@Butters & Lyla
@Suzanne & Darcy

I had a civvie who had the occasional seizure. Never figured out what caused them. Do not pick up a seizing cat. Place your arms or pillows in a circle around them to prevent injury. The seizures I saw happened on the bed. Not a great time to hit the floor.

 

It's painful to watch but you just have to ride it out and prevent further injury.
Be thankful you've never seen a grand mal seizure up close and personal.

 

Kyle, I am just reading this. That must have been scary. And I think the response from the vet was pretty poor.
No such think as no spot in the day for a sick cat…they can always make room.
I had a dog that had repeated seizures in the middle of the night and it was horrible to see.

More recently one of my cats had 3 strange little seizure type episodes on different occasions. Not full blown seizures.
The vet checked her and then said she could just have phenobarbital or we could do some blood tests. She wanted to check for toxoplasmosis which we all thought was not likely but better to get it checked as toxoplasmosis can cause neurological symptoms.
It came back positive and she had to have a month long course of antibiotics.
And so far since then she has been fine. And the funny thing is, she also used to have what we thought was an allergy around her eyes where they watered and above the eyes was always a bit swollen and red, which she has had since she came to us, now all that is gone.
I hope Shylo has settled down and is OK.

 

thanks Bron yeah he seems 100% himself atm, like it never happened

 

How scary!! Praying it is a one off and you can continue enjoying Hendrick’s OTJ achievement!

 

I thought it was just a given that every person here has been exposed to toxoplasmosis mainly by dusty litter and that it was a compromised immune system that put you in real danger. It's been found everywhere from penguins to crocodiles to polar bears. The most prevalent parasite on the planet.
The myth about babies and cats is based on this. It's just an old wives tale yes?

 

If a cat is infected with toxoplasmosis it can effect it in many ways including neurologically. The treatment is a long course of a particular antibiotic.

 

From Wikipedia
>The parasite is known to reproduce sexually only in the cat family.
>Up to half of the world's population is infected by toxoplasmosis, but have no symptoms.
>Toxoplasmosis can be difficult to distinguish from primary central nervous system lymphoma.
I can deal with mild flu like symptoms but my own journey down neurology lane scared the crap out of me. Another lesson learned today and one more thing to watch out for in our kitties. "Reproduce sexually only in the cat family" was not what I wanted to learn about today.
Get some sleep tonight Kyle, you deserve it. Chin rubs for Shylo.

 

I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this, I know how horrible it is to watch. My at home daughter's siamese started having seizures around the end of March. At first very rare, then progressively more often and longer duration. His never lasted 3 mins & they never seemed to put him off too much but my 25yr old DD was freaked the f out. The vet did a total blood panel (serious money for a young person) and everything came back neg. She put him on phenobarbital and they stopped immediately. Went for a blood level check after 2 weeks and his dose was reduced slightly (1 tab 2x/day to 1 tab + .5 tab). Turns out, at least one littermate is having them as well. Knowing it's genetic, they decided to not invest a bunch more money at this point and perhaps go to a specialist when she has the cash.

FWIW, Q (quarantine kitten) is just fine now & dosing the meds is super easy: don't seem to have much taste, she crushes the tablets & mixes it in with some goo in a tube type treat

 

I was thinking about this a bit more overnight trying to replay the beginnings for us. My daughter got it on video a couple times so when she did get into the vet, there was no question that Q was having seizures & she immediately started the meds. I also want to reassure you, that at least for Q, he's totally fine, chasing Mause whenever he gets a chance (she is not amused) and the meds don't seem to be having any side effects. Even when the dose was a bit high, he seemed outwardly normal, ie: a whip smart, big galoot of a gymnast with way too much energy.

 

Thank you for the reassurance. Phenobarbitol *sounds* like a heavy drug.

I did whip out my phone and start recording a video but as the event only lasted a few seconds, there was nothing for me to record but the aftermath (him sitting on the floor for 10 minutes not moving)

If we witness another we will definitely attempt to record.

I went and watched a video of a seizing cat and I couldn't even watch it, because it was exactly what Shylo did to a T. I had to turn away, it was bringing the trauma of watching him seize right back in my head

So, no question it was a seizure. Shylo looked so scared and confused when it happened, eyes wide...ugh

 

It would be a very small dose for a cat.

 

Feel I should let you know, so you don't think it's a one & done; Q had another seizure today, fortunately DD was home to see it. Vet bumped his dose back up: 15 mg every 12 hrs

Have you gotten into the vet yet?

 

no we talked to the vet yesterday and they said just monitor for re-occurrence that it is possible it never happens again and there is nothing to be done unless it does

 

I don’t know why but im just seeing this now I didn’t get an alert right away I apologize. Ugh I am so sorry I know how terrible it is because your seeing what’s happening and can’t do anything to stop it. Louf is still on Zonisamide once a day. The vet never determined what caused it. They say low blood sugar, toxicity, and things like that but I couldn’t determine anything. They told me I could wean him off the med and see if he does okay and it was a fluke thing but I just mentally can’t. I don’t want to see him like that again. With our situation he had to do meds because he continually seized throughout that whole day. It still bothers me that I don’t know why. I hope your kitty is doing well now. And congrats for Hendrick!!!!!!

 

that's ok Ashley many people have found the alerts from tags can be hit or miss. All the same, thank you for taking the time to reply, and for your kind words about my boy Hendrick.

Looking at Lou's SS, omg that first post-OTJ test with the 167 if that happens to me I will lose my #$%^ mind

so glad it was clearly just a fluke and Lou's weekly checks have been great since. Whew.

 

Yes when I saw the blue initially I lost my mind lol. But he has been good since so maybe just a random thing fingers crossed. So happy for Hendrick

 

let's hope that's the case; he saw you had some time now that Hen's off the sauce & wanted a little of that attention stuff for himself

 

Just seeing this Kyle, I know how scary that was to see .
Tyler's brother Perry who passed away from kidney disease on 10-6-20 had seizures he was 12 years old
The first one he had he peed on the floor then started running around like crazy then flopped on his side with legs straight out.
I was screaming, my dad was living with me at the time and put his hands on him so he wouldn't get hurt if he started running again
. After that he got up as if nothing happened and ate like a pig

I called my vet and she said to just watch him.
Well about 4 days later he was laying on my legs and I saw it was going to happen again . It lasted about 5 or 6 seconds. That was in the morning
Called my vet and took him in that night.
Before taking him in he had another little one
I thought I would die, Weak all over

Vet ran tons of blood work , showed nothing
She agreed to start him on phenobarbital. I can't remember how much it was ,but we did have to increase it over time

He still had them every couple of weeks but they changed .
He would all of a sudden start opening his mouth and closing it ,something like chomping on something and drooling like crazy , he wasn't even aware I was watching him. All if his seizure only lasted about 5-6 seconds like I said

My vet added Keppra with the phenobarbital which is also used for seizures
We had to play around with the dose but finally he hasn't had one in a year.
But he also was diagnosed with kidney disease which finally took him.

I pray this was just a one time thing for Shylo
Only if they keep happening frequently then your vet would consider starting phenobarbital.
Perry did fine on the meds ,wasn't walking around like a zombie at all
My vet could never tell me why he had them, they just don't know

It's very scary I know, I would get weak all over, my vet said they are not aware that it's happening .
I'm praying that it was just a one time thing. ♥
@Hendrick Cuddleclaw

 

@Diane Tyler's Mom thank you for relating your personal experience with this horrific and terrifying situation. One thing that bothers me is, without eyes on Shylo 24/7 how do we even know if this is the first one, or if there have been more since? I mean it only lasted a few seconds so, very easy to miss entirely. Worries us a lot but what can we do except try to keep a close eye on him.

Today both the wife and I are not at home, both at work. And I worry. Lots of cameras I keep checking haha.

Thanks again for chiming in

 

Unfortunately you won't know if it was the first one or if there were others
All you can do is watch her when you're home
I know it sucks, I would worry every time I had to leave the house
Hopefully it was just a one time thing

 

Seconding the hope that this was a one-off! If only they could talk to us (as creepy as that would be!)!

 

My mom's cat started having seizures last Friday. She called the vet right away, which the vet said that seizures are usually not an emergency and to just monitor and try to think of anything new that could be causing toxicity. My mom's friend mentioned something about air fresheners, and my mom realized she started using these new Airwick Essential Mist diffusers a couple months ago. They think those diffusers caused a build up of toxicity in the cat's system. My mom was unaware that essential oils were toxic to cats and there is apparently no such warning on the product. I found the ingredient disclosure from the manufacturer here. They list eucalyptus, orange peel, and patchouli oil as ingredients. So I Googled those three oils, all of which I found results stating they are toxic to cats, causing symptoms such as seizures, tremors, and drooling. My mom's cat was having all these symptoms. They removed the air fresheners from my mom's house and two days later the cat is no longer having seizures. I know this may not relate to your exact situation but I think its worth putting the info out there since essential oils have been growing in popularity lately.

 

thank you, we dont have any essential oil products that I know of but will double check with the wife

 

My nephew's cat had a seizure, also right after working up a huge hairball. 12 long hours and $1500 at the emergency vet later, they concluded that the muscles stressed by the battle with the hairball had triggered a nerve which sent feedback up into the brain that triggered the seizure. Basically like a short circuit, or like hitting your elbow and triggering your "funny bone", only with the brain involved. While terrifying, nothing to worry about and nothing to be done if it doesn't keep happening. Hoping Hendrick stays healthy, and it never repeats.

 

holy #$% that's a lot just to be told don't worry about it, but peace of mind is priceless

I can't thank you enough for this post it helps me worry just a bit less. I was actually wondering if it was something like that. Hopefully, that's all it was.

@DatbyKitty

 

Hi Kyle
Your thread intrigued me and @Gracie85 post so i had a little search around and found this on a cat site relating to seizures and hair balls.
It's very interesting and by the looks of it Shylo is not on his own.
https://thecatsite.com/threads/hairball-induced-seizures.312053/

 

I was just having this conversation today - about seizures. They look very bad. From what I understand though is that while they are happening, the kitty is still breathing, their heart is still beating and the only thing we should do is be sure they don't fall off of anything or get injured while it's going on. Don't try to squirt anything in their mouth because they can not swallow and it could be dangerous. If they need to have honey it can be rubbed on their gums. Be careful if they are siezing though so that they don't clamp down and involuntarily bite. I learned that when people have seizures, they just have them and then go on. I have been poised to rush out like a mad person in the middle of the night if necessary to the er vet if this were to happen to Amy at night or anytime. But, from what I am learning, it is really best to just be calm, if possible. Because all it really is are muscles "seizing". Of course, I'd call the vet. I have watched some videos of cat parents recording when kitty has a siezure. They just pet them and wait for it to subside. I can not believe how calm and quiet they remained, but it gave me a role model of sorts if/ when this happens to Amy. It will be hard because I am a pretty panicky type , I think.

 

So scary im sorry to hear this

 

This is crazy! Who would have thought!?

 

Kyle, I am just now seeing this! And this was a while ago that Shylo had this happen! I hope he has not had this happen again. I have had cats who have had seizures lasting several minutes. On both occasions it was apparently caused by high blood pressure (also there are quite a few medications that “lower the seizure threshold” - in the case of one of my cats she had also been on a long course of Zeniquin for an infection and that’s one of the meds which does lower the seizure threshold. As I said though, the list of meds which do this is extensive. Once the BP was treated, however, it never happened again. This is why I am such a stickler for having my older cats blood pressure checked at the vet.

 

Oh, and another thing— cats can have what are called “audiogenic reflex seizures” that are brought on by certain noises. It’s called FARS Feline Audiogenic Reflex Seizures and is usually found in older cats and some breeds, such as Birmans, are more likely to have this happen. I have a friend whose mixed breed cat had this happen.

 

I found this link about FARS

https://icatcare.org/advice/feline-audiogenic-reflex-seizures-fars/

 

it has not happened again, that we know of

thanks for the response, belated or not