Cat seizures

[TooPatient]

My latest addition (16 year old Odo) just had an unmistakable seizure. I'm debating between running to the vet with him where he would be an admit and get seen between surgeries then probably referred to a specialty center for an MRI or just getting him some CBD drops from the specialty pet food store. He hates car rides and at 16 years old, we would not be approving any sort of timer removal, chemotherapy, etc.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Is there something else the vet could catch that is easy to treat in an older kitty? Are the anti spasmodic meds better than CBD? (He just had a full exam with urinalysis, fecal, and full blood panel less than two months ago. All beautifully normal.)

 

[ecf8503]

Feline veterinarian here - lots of things can cause seizures in old cats, none of them particularly good. How long have you had him? Any history of seizure activity? He *could* have epilepsy that has been there his whole life. More than likely not, though, so blood tests and a full neurologic exam need to be done. Liver or kidney dysfunction, cancer, cerebrovascular accidents (strokes), etc can all cause seizures. I recommend taking him in even though the seizure itself has passed, as sometimes problems can be addressed.

 

[TooPatient]

Feline veterinarian here - lots of things can cause seizures in old cats, none of them particularly good. How long have you had him? Any history of seizure activity? He *could* have epilepsy that has been there his whole life. More than likely not, though, so blood tests and a full neurologic exam need to be done. Liver or kidney dysfunction, cancer, cerebrovascular accidents (strokes), etc can all cause seizures. I recommend taking him in even though the seizure itself has passed, as sometimes problems can be addressed.

He has been with us for two months. He had a full blood panel checking liver, kidney, etc (this was the huge check for EVERYTHING panel since we didn't know anything of his history) and all values came back completely normal. They opted to hold off on any vaccines as he was well enough cared for to not want to risk duplicating (plus he was skinny and stressed). He had one of these probable seizures but much smaller about two days after his blood work and his eyes got huge but were evenly dilated.

I think I may schedule an appointment for him since it has passed. I'm not thrilled with the idea of leaving him there for the day to be examined when they get a minute between surgeries.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

sending well wishes to Odo

 

[OboeGal]

@TooPatient, I'm sorry that Odo is experiencing this. Just to add to what @ecf8503 mentioned - and perhaps she can weigh in on this - I recently read about something called feline audiogenic reflex seizures (FARS), which are a very newly researched phenomenon of seizures induced by sounds that develops in older cats. It apparently develops between the ages of 10 to 19 years, with the average age being 15. (I came across this looking for answers for our cat, who is 16 and developed a seizure-like head bobbing a couple years ago that happens briefly and intermittently, but has not progressed at all and doesn't seem to distress him. Like Odo, his bloodwork looks fine. He gets very stressed by going to the vet, so since his bloodwork is fine and it's not progressing, our vet has encouraged us not to worry about it.) The seizures can run the gamut in severity from absence to myoclonic to grand mal, even in the same cat. Here are some links about it:

Sound-Related Seizures in Cats

Some cats develop seizures that always occur after a certain sound, such as the click of a keyboard. Learn more about sound-triggered seizures in cats.

www.cathealth.com

High-pitched sounds cause seizures in old cats

When the charity International Cat Care asked veterinary neurologists at Davies Veterinary Specialists, UK, for help with several enquiries it had received regarding cats having seizures, seemingly in response to certain high-pitched sounds, the answer was that the problem was not documented and...

phys.org

Old Cats Can Get Seizures from Sound

Feline audiogenic reflex seizures, or FARS, was discovered after a few cat owners reported the issue to an advocacy group

www.scientificamerican.com

I hope your vet is able to find out what is going on soon, and that the cause is something (relatively) benign and/or treatable.

 

[missy]

I'm sorry @TooPatient and I agree with @ecf8503. Definitely bring Odo to the vet when you can to evaluate what is happening. Sending lots of healing dust to dear Odo and hoping it is not something serious. As @OboeGal wrote please let it be something treatable.

 

[ecf8503]

@TooPatient, I'm sorry that Odo is experiencing this. Just to add to what @ecf8503 mentioned - and perhaps she can weigh in on this - I recently read about something called feline audiogenic reflex seizures (FARS), which are a very newly researched phenomenon of seizures induced by sounds that develops in older cats. It apparently develops between the ages of 10 to 19 years, with the average age being 15.

Yes this is a real thing!

 

[TooPatient]

@TooPatient, I'm sorry that Odo is experiencing this. Just to add to what @ecf8503 mentioned - and perhaps she can weigh in on this - I recently read about something called feline audiogenic reflex seizures (FARS), which are a very newly researched phenomenon of seizures induced by sounds that develops in older cats. It apparently develops between the ages of 10 to 19 years, with the average age being 15. (I came across this looking for answers for our cat, who is 16 and developed a seizure-like head bobbing a couple years ago that happens briefly and intermittently, but has not progressed at all and doesn't seem to distress him. Like Odo, his bloodwork looks fine. He gets very stressed by going to the vet, so since his bloodwork is fine and it's not progressing, our vet has encouraged us not to worry about it.) The seizures can run the gamut in severity from absence to myoclonic to grand mal, even in the same cat. Here are some links about it:

Sound-Related Seizures in Cats

Some cats develop seizures that always occur after a certain sound, such as the click of a keyboard. Learn more about sound-triggered seizures in cats.

www.cathealth.com

High-pitched sounds cause seizures in old cats

When the charity International Cat Care asked veterinary neurologists at Davies Veterinary Specialists, UK, for help with several enquiries it had received regarding cats having seizures, seemingly in response to certain high-pitched sounds, the answer was that the problem was not documented and...

phys.org

Old Cats Can Get Seizures from Sound

Feline audiogenic reflex seizures, or FARS, was discovered after a few cat owners reported the issue to an advocacy group

www.scientificamerican.com

I hope your vet is able to find out what is going on soon, and that the cause is something (relatively) benign and/or treatable.

I had no idea! Thank you! I will read up on this and talk with his vet. I need to keep track of what I notice when these happen. (This is only his second one, thankfully!) I was thinking about cat treats and things too wondering if maybe he doesn't do well with something in one of the treats I gave him. (Is that even a possible reaction?)