Worried my cat might have had some kind of seizure?

A few months ago I moved to Oklahoma from Mississippi and about a month after I was able to bring my cat Percy up to join me. He's a neutered american shorthair and a big orange ball of love who's always been very playful and affectionate. When I first took him in about three years ago the vet said he was around six. He was a wandering neighborhood stray before he found me, but after he became an exclusively indoor cat, and he's been very happy and healthy. The only issue he's had is a tendency towards urinary tract problems. I keep him on a wet food diet to make sure he gets enough liquid and he's been fine. But recently after we arrived in Oklahoma he's developed crusty sores around his neck. They didn't seem to bother him too much and we blamed it on fleas. I've started using the Advantage spray treatment, both the kind sprayed directly on the cat and the kind for furniture, as the only proper flea treatment I could afford was Sentry and I've heard terrible things about that brand. But the sores haven't cleared up.

Now, my room mates have two other cats, another neutered male and a fixed female (he and the male get along fine but the female is very bad tempered, always growling and hissing at everything, and she throws a noisy fit whenever she sees him) who go outside pretty much every day. So, I decided to start letting Percy out as well, once I had tags for him. I've been sitting out in the yard with him for a couple of hours every morning for the past three days, keeping an eye on him and making sure he recognized the new yard was home now. Today, I stepped outside briefly for something and he followed me and I decided to let him have some fun. I went back inside for three to five minutes, then came back out to check on him. I found him laying on the grass face down in a very strange, sprawled position, panting, like he'd collapsed. He didn't respond when I called his name or touched him, and there was drool on the grass under his head. I scooped him up and brought him back inside and after a moment he seemed to come too. Very lethargic as though he'd just woken up. I'm unemployed on disability and I can't really afford vet bills to find out what happened, but I'm scared it's something serious. I have a severe anxiety disorder and Percy is my lifeline. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him. Someone please tell me this isn't as serious as it looked?

I don't know the answer to your question, unfortunately I think only a vet can tell you that.  Hopefully someone who knows more about seizures than I do can chime in with more information. about how they manifest and what's involved in treatment.

I know what it's like to not have enough money for unexpected vet bills so I have a lot of sympathy for you.  Percy sounds wonderful - I am a great lover of orange cats, having had one (Milo) myself for many years.  So I ca appreciate how much you need him.  If you could manage enough to get him in to see a vet just for an office visit, s(he) can tell you what the sores are and let you know the kinds of things that might have caused what does sound like a seizure.  The cost for a vet visit might be within your budget - they are $35.00 where I am in Maryland.   Living on a fixed income myself, I understand that even $35.00 can break a budget - perhaps the vet will let you pay half this month and half next? 

  It's weird to me that it happened when you went inside and I can't help but wonder if there is a connection.  If it were me, I would not leave Percy alone outside again, although it is hard to imagine a cat that formerly lived outside would be that upset by suddenly finding himself alone outside.

Good luck with this.  I hope Percy does not have a repeat performance!

Since you did not witness the entire episode, to know if there was also muscle twitching, etc, it's hard to say, but normally seizures also include some sort of uncontrollable activity, could be chomping or chewing, foaming at the mouth, jerking of the legs, loss of urine and stool, and, collapse

AND, often the cause is from poison. If it's from insecticides, it's usually preceded by muscle twitching and drooling (per pets.webmd)   I'm just wondering about that Advantage Spray that you are using.  I've never heard of using that on the cat until you said you used it.  Most people use Advantage 2, which is in a tube that is applied to the back of their neck, which they cannot lick.  I looked up the Advantage Spray and the instructions, and it looks pretty iffy to me...kind of difficult to use and have it work and not really expose the cat. 

All that being said,, there really is no way to know for sure what happened without him being looked at by a Vet.  Since you have severe anxiety disorder and are disabled, is Percy classified as a Service Animal?  If so, or you can get him so classified, maybe there is some sort of financial assistance for Veterinary Care for service animals?  Otherwise maybe there is something in this thread that will be helpful:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/155462/cant-afford-a-vet-please-read

Thank you both very much for your advice! Percy hasn't had any more episodes, but I'm keeping a close eye on him. He was a little extra clingy the day after it happened, I think it spooked him a little, but other than that he's seemed perfectly fine. I'm going to continue to monitor him and if anything else happens I'll be taking him to the vet. I've often considered having him declared a service animal, but it doesn't come up often so I've yet to look into it. Perhaps I will now, if it might make it easier to get him treatment. Thank you again!