Hi! My cat, his name is Jaspurr is 14 years old. Ive noticed in the last three days he will be in the house, start growling randomly, drooling everywhere. His head will shake and he spins in 2or3 circles. This happens for a min or two then hes completely normal. So far theyve happened twice a day. What do i do?
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Cat Seizure?
- Thread starter Angljnny1
- Start Date
Hi. I agree with
LTS3
, Jaspurr needs to be seen by a vet. At his age, he needs to be thoroughly checked over and the vet ought to be running a full senior blood panel, especially if it hasn't been done in the past year.
Please keep us posted.
LTS3
, Jaspurr needs to be seen by a vet. At his age, he needs to be thoroughly checked over and the vet ought to be running a full senior blood panel, especially if it hasn't been done in the past year. Please keep us posted.
That's definitely some type of seizure. They are more common for older cats. You won't know what is going on until you get him to he vet and get blood work, so you should get him there immediately. My Buddy (11yo) has seizures and is on gabapentin. After he started on this drug, his seizures have become much more infrequent now. When he does have one (about once every 2-3 months), the duration and intensity of the seizure is drastically reduced. The vet may recommend phenobarbital, but ask him about gabapentin first... it's a little easier on their system and has less side-effects.
Our cat Loki started having grand mal seizures when he was about 6 years old. He could sense the onset of the seizure and would go downstairs where he would let out a loud yelp, foam at the mouth, urinate and lay on the floor and shake. It was terrifying to see. After the seizure he would be extremely affectionate and craved attention.
Our vet put him on phenobarbital. It helped, but it did not eliminate the seizures. Our vet contacted another vet who has done research on cat seizures. He put Loki on zonisamide. We continued with a lower dose of phenobarbital along with the zonisamide. Over the period of a few years we have gradually reduced the dosage of phenobarbital down to zero. He has been on only zonisamide for over 6 months. Ever since we started the zonisamide, Loki has not had one seizure.
Our vet put him on phenobarbital. It helped, but it did not eliminate the seizures. Our vet contacted another vet who has done research on cat seizures. He put Loki on zonisamide. We continued with a lower dose of phenobarbital along with the zonisamide. Over the period of a few years we have gradually reduced the dosage of phenobarbital down to zero. He has been on only zonisamide for over 6 months. Ever since we started the zonisamide, Loki has not had one seizure.
Damn right... it is terrifying and you feel extremely helpless. For people here who have healthy cats, you're lucky... you never want to experience this first hand. The vet told me their blood sugar level drops after the seizure, this is why and they crave affection and food. My Buddy eats an entire can of 6oz cat food after his seizures.
That's great! Did your vet determine the reason for his seizures? The vets I've seen can never give me a straight answer, even after extensive testing and blood work. I'll ask my vet about Zonisamide. I would like to eliminate my boy's seizures completely.
No, our vet has never been able to pinpoint the reason for the seizures. He has exhausted all the testing that he can do. He said that it was possible that more extensive (and invasive) testing could be done at UNC Vet School. Since the Zonisamide appears to have eliminated the seizures we didn't look into more extensive testing. Several years ago, one of our other cats (Lexi) needed special surgery that could only be done at UNC. I hope I never have to deal with a vet bill that big again.
