Cat seizures..

[joyfulrose]

Hi, I lost my cat suddenly this past Saturday morning and I am struggling and just trying to make sense of what happened. She has never had a seizure in her life and I have never seen one take a cats life within minutes the way that it did with my cat. I am shocked, traumatized, and confused. My cat was completely normal up until that point. She had been laying with me on the sofa as she usually does and was seemingly happy and content. I got up to go use the restroom quickly and then i find out she had a seizure when i had left. When I returned I found her laying on the floor not moving and unaware of me and her surroundings. My brother told me she let out a small meow and her limbs were twitching violently, she had her tongue out and she was taking very long small breaths. He thought she was choking or trying to vomit but he said it looked like she was having a seizure. He tried to help her and laid her on her side and gently pet her. When I came I carried her and laid her on the sofa and tried to get her to wake up by talking to her and calling her name, petting her, doing anything I can but she would not wake up and within mins she was gone. I had never experienced a cat having a seizure before but I have just read up on it after doing some research and everything i see says you should NOT touch or move you cat when they are having a seizure and that was exactly what i did without knowing i should not have done that. I feel horrible. What if she had woken up from the seizure if i had left her alone during it. Did I cause her to lose her life because I picked her up? I was trying to make her comfortable and help her wake up by laying her on the sofa.

My question is, does anyone have any experience similar to mine and what happened with my cat? did anyone have a seizure take their cat within mins. Was it because I carried her that this happened? If anyone can share any thoughts I would greatly appreciate it. I am so devastated. I can't wrap my head around how she was fine literally moments before I got up and left the room. I was only gone for a minute or two. I wish i had never gotten up the moment that I did. I never saw any signs or symptoms she seemed fine The vet suspected a cardiac related issue but I just don't know. I was never ever told she had any issues with her heart.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I am so sorry. There are all kinds of conditions that can cause seizures/convulsions, things like a stroke, epilepsy, tumor, and diabetes, just to name a few. Any kind of seizure, including ones that are cardiac related, can happen without there being any past history to suggest the possibility.

But the chances that you worsened her condition by moving her is pretty unlikely. I believe, for the most part, the reason it is mentioned about not moving a cat is more for the person to avoid being scratched or bitten during the seizure process.

Again, I am very sorry for your loss.

 

[fionasmom]

I am very sorry for your sudden loss. As was stated, there are so many reason for this, all out of your control, that blaming yourself is not the answer. I agree that the advice about not moving cats who are seizing is to prevent the owner from being injured.

She had no previous seizures; you did not ignore any medical condition that you knew about. I am guessing, of course, but I lost a cat suddenly a few years ago to what was probably a blood clot (saddle thrombus) which was undiagnosed. It was preceded by a seizure like episode which followed almost immediately with his passing. Sadly, the first symptoms that you see of this are the critical ones. Heart conditions are not often diagnosed if no symptoms are presented; vets don't just go looking for them. The fact that you left the room, that your brother tried to help her, and that you moved her had nothing to do with her passing.

 

[joyfulrose]

lost a cat suddenly a few years ago to what was probably a blood clot (saddle thrombus) which was undiagnosed. It was preceded by a seizure like episode which followed almost immediately with his passing. Sadly, the first symptoms that you see of this are the critical ones.

I don't know for sure, and I don't think there is any way for me to ever know, but I really wonder if this may be what happened to my sweet girl. That is very similar to how I lost her. She had a seizure and it was almost immediately after that she passed away. She never ever had a seizure before, it was the first time. It was very quick one min she was fine and the next she was gone. Did she maybe have this and I was unaware? I will never ever know and that is what makes this so hard.

 

[fionasmom]

You could be unaware, but it would not be your fault. You aren't psychic and can't just intuit that your cat may have a heart condition. It is absolutely not the same as ignoring something that you knew was wrong.