Does this sound like a seizure, a nightmare or what?

les26

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I was watching TV and 4 cats were laying by the wood stove when all of a sudden out of a deep sleep Sugar started twitching around, roling a bit, cried a little, the other cats all ran, so I yelled for Debbie that something really bad was going on and to get the carrier, I held Sugar, we put her in the carrier as I tried to figure out where to take her as NATURALLY all of the vets are closed except the "emergency" ones, I called a few places to get some information and kept checking on her and Deb said she was fine, wanted to get out of the carrier so I said "let her out", she ate, drank, used the litter box and seems fine so we are wondering was this a seizure or did she have a nightmare and wake up and not know where she was and got scared? Her eyesight isn't very good, she is the cat that I posted on here about 4 years ago maybe longer had a cancerous tumor removed from her chin and when she was under they wanted to do some dental work, she had a HORRIBLE reaction to the anesthesia, they couldn't control it and had to take her an hour away to a specialist vet in West Chester, PA. where she did have a seizure and actually stopped breathing for a minute at one point because the breathing tube was blocked with mucus but they took care of her, she has been fine ever since, seems a little slower as it took something out of her AND us of course, but she has never acted like this before that we know of. She does have a slight heart murmur, I had her to the vet about 6 weeks ago for an ingrown claw, they reminded me that she had a murmur, checked her chin where the tumor was and told me "she is a miracle cat", so she had been seen recently. The one emergency vet place said to monitor her, if it happens again we should bring her in, but who knows what this was.

If you have any ideas let me know please, I can't take it when things like this happen, it flashed through my mind how Sebastian died in my arms years ago suddenly. And Deb just fed them all and she was the first in line to eat.

What was that????? :headscratch: :eek2:
 

Jem

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I'm not saying that this is what it is, but I had a cat who had a "violent" nightmare once. He started twitching, then chirp/meowed a few times then jumped up hissing (still out of it). It took about 10 seconds or so for him to "come to" after jumping up. You could tell he was still agitated but eventually he calmed down and got comfy again.
My other cat suffered from seizures (end stage CKD). And for them, he would just fall over and do mild little twitching (face and paws) until coming to several seconds later.
I'm not sure what happened to your kitty, but wanted to share my experiences/cat symptoms if you wanted for comparison.
I hope Sugar is OK.
Quick question though....how long did Sugar's "episode" last?
 
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les26

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I'm not saying that this is what it is, but I had a cat who had a "violent" nightmare once. He started twitching, then chirp/meowed a few times then jumped up hissing (still out of it). It took about 10 seconds or so for him to "come to" after jumping up. You could tell he was still agitated but eventually he calmed down and got comfy again.
My other cat suffered from seizures (end stage CKD). And for them, he would just fall over and do mild little twitching (face and paws) until coming to several seconds later.
I'm not sure what happened to your kitty, but wanted to share my experiences/cat symptoms if you wanted for comparison.
I hope Sugar is OK.
Quick question though....how long did Sugar's "episode" last?
Thanks for the reply. It lasted I'd say about 15 maybe 20 seconds if that, I am trying to replay it in my head and I remember her twitching around, the other cats running, me yelling which I tend to do when I am upset which upset her even more, her claw kind of getting caught in a rug, me puling it out and picking her up, her crying/meowing just once as she tends to do when I picked her up, calmed her down, Deb put her into the carrier, she calmed down, showed no signs of any of the symptoms for seizures that I Googled, no facial issues, no lack of balance, no peeing or pooping, none of that. Deb stayed with her and I tried to get my head on straight as to where to take her or who to call, I made two calls and checked on her status twice and both times Deb said "she's fine, she wants to get out of the carrier" so I said "then let her out", she ate supper right away, went to the litter box, is on her usual chair grooming herself, she ate treats and is acting like nothing happened at all, meanwhile Deb and I feel like we are having a stroke with headaches and feel like we could throw up lol!!!

We, especially Deb, feel that she might have just woke up maybe from a bad dream, didn't know what was happening or where she was, panicked, she can't see all that well, sensed the other cats and me freaking out, but after about 20 seconds if that she was calm and seemed just fine.

My nerves are shot.......I know they all will leave us, but I just could not take it if she would've passed away like that, Like Smoke and Sebastian did, but she seems like nothing happened now and like Deb said "I really don't think it is her time". I don't either and hope not.....

If this keeps up it might be MY time soon, ugh.....:eek2: :please:
 

neely

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It's possible it could have been some type of dream if she was in a deep sleep as you mentioned but given her health history I would be concerned too. I would continue to monitor her and if it happens again contact the emergency clinic otherwise if it does not reoccur you can call your vet on Monday to get their opinion.

We had a lot of experience with seizures in one of our dogs but never our cats. However, there can be different causes and usually cats have either a focal or generalized seizure. Did she drool, wake up confused and stare into space or exhibit any strange behaviors?
In the meantime, I thought this Article might have some helpful information for you: Seizures In Cats – TheCatSite Articles

Fingers crossed Sugar did not have a seizure. :crossfingers: Please keep us posted on her condition.
 
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les26

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It's possible it could have been some type of dream if she was in a deep sleep as you mentioned but given her health history I would be concerned too. I would continue to monitor her and if it happens again contact the emergency clinic otherwise if it does not reoccur you can call your vet on Monday to get their opinion.

We had a lot of experience with seizures in one of our dogs but never our cats. However, there can be different causes and usually cats have either a focal or generalized seizure. Did she drool, wake up confused and stare into space or exhibit any strange behaviors?
In the meantime, I thought this Article might have some helpful information for you: Seizures In Cats – TheCatSite Articles

Fingers crossed Sugar did not have a seizure. :crossfingers: Please keep us posted on her condition.
Thanks for this! The only thing that she did that was listed was she seemed to rapidly move from side to side a few times, but she didn't drool or twitch or do anything else like that, and I don't know if she was doing that because she was very confused as to where she was or not. She didn't do flip flops, she didn't lose her balance and I saw Smoke our first cat do flip flops and she died very soon after doing them, but it wasn't like that at all.

She is just fine now, jumped up onto her favorite chair hours ago and is calm as can be. Very strange....

Thank you!
 
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les26

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I just watched some Youtube videos of cats having seizures and she really didn't look anything like them, unless hers was very mild and only lasted a few seconds? I am thinking it was maybe her waking up from a bad dream and/or being very consfused as to where she was, and me getting upset and yelling made it worse but I can't help it, I get so upset and scared.

I just held her and Deb trimmed her claws and she fought it like she always does so that is a good sign!
 

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After your description of what happened, I really would assume that it was a nightmare. Obviously, keep and eye on her, but it really sounded a lot more like what my Hank went thru with his nightmare than my Toby and his seizures.
 
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les26

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We checked on her several times during the night, especially me since I was taking an "at home sleep apnea test" since my snoring has gotten much worse, what "fun" that was and I must do it again tonight, but anyway she is fine, acting like she always did. And this morning after breakfast Deb said she was going to collect the bowls to wash them but Sugar was in there by herself, going from bowl to bowl and eating lol! So she must be fine, and she must've just gotten scared and confused, and with me yelling loudly "Deb, come down here NOW, somethings wrong with Sugar, HURRY!!!!!" didn't help her or the others or Deb or me for that matter! And me picking her up probably startled and scared her but in a few seconds after that is when she calmed down as I was holding her and calmly talking to her so she must've felt safe then.

We have noticed for awhile now if she is around and we get near her even if we call her and name and talk to her she will jog away a few steps, almost like she is scared that we might run into her or vice-versa, almost like she can't see and judge distances all the time, which plays into what happened yesterday. And the last few years she always would come down and lay off to the side of the wood stove, we used to tell her that "her spot is ready for her", but this year she hasn't come down much at all, maybe she doesn't feel comfortable for the reason above, and yesterday she freaked out about it for some reason. I'll see if she comes down today or the next few days, we'll watch her and I'll tell the vet tomorrow what happened, but she is just fine and in fact I told her "you scared the hell out of me but you're doing better than all of us!! lol...

THANK YOU for the replies, we get so upset when one of our babies is sick or hurting as I'm sure you all do!!
 

neely

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Thanks so much for the update! :thanks: I'm glad to hear Sugar is acting normal and you can sleep better tonight too.
 
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les26

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She is sleeping away but on a sofa upstairs, she hasn't ventured down to the wood stove room after that "episode" yesterday ha ha! But she is doing just fine, thank God!

But the "hijinx" continue today; I noticed two white spots on Sylvester's left side of his face close to his eye and I thought it was fuzz from a carpet or something but when I went to get it off I couldn't do it easily, and of course he freaks out wondering what I am doing to him! I FINALLY was able to remove the objects over a few hours and they were claws that came off when he was scratching himself, hopefully not from Stanley scratching him in a fight! That's why they wouldn't come right off, I had to try to steady him so he didn't move much or run (that's the hard part!) and work my fingers around the claw and pull it out with some force, I got one earlier and waited until he was by the wood stove and "drowsy" so I was able to get the second one just a bit ago, ugh......

Now I have to leave him alone a bit so he "trusts" me again lol! :oops: :help: Of course some treats will help speed the process up! :clapcat:
 
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les26

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I left a message for the vet explaining what happened with Sugar, they just called back and they all agree that if she seems fine she must've been having a nightmare and/or confused, if she is doing it again to let them know but they said she should be fine.

She is, but we're not lol!!!
 

neely

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Glad you called the vet for peace of mind and this way they could note it on her chart. You must be relieved. 🤗
 
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