(I would like to start this posting with an apology for the length of my writing. This happened about 8 hours ago but I am still so upset and shaken by it. I am hoping writing it out and discussing it with other “cat people” will help…)
I don’t know what caused it. He is an 8 month old neutered male.
I was playing with him (and Spooky) using their “Bird”. I think the brand name is Da Bird or its one of their knockoffs, same thing though. I decided for some unknown reason to spray some liquid catnip on the carpet in the living room where we play at, I guess cause it gets them both excited. I was also attempting to get some pictures of them playing.
About 20 minutes into playing they were both tired and panting and I was about to put the Bird away when Mulder’s interest picked up and he started stalking it again. After a few leaps and chases (usual stuff) he jumped up on one of my living room chairs and then jumped after it (towards me) and landed on the front edge of the couch beside me – rolling off and landing on the floor. My couch is a futon so its very low to the ground and this is not abnormal for either of them, they get very excited when playing Bird and sometimes run into things, each other, fall over themselves it has never been a big deal.
Maybe 2 seconds later when I looked down at my feet/the floor/where he was - he was convulsing. I know I watched him land on the couch and slip off but I did not watch him fall - I suspect the seizure is the reason he fell off the couch rather than the result of him landing on the floor, only because the last picture in my camera (accidentally taken and not discovered until I got home) is of him falling on his back in the same position that I saw him in during his seizure, and it is not a position he would have naturally fallen into the way he slipped off the edge of the couch.
I don’t want to be too graphic and upset anybody. At first I thought his back claw had somehow got caught in his fur or he had dug it into himself by accident and was trying to free himself but then I realized it was his whole body shaking. I don’t know if it was the right thing to do but I immediately scooped him up and held him and told him that I was there and he was going to be OK. All of his muscles were stiff and shaking and he was drooling/foaming at the mouth. I thought he was dying and I grabbed my phone to call the vet.
It only lasted about 1 minute and then he took a deep breath and started meowing like he was scared or confused and tried to get away from me. He ran into the corner and looked scared like he didn’t know who I was. My other cat Spooky who is his very best buddy went over to sniff him and he hissed at him. By that time I had the carrier up (its collapsible), the address to the emergency vet and some shoes and a jacket on (over my pajamas).
At first in the car he acted like he didn’t know who I was and he was scared and crying. It seemed like he couldn’t see but about halfway to the vet the started responding to my voice and was looking at me and started to act his normal self. By the time we got to the vet he was purring and crying to come out of the carrier but he was very clearly back to himself. It was 20 minutes between when his seizure stopped and I was at the Emergency Vets office.
A nurse checked him out since the doctor was busy at the moment and said he was stable and asked if I wanted to stay with him until the doctor was available or send him in the back. He panics if someone takes him away so I decided to keep him with me. At that point he only seemed upset about being locked in the carrier and was actively trying to get out, was purring and head butting my hands through the carrier – his normal behavior.
At the doctor’s first examination – about 1 hour after the seizure – his breathing was fast and his temperature was elevated to 103.5. But they took him away from me to do the examination and he panicked and started crying and trying to get away, he always stays calm if I am there.
I was very unhappy with the vet she seemed very unknowledgeable. I asked what could have caused the seizure and she said she didn’t know and explained she wanted to run a panel of blood work and possibly an x-ray (didn’t say of what) depending on what the blood work said and she wanted to start him immediately on an IV so they could medicate him if he had another seizure. Also prior to running any tests she stated they wanted to keep him overnight for observation (this was at noon). Though I asked several times she refused to tell me what she thought was causing the seizure – it was like she just wanted to run every test in the book blindly with no idea what the problem was. She even wanted to run an FIV test though I told her he was tested when I got him 6 months ago and has not been outside or exposed to any untested cats since then. This made me very uncomfortable as my normal vet will tell you up front what he thinks is the problem and what tests he needs to run to find out and does not run unnecessary tests.
They charged me a $100 office visit fee and then quoted me $400 to run the blood work and would not give me an estimate on cost for anything else she was recommending. They indicated he was acting normally and I asked them to re-check his temperature and breathing since he had been able to calm down. His breathing was normal and his temperature was at 102.8. They told me that a cat’s normal temperature should be around 102.5 – I have no idea if that was true or not?
I did not have $400+ to spend on tests today and they demanded payment in full up front or I could apply for Care Credit but they wouldn’t do anything for him until I was approved and they were unavailable today as a holiday. The vet told me that he appeared stable and “fine” but of course without running tests to know why he had a seizure nobody will know if he is “fine” or not. I decided to bring him home and watch him tonight and tomorrow and my normal vet opens back up on Saturday morning. Their rates are generally much lower, they will accept payment plans and I trust their judgment and treatment completely. I hope I made the right decision…
So far he seems completely normal and doesn’t understand why I keep fussing over him. He has eaten, drank, groomed and played and has been his normal self ever since we got back home. I think I am more traumatized by this than he is. I keep seeing him like that every time I close my eyes or he gets out of view. I think I feel now better since I wrote it all out, sorry it is so long. Thank you to anyone who read it all!
I don’t know what caused it. He is an 8 month old neutered male.
I was playing with him (and Spooky) using their “Bird”. I think the brand name is Da Bird or its one of their knockoffs, same thing though. I decided for some unknown reason to spray some liquid catnip on the carpet in the living room where we play at, I guess cause it gets them both excited. I was also attempting to get some pictures of them playing.
About 20 minutes into playing they were both tired and panting and I was about to put the Bird away when Mulder’s interest picked up and he started stalking it again. After a few leaps and chases (usual stuff) he jumped up on one of my living room chairs and then jumped after it (towards me) and landed on the front edge of the couch beside me – rolling off and landing on the floor. My couch is a futon so its very low to the ground and this is not abnormal for either of them, they get very excited when playing Bird and sometimes run into things, each other, fall over themselves it has never been a big deal.
Maybe 2 seconds later when I looked down at my feet/the floor/where he was - he was convulsing. I know I watched him land on the couch and slip off but I did not watch him fall - I suspect the seizure is the reason he fell off the couch rather than the result of him landing on the floor, only because the last picture in my camera (accidentally taken and not discovered until I got home) is of him falling on his back in the same position that I saw him in during his seizure, and it is not a position he would have naturally fallen into the way he slipped off the edge of the couch.
I don’t want to be too graphic and upset anybody. At first I thought his back claw had somehow got caught in his fur or he had dug it into himself by accident and was trying to free himself but then I realized it was his whole body shaking. I don’t know if it was the right thing to do but I immediately scooped him up and held him and told him that I was there and he was going to be OK. All of his muscles were stiff and shaking and he was drooling/foaming at the mouth. I thought he was dying and I grabbed my phone to call the vet.
It only lasted about 1 minute and then he took a deep breath and started meowing like he was scared or confused and tried to get away from me. He ran into the corner and looked scared like he didn’t know who I was. My other cat Spooky who is his very best buddy went over to sniff him and he hissed at him. By that time I had the carrier up (its collapsible), the address to the emergency vet and some shoes and a jacket on (over my pajamas).
At first in the car he acted like he didn’t know who I was and he was scared and crying. It seemed like he couldn’t see but about halfway to the vet the started responding to my voice and was looking at me and started to act his normal self. By the time we got to the vet he was purring and crying to come out of the carrier but he was very clearly back to himself. It was 20 minutes between when his seizure stopped and I was at the Emergency Vets office.
A nurse checked him out since the doctor was busy at the moment and said he was stable and asked if I wanted to stay with him until the doctor was available or send him in the back. He panics if someone takes him away so I decided to keep him with me. At that point he only seemed upset about being locked in the carrier and was actively trying to get out, was purring and head butting my hands through the carrier – his normal behavior.
At the doctor’s first examination – about 1 hour after the seizure – his breathing was fast and his temperature was elevated to 103.5. But they took him away from me to do the examination and he panicked and started crying and trying to get away, he always stays calm if I am there.
I was very unhappy with the vet she seemed very unknowledgeable. I asked what could have caused the seizure and she said she didn’t know and explained she wanted to run a panel of blood work and possibly an x-ray (didn’t say of what) depending on what the blood work said and she wanted to start him immediately on an IV so they could medicate him if he had another seizure. Also prior to running any tests she stated they wanted to keep him overnight for observation (this was at noon). Though I asked several times she refused to tell me what she thought was causing the seizure – it was like she just wanted to run every test in the book blindly with no idea what the problem was. She even wanted to run an FIV test though I told her he was tested when I got him 6 months ago and has not been outside or exposed to any untested cats since then. This made me very uncomfortable as my normal vet will tell you up front what he thinks is the problem and what tests he needs to run to find out and does not run unnecessary tests.
They charged me a $100 office visit fee and then quoted me $400 to run the blood work and would not give me an estimate on cost for anything else she was recommending. They indicated he was acting normally and I asked them to re-check his temperature and breathing since he had been able to calm down. His breathing was normal and his temperature was at 102.8. They told me that a cat’s normal temperature should be around 102.5 – I have no idea if that was true or not?
I did not have $400+ to spend on tests today and they demanded payment in full up front or I could apply for Care Credit but they wouldn’t do anything for him until I was approved and they were unavailable today as a holiday. The vet told me that he appeared stable and “fine” but of course without running tests to know why he had a seizure nobody will know if he is “fine” or not. I decided to bring him home and watch him tonight and tomorrow and my normal vet opens back up on Saturday morning. Their rates are generally much lower, they will accept payment plans and I trust their judgment and treatment completely. I hope I made the right decision…
So far he seems completely normal and doesn’t understand why I keep fussing over him. He has eaten, drank, groomed and played and has been his normal self ever since we got back home. I think I am more traumatized by this than he is. I keep seeing him like that every time I close my eyes or he gets out of view. I think I feel now better since I wrote it all out, sorry it is so long. Thank you to anyone who read it all!