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possible kitty seizures?



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 12th 06, 07:13 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Kittygalore
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Posts: 1
Default possible kitty seizures?

Hello! I've observed 2 weird behaviors on the part of 2 of my 3 cats
recently and have been researching seizures on the Net to compare and
contrast. Just wondering if anybody else has seen similar:
1. My 15 year old cat with chronic renal failure jumped up on my desk
yesterday while I was working. Then she stood there, looking dazed,
unresponsive to her name, one paw held in the air as if reaching for
something; she took a stumbling step sideways and lifted the other paw;
turned and did this again. I thought she was dying and took her into my
arms. In a minute or two she was clearly back to normal. She takes
medicine for hyperthyroidism, Calcitriol too, and also I give her sub-Q
fluids twice a week. I thought perhaps dehydration or weird blood
levels, momentarily, of medications might just have made her woozy, or
do cats have petit mal seizures like some small kids do?
2. Twice in her year-long life, one of my two young cats has been
observed to paw at her face while yowling and twisting sideways,
clearly distressed; this lasted less than 30 seconds each time. The
first time it happened when the hem of my bathrobe brushed against her
face; the second time it was when she was leaping at the fringe of a
blanket next to me as I sat on the couch. I thought perhaps each time
that she got a thread in her mouth or something and was full of angst
about removing it--but it was odd looking, not like other cats I've
seen trying to get something off the face.

Neither cat's episodes involved the all-out strangeness of any seizures
I've seen described on the Net or in my books. Thoughts? All cats are
due in soon for their check-ups so of course I"ll ask the vet, too!
Thanks.

  #2  
Old December 12th 06, 10:30 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
[email protected]
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Posts: 93
Default possible kitty seizures?

"Kittygalore" wrote:

Hello! I've observed 2 weird behaviors on the part of 2 of my 3 cats
recently and have been researching seizures on the Net to compare and
contrast. Just wondering if anybody else has seen similar:
1. My 15 year old cat with chronic renal failure jumped up on my desk
yesterday while I was working. Then she stood there, looking dazed,
unresponsive to her name, one paw held in the air as if reaching for
something; she took a stumbling step sideways and lifted the other paw;
turned and did this again. I thought she was dying and took her into my
arms. In a minute or two she was clearly back to normal. She takes
medicine for hyperthyroidism, Calcitriol too, and also I give her sub-Q
fluids twice a week. I thought perhaps dehydration or weird blood
levels, momentarily, of medications might just have made her woozy, or
do cats have petit mal seizures like some small kids do?
2. Twice in her year-long life, one of my two young cats has been
observed to paw at her face while yowling and twisting sideways,
clearly distressed; this lasted less than 30 seconds each time. The
first time it happened when the hem of my bathrobe brushed against her
face; the second time it was when she was leaping at the fringe of a
blanket next to me as I sat on the couch. I thought perhaps each time
that she got a thread in her mouth or something and was full of angst
about removing it--but it was odd looking, not like other cats I've
seen trying to get something off the face.

Neither cat's episodes involved the all-out strangeness of any seizures
I've seen described on the Net or in my books. Thoughts? All cats are
due in soon for their check-ups so of course I"ll ask the vet, too!
Thanks.



My 6yr old just had a probable seizure last week. One minute he was
just standing there and then he starting pawing his face and then
started circling with his left front leg sagging and his head fallen
down to the outside. He did this twice and fell down. When I tried to
approach him he tried to get away with clearly no ability to use his
left leg. I scooped him up and immediately went to the vet.

After a quick appraisal we then had wait our turn for about 20
minutes. When we got in the examining room I guess about an hour had
passed since the episode and he seemed OK.

After a full physical and blood panel it was determined it wasn't a
stroke and apparently seizures don't leave any tell tales.

He also has done the pawing at the face showing some distress in the
past so I guess our cats have something in common with whatever this
is.

-mhd
  #3  
Old December 12th 06, 11:09 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
cybercat
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Posts: 4,212
Default possible kitty seizures?


"Kittygalore" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello! I've observed 2 weird behaviors on the part of 2 of my 3 cats
recently and have been researching seizures on the Net to compare and
contrast. Just wondering if anybody else has seen similar:
1. My 15 year old cat with chronic renal failure jumped up on my desk
yesterday while I was working. Then she stood there, looking dazed,
unresponsive to her name, one paw held in the air as if reaching for
something; she took a stumbling step sideways and lifted the other paw;
turned and did this again. I thought she was dying and took her into my
arms. In a minute or two she was clearly back to normal. She takes
medicine for hyperthyroidism, Calcitriol too, and also I give her sub-Q
fluids twice a week. I thought perhaps dehydration or weird blood
levels, momentarily, of medications might just have made her woozy


Shortly after we began treating our cat for hypethyroid that had gone
undiagnosed for a while, she began having scary little fits kind of like
this. What she did was kind of list to one side and begin crawling in
a circle, and she would not respond to her name.

My vet said "maybe she is having little fainting spells." He thought
she had arrythmia because, as you probably know, hyperT causes
a very fast heart rate, that, over time may cause the heart to become
unstable. He suggested putting her on Propanolol--a beta blocker--
to stabilize her heart rate.

As long as we keep her on this, she has NO fits. I tried to take
her off it once and she immediately had one. I really think you
ought to bring this up to your vet. You too, h+ch. The vet who
treated her is Dr. Stephen Driscoll at Six Forks Animal Hospital
in Raleigh, NC. (919.847-5854

We also had an ultrasound of her heart to make sure there was
no structural damage. The theory is, she had an elevated heart
rate long enough for it to cause an unstable heart rate. She was
10 when diagnosed with hyperT, 11 when she started having fits,
and she is 12 now.

It was our fault that she was undiagnosed for so long. We took her
for shots and such, but missed the signs of hyperT--yowling, being
hyper vigilant--because we thought it was just her very funny
personality. (Plus, she was obese and hyperT cats are usually
skinny. The vet once noted her fast heart rate but because she
was so fat (not our fault! We did not do that to her!) he thought
she just had white coat anxiety.


  #4  
Old December 13th 06, 01:59 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 93
Default possible kitty seizures?

"cybercat" wrote:

Shortly after we began treating our cat for hypethyroid that had gone
undiagnosed for a while, she began having scary little fits kind of
like this. What she did was kind of list to one side and begin
crawling in a circle, and she would not respond to her name


My vet said "maybe she is having little fainting spells." He thought
she had arrythmia because, as you probably know, hyperT causes
a very fast heart rate, that, over time may cause the heart to become
unstable. He suggested putting her on Propanolol--a beta blocker--
to stabilize her heart rate.

As long as we keep her on this, she has NO fits. I tried to take
her off it once and she immediately had one. I really think you
ought to bring this up to your vet. You too, h+ch. The vet who
treated her is Dr. Stephen Driscoll at Six Forks Animal Hospital
in Raleigh, NC. (919.847-5854


Sounds like we all have the same thing going on - at least the way it
manifests itself.

One hour after the spell, Gus who even though was scared ****less by
being at a vet, had a normal heart rate and according to the vet a
normal *sounding* heart. He spent a lot of time moving the stethoscope
around and listening to his heart. All the blood tests came back ok
except for a pre-existing higher than normal ALT.

I'll run what you said by my vet but I'll imagine he'll fall back on
his observation that the heart seemed normal.

Do you remember if she crawled her circles in the direction of the
listing side or away? My vet thought was important to know.

-mhd
  #6  
Old December 13th 06, 02:09 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
cybercat
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,212
Default possible kitty seizures?


wrote
Sounds like we all have the same thing going on - at least the way it
manifests itself.

One hour after the spell, Gus who even though was scared ****less by
being at a vet, had a normal heart rate and according to the vet a
normal *sounding* heart. He spent a lot of time moving the stethoscope
around and listening to his heart. All the blood tests came back ok
except for a pre-existing higher than normal ALT.


Boo also has a normal sounding heart and a normal looking heart,
according to the ultrasound. And, though she was fat, she showed
no signs of heart disease. With abnormal heart rhythms, it appears
that the cat has to be having the episode for the vet to hear it. In
other words, though her heart rate was 300bpm before being
treated with Tapazole, it had never sounded irregular. She began
having the fits after the hyperT was corrected. And to this day,
nobody has ever heard an abnormal heart rate in this cat. (I
bought a stethoscope, to make sure her hr stays at about 160-180.
I have to be QUICK though because this cat begins to purr when
you touch her!) However--it has to be arrythmia/fibrillation, because
once on the propanolol, she has never had another episode.

I'll run what you said by my vet but I'll imagine he'll fall back on
his observation that the heart seemed normal.


Well, if Gus keeps having fits, you might press your vet into letting
you try it. Those fits terrify me. And, just like your Gus, Boo is
perfectly normal after.

Do you remember if she crawled her circles in the direction of the
listing side or away? My vet thought was important to know.


She crawled in the direction of the listing side. Did he say why this is
important?



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

  #7  
Old December 13th 06, 02:44 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Lynne
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Posts: 1,297
Default possible kitty seizures?

on Wed, 13 Dec 2006 01:09:26 GMT, "cybercat" wrote:

once on the propanolol, she has never had another episode.


actually, Propanolol has been shown to act as an anticonvulsant in certain
types of seizures in rats, so that might explain it.

--
Lynne

http://picasaweb.google.com/what.the.hell.is.it/
  #8  
Old December 13th 06, 06:50 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 93
Default possible kitty seizures?

"cybercat" wrote:

Boo also has a normal sounding heart and a normal looking heart,
according to the ultrasound. And, though she was fat, she showed
no signs of heart disease. With abnormal heart rhythms, it appears
that the cat has to be having the episode for the vet to hear it. In
other words, though her heart rate was 300bpm before being
treated with Tapazole,


What was her heart rate when she had the Seizure? Gus was 170.

it had never sounded irregular. She began
having the fits after the hyperT was corrected. And to this day,
nobody has ever heard an abnormal heart rate in this cat. (I
bought a stethoscope, to make sure her hr stays at about 160-180.
I have to be QUICK though because this cat begins to purr when
you touch her!) However--it has to be arrythmia/fibrillation, because
once on the propanolol, she has never had another episode.

I'll run what you said by my vet but I'll imagine he'll fall back on
his observation that the heart seemed normal.


Well, if Gus keeps having fits, you might press your vet into letting
you try it. Those fits terrify me. And, just like your Gus, Boo is
perfectly normal after.


So far only one that I have observed but if another one happens I'll
definitely look into the arrhythmia/fibrillation problem.

Do you remember if she crawled her circles in the direction of the
listing side or away? My vet thought was important to know.


She crawled in the direction of the listing side. Did he say why this is
important?


Would you believe even though I was very curious about that, I let him
finish without interrupting him and then he left the room to take the
blood samples. Kicked myself for forgetting and forgot again when he
called in the morning to fax the blood test results.

BTW, Gus went the opposite direction which looked really weird from a
balance perspective. It looked like he was really fighting it.

-mhd
  #9  
Old December 13th 06, 07:05 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
[email protected]
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Posts: 93
Default possible kitty seizures?

"2fingah" wrote:


wrote:

After a full physical and blood panel it was determined it wasn't a
stroke and apparently seizures don't leave any tell tales.


how much did this set you back?


$58 for the examination
$138 for the blood panel
11.76 taxes
207.76 total.

about seizures, I think you can reverse engineer it...
alot of excitement can trigger a seizure
an elongated period of something new and taxing
whatever it is...
after everything settles down... then comes the seizure


Gus has a flat on the floor scratching box which is corrugated
cardboard in a cardboard frame where he always has a major happy dance
when his dinner is being prepared (opening a can). It was right after
that he had his seizure so yeah excitement may be a factor.

-mhd
  #10  
Old December 13th 06, 04:51 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
cybercat
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Posts: 4,212
Default possible kitty seizures?


wrote in message
...
"cybercat" wrote:

What was her heart rate when she had the Seizure? Gus was 170.


It was about 180 just after. She had her last one when she was
waiting to be fed, so she was excited, lol. (She SINGS to me while
I open the can. Next thing I know, she is not responding to her name
and circling slowly, little tiny steps, listing to one side. Now that I
really think about it, I am just not sure which side she crawled
towards.


Well, if Gus keeps having fits, you might press your vet into letting
you try it. Those fits terrify me. And, just like your Gus, Boo is
perfectly normal after.


So far only one that I have observed but if another one happens I'll
definitely look into the arrhythmia/fibrillation problem.


Maybe you are right and my vet is wrong, and what Boo had was
a little seizure. (She has had four total that we have seen.) Lynne
said that propanolol acts as an anti-seizure medicine, too. All I
know is that is stops the fits.

She crawled in the direction of the listing side. Did he say why this is
important?


Would you believe even though I was very curious about that, I let him
finish without interrupting him and then he left the room to take the
blood samples. Kicked myself for forgetting and forgot again when he
called in the morning to fax the blood test results.


I do stuff like that all the time. Maybe next time you can ask him, or we
can find somethign online.


BTW, Gus went the opposite direction which looked really weird from a
balance perspective. It looked like he was really fighting it.


Poor boy. I really thought Boo was a goner, it just looks like something
major is wrong. But she has never seemed healthier than now, having
been on Tapazole and propanolol for a year and having lost about 9
pounds, too!

Good luck with Gus. Please share whatever you find out and I will too.
Thanks.


 




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