Tough day with cat seizures... R.I.P. Vivian Marie

Our 14 year old cat has had two seizures in her life. One last July 25 and the first one a year or so before that. Last night she had a mild seizure then recovered in about 15 minutes.

This morning she had three within 45 minutes (I called the vet immediately after the second). We went to the vet for a full workup Sunday Emergency no less. He gave her a Depo shot (corticosteroid in case it’s pressure from a mass in the brain) and a prescription for Phenobarbitol anti-convulsant. Diagnosis… possible brain tumor or general decline from Feline HIV or mystery syndrome. All her blood work, urinalysis and motor function tests indicate she is a perfectly healthy elderly cat. Except of course for the mild seizures, the HIV and some mild hyperesthisia which has never amounted to much. Vet thinks it is possible the hyperesthisia could be related to current seizures as we are at a loss for a root cause.

So we come home. I now have a log of half a dozen mild seizures mostly triggered by noises it seems. She is subdued but otherwise comfortable with periods of normalcy. Her litter box is usually down in the basement but we’ve closed the kitty door to the basement (for obvious safety reasons) and put the litter box in front of the door. She is upset that she can’t go hide in the basement.

Now I’m waiting for hubby to get back from the pharmacy with the Phenobarbitol. We will then have to wait for a perky period where we can try administering it with a treat without traumatising the poor little thing. I’m afraid this is the beginning of the end for kitty. It’s so hard to know what to do and when. :frowning:

So sorry you are going through this. Can you giver a box with a cut hole and cover the hole with a hanging towel over it? I imagine she wants some place dark and quiet to hide in.

She’s under the bed now which is her second “go to” spot. She is excellent at hiding. She will come out now and then and act perfectly normal but the seizures were happening so frequently there for awhile she wasn’t fully recovering and it was all running together. She is acting aprehensive about everything and everyone because while she may be unconscious of the seizure itself she certainly realizes she fell off the step this morning then got scooped up and taken to the hospital. Also I know the Depo can make them sluggish for awhile. I feel bad for my husband because he does not deal well with end of life issues. I am a “better a day too soon than a minute too late” type of person but he is struggling with feeling powerless.

Im so sorry you are going through this.

If she is cluster seizuring, she should really be at the hospital on a valium CRI to break the cycle. Once broken, phenobarbital or keppra may help but these drugs are not meant to break cluster seizures :frowning:

There are many causes of seizures, idiopathic epilepsy is often diagnosed in younger pets (dogs mostly) so encephalitis, tumor or metabolic disease such as hyperthyroidism could be the trigger. If you are not interested in an MRI and/or CSF tap, breaking the clusters with a CRI of valium and then trying to use AED drugs is a reasonable thing to try. I would just make sure you get the clustrs under control first, or permanent brain damage can occur.

If you do not have the funds to take her back to get the valium CRI, I would request valium for rectal administration. Its uptake is rather fast, far better than oral medications and should cease seizures almost immediately. They should be able to give you a few pre-drawn up doses for minimal funds.

Jingles!

I second the Valium. We have always have it on hand for our epileptic dog.

I love pill pockets! It makes giving pills a breeze (if your cat is food motivated that is!).

Good luck with everything. I know it is not an easy issue to deal with.

Did the vet not recommend keeping her hospitalized? Or doing injectable Valium/phenobarbital? And injectable would be the fastest way to try and break tr cycle.

She was actually very normal this morning at the vet which is kind of like getting your car to make the noise for the mechanic. The cluster of three seemed to be over. Eyes perfect, reflexes and motor skills perfect. She has been resting comfortably now for the past three hours. The afternoon seizures were so brief. If something alarmed her she would start to creep off and it was just like she stiffened and lost her balance and then in 5 seconds she was on her way again. More like a loss of balance from stroke than a true seizure.

The way I give pills is I use a quarter of a pill pocket to stick the pill to a treat. She didn’t want treats this afternoon so I put the little pill pocket in some tuna water and down it went. I know tuna has it’s own issues so I’m just using it as a temptation.

It’s hard to know what to do when the problem comes and goes. I hate to hospitalize them unnecessarily because that is a stresser too. I’ll be checking back with the vet in the morning to get the total for the bill and update them on her symptoms.

We have a young cat who suffers from seizures. We have him (hopefully) under control on a half tablet of the 16.5MG phenobarbital. I use a pill cutter to cut the pills into quarters then press a quarter into Purina Whisker Lickins’ soft treat. Sampson gets a dose AM and PM. He loves those soft treats. If you can stop the cluster seizures you may be able to maintain her.

I don’t have any advice, but wishing you the best possible outcome on this! Jingles!!!

Sorry to hear this news. Sounds like you are managing the situation and prepared to take further action when warranted. Its the best anyone can do- and you know your cat. I hope the meds take hold and stop this!

Thank you all for the well wishes.
She came out of hiding last night at 9pm, ate a little, drank well, used the box then jumped up on the bed with us. She slept quietly until 5am and jumped down with no problem. Then I got at least an hour sleep… Just now she came for her morning treat with pill then drank like her usual routine. Someone has used the box. She still acts a bit feeble and she is checking around corners which is usual suspicious behavior after a vet trip. No known seizure activity now for over 12 hours.

It was so hard to leave the house for the office today. My husband is retired so he can monitor the cat all day, but I just got this wave of sickening fear. Fear of making the wrong decisions. Fear that she is suffering. Fear of seeing more symptoms. Fear of rushing an irrevocable decision. Fear of delaying the inevitable. It is so much easier to pass judgement on what other people should do with their animals and when.

And I can totally understand why some parents with children with health issues can’t say no or discipline their children. You just want to give them any simple thing that is in your power to make up for what is not in your power.

Happy to hear she is doing ok! Sounds like they are maybe focal type seizures? Hopfully better short term prognosis than full tonic clonic ones.

FWIW my cat lived over a year (actually, probably just over 3!) with “twitchy” type seizures. Near the end, when she required AED treatment we had her on keppra and pred rathr than phenobarbital. Hopfully your cat maintains her QOL for a while to come :wink: I would recommend if you notice a tonic clonic that she sees a neurologist to get her the most appropriate drug cocktail to control inflammation and seizures.

Also forgot to ask, how is her thyroid panel rsults?

I don’t recall what her thyroid was and I didn’t bring home a copy of her panels. I had so many numbers thrown at me all at once. She is a skinny cat so I would expect she’s on the hyper side.

She seemed a bit druggy when I came home this evening but in general she is alert and happy and really it’s great to see her doing her normal stuff. I may talk to the vet about changing her dosage in a week or so instead of giving her 1/2 pill every 12 hrs maybe trying 1/4 every 8 which would reduce her by a 1/4 in 24. Her appetite is great (Pheno side effect) and it would be a wonderful if she gained some weight. Gaining weight would also slightly the weight correlation to her current dosage.

Despite being a bit zoned, and probably tired, she’s back to most of her signature habits. Just a moment ago she walked past her sister, looked down her nose and said “you frumpy mess you need a bath” and began washing her face which is very typical. My husband distracted her because that usually ends in a wrestling match and it seemed yesterday as the seizure activity was winding down, that excitement triggered them. For instance, we would close a cupboard too loudly and she would sort of startle and go to slink away then freeze and wobble to the point of probably tipping over just like a fainting goat. The hyperesthesia is triggered that way too so we’re just trying to keep everything mellow for now. No wrestling. No doors slamming. No excited words.

She has been very needy which is fine with us because we want to spend extra time with her. The cats normally do not sleep with us but my husband is already planning to sleep on the couch so she can have his side of the bed again tonight and not one of her usual precarious spots like the swivel office chair or, Heaven forbid, crammed under the pie safe.

This responsible pet owner thing is a lot of work. You have to learn so much so fast and put it into practice and you don’t want them to pay for your learning curve. The vet we drew on emergency call is the older patriarch of the practice who I know is very good but we’ve never liked his beside manner. He really was great yesterday. Our usual vet (who we love) will be back from maternity leave soon and I’m not sure if I want to bring her into the middle of the case or stick with Doc.

She could be groggy from the phenobarbital, its a sedative. Many people prefer keppra as an AED because of the side effects of phenobarbital (liver disease, sedation etc.). Might be something to consider when you go in for a recheck. Glad to hear she is doing well though :wink:

Yes, I’m sure the phenobarbital is making her groggy. That’s what I’m worried about. That either the dosage is a little high for her or its just not the exact med for her.

10 years ago when doctors realized my depression was actually ADHD I went through a lot of anti-depressants and then stimulant ADD meds and my husband has chronic pain so we both have experience with drug side effects and how some meds are right and some aren’t worth it at all and of course the cat can’t make these decisions for herself so I feel very responsible to explore her options.

Our cat who is on 1/2 pill a day split into a AM and PM dose is a hefty fellow, about 11 pounds. He was having multiple seizures in a 24 hour period before the Phenobarb so we started with a half tab in the AM and a half tab in the PM. He was a bit groggy on that dosage so we tried scaling back and gradually weaning him off it but the seizures returned once he was off the meds. On the dose he is on now he hasn’t had a seizure in several months. I am concerned about long term as he is a young cat, but his seizures were full blown and were awfully hard on him. Us too.

The seizures are very hard on everyone. I am thankful that hers have been relatively minor.

I’ve been reading up on medications so I can discuss them with the vet. It’s helpful to read other people’s experiences with dosage. My husband is torn up over how sleepy she seems right after her dose although she does respond and perk up. I felt bad when I came home and saw how sedate she was acting compared to her normal activity and she was due for a new dose. Neither one of us want to keep her doped to the gills just so we can have more time with her and he wants to start experimenting with dosages right now. But I’ve also read that the med sleepiness can decrease after a few weeks. I have reminded him (and myself) that this is not supposed to be the permanent cure it’s buying us time to adjust and make long term decisions.

I don’t know how many pets I’ve started on phenobarbital. The feedback I have from clients is that for the vast majority, the sedative aspects of the phenobarbital become much less noticeable by about two weeks in.

Jingles and hugs!!!