Seizures in a Young Cat

[LadyCrazyCatLady]

We have two brother cats (half Bengal, half naughty local tom cat) who are 1 year 3 months old and they are much loved.

Yesterday, one of them started having seizures, which he continued to have hourly overnight. It was very distressing and none of us got any sleep. Between seizures, which lasted 1-2 mins he was increasingly affectionate and a bit 'off' but generally OK - moving normally, eating and drinking etc.

The emergency vets didn't want to see him overnight, but we took him in first thing this morning and he's currently on a phenobarbital drip. Physical examination and bloods so far have been completely normal (toxoplasmosis outstanding) so the vets are thinking epilepsy.

So, do any of you have experience of having a cat with epilepsy. Did you manage to get on top of their seizures? Did they live a long and healthy life?

Another problem in addition to how distressing the seizures were to watch, was that he lost control of his bladder and we went through all of our sheets last night - any tips on coping with this?

We're all so worried about him.

No advice but I'm a bit horrified that the emergency vet didn't want to see him
Overnight. Surely new seizures is as much as an emergency in a cat as in a human.

My DSis had a cat with epilepsy. She had drops to put in his food and it was mostly well controlled. He would have the occasional seizure and then spend the next few hours wandering around looking lost, but otherwise fine.

The big issue came when as far as we can tell he had a seizure while he was out & about over the marshland and got totally lost. Which meant he didn't get his meds, so he had more fits so more confused & lost. He was found a month later looking VERY sorry for himself and we think contributed to his passing a couple of years later - but he did have a couple of other conditions which didn't help, and I think it was either liver or kidneys that packed in at the end.

I think apart from keeping going with the meds from the vet (not cheap, hope he's lifetime insured) for peace of mind I would try to ensure he can't roam too far e.g. cat proofed garden.

He's still in the vets as they haven't been able to control his seizures yet. They've said that he may be able to come out this evening, but they keep saying that, and then he has another seizure so 'hometime' gets pushed back.

When he does come home, he'll need keeping inside for some time, while we slowly change the timings of his meds. The vets currently have them required at midday and midnight.

We've purchased a dual control Sureflap today, so we'll be able to let his brother out and not him, when needed. He has a tracker collar so we can find him if he's ever missing or if he hasn't returned in time for medication.

Unfortunately (this was stupid) we had not insured him for illnesses as had thought it would be unlikely for such a young cat and we'd take the gamble and pay if we needed to. We will be paying for this mistake for a long time. His brother is now thoroughly insured!

I remain very worried about him. He's much loved and the house is not the same at the moment.

He can't come home this evening. He's had an escalation in his seizures.

Really worried now 😔

Oh no. Handhold from me.

Sorry you are all going through this.
How is he today? 💐💐

I'm so sorry to hear this and I am astounded that he wasn't seen by the emergency vet last night. The longer seizures are allowed to go on the harder it is to control them. I hope he pulls through for you and I would be questioning why he was allowed to have continued seizures at home.

We're so relieved. After they upped the phenobarbital dose, he's had no more generalised seizures.

He's just come home. He doesn't seem himself, but I'm not surprised after the events of the past few days.

So many things are going through my mind as to how we're going to care for him going forward. From the next few weeks to more long term stuff like how we can ensure he has his medication at the correct times when we go away. We usually pay for a cat sitter to come a couple of times a day for cuddles and feeding, however I'm not sure that would work for exact times and medication and he'd then have to be kept indoors.

He's very much an outdoor cat. He's only been home an hour and is already protesting about not being allowed out.

Since he's been home, I've noticed his balance is a little 'off'. In that his foot keeps slipping off the edge of surfaces when he's walking along them. He can right himself though.

His seizures have started increasing in frequency as the evening has gone on (last meds at midday), but so far they're only lasting 30 seconds and are focal rather than generalised.

The vet said it can take weeks for the meds to work fully.

I'm now worrying that it might be a brain tumour or something, given the balance problems, but we can't afford a £4000 neurology workup.