Is your cat a senior citizen?

Did you know that cats are considered "senior" after 10 years of age?  More importantly, did you know that they should have a general check up, along with urine and blood testing when they reach this age?  I didn't know that for a long time.  I've always been on a limited budget, so I only took my cats to the vet if they were ill.  I stopped getting vaccinations for them after my little tortoiseshell girl had a bad reaction to her annual vaccine.  It was quite an awful event for her, as I had to take her to the animal hospital and leave her there for the day.  They told me that she was doing better and that I could come get her around 6 pm.  Once I got her home, though, she developed a bad reaction to the Benadryl that they gave her to counteract the reaction to the vaccines.  Instead of making her calm and somewhat sedated, it had the opposite effect.  My poor girl couldn't sit still.  Her skin would start twitching whenever she tried to lay still.  Because of all of that,  I decided that I would only take my cats in if they were ill.

When my oldest cat was 14, however, I noticed that she was drinking more than usual.  I searched the internet for that symptom, and the results I got said she could either have diabetes or kidney failure.  I read that both were common diseases for older cats, and that because of that, you should have your cat tested for them after they turned 10.  Cats have 2 kidneys, but by the time most owners notice the symptoms of kidney failure (if they notice at all), most often they only have 1/4 of their kidneys functioning.

If I had known this, I could have put my girl Buddy on a kidney diet as soon as she developed the problem, and she may have lived longer.  No vet ever told me this, and I felt guilty for not taking her for regular exams.  So I thought I'd share this on my blog so other kitties could be diagnosed as soon as possible.

Take your kitty in and ask for tests for it's kidneys and for diabetes.  You won't regret it, but if you don't, you may regret that.  My girl is gone now, and I'd do almost anything to have her here for a few more years.

Symptoms of seizures in cats

If you have a cat, I hope that you will read this entire post.  I never knew that cats had seizures.  My two cats were both old - one was/is 15, the other 18, and no vet ever told me that a seizure was a possibility.  My oldest cat had kidney disease for 4 years and was in the late stages of the disease. If I had had ANY IDEA that she could have seizures, and if I had known that sometimes there were no convulsions during seizures - just disorientation, I would have had her at our local vet the day before she died.  I could have prevented a horrible night for both her and I that ended with her being put to sleep.  

The night she went into Status Epilepticus was so horrible that I doubt I'll ever forget it.  On the way home from the animal hospital I became physically sick.  And instead of having a peaceful death, my precious girl suffered from seizures for almost an hour while my Mom and I wrapped her in a blanket and drove to the nearest animal hospital - 45 minutes away.  I held my baby on my lap and looked into her eyes, wide with terror, while I prayed that the seizures would stop.  She began panting and drooling, and her body never stopped convulsing.  And there was nothing I could do but talk to her and pray.  I felt so incredibly helpless.  PLEASE READ THIS AND EDUCATE YOURSELF.  I've put my words in blue text, and everything else is information that I've copied from various web sites.

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Seizures are transient and start and stop abruptly. They tend to start with a far-away look in the cat’s eyes, and affected cats may appear needy, agitated and nervous – as if they do not understand what is happening in their surroundings. The cat may tremble and appear to lose awareness of its environment. Affected cats may lose control of their limbs; their legs may become stiff and outstretched, and the cat may also begin to paddle the legs as if trying to swim. Saliva may gather in the lip folds around the mouth, and the cat may not respond when called. It may also breathe or pant heavily, and it may lose control of its bladder and bowels. Some cats chomp their teeth and have facial muscle twitching. They may become temporarily blind, vomit or salivate excessively. Affected cats may also urinate or defecate. The episodes can last from seconds to minutes, and in some cases to hours.

In the time following a seizure (called the post-ictal period), the cat will recover. She may still experience temporary blindness and some post-seizure convulsions. This typically lasts for about an hour, but could last for several days. She may still appear disoriented and sleep heavily for a long time following a seizure.

TYPES OF SEIZURES - BE AWARE THAT THEY MAY NOT HAVE CONVULSIONS OR ANY TWITCHING.  MY CAT WAS DISORIENTED SEVERAL TIMES DURING THE DAY BEFORE HER GRAND MAL SEIZURES STARTED.  IF I HAD KNOWN THAT THIS WAS A SYMPTOM OF A SEIZURE I COULD HAVE GOTTEN HER TO MY REGULAR VET AND AVOIDED THE HORRIBLE GRAND MAL SEIZURES THAT SHE SUFFERED FOR CLOSE TO AN HOUR THAT NIGHT.

Absence of Convulsions: Petit Mal Seizures in Dogs and Cats

Pets that have seizures but don't have convulsions have petit mal seizures. They may appear dazed or disoriented, stop what they are doing and stare into space or up at imaginary stars, but they don't fall down and don't have convulsions. These events are called simple, partial petit mal seizures. Many pet guardians don't notice when their pets have these seizures, and don't seek veterinary care. Unfortunately, untreated petit mal seizures can become generalized convulsive seizures.
There is another form of petit mal seizure in which pets snap at imaginary flies, chew imaginary gum, or bite the skin on their flanks. These behaviors are called complex partial seizures or psychomotor seizures. Because these behaviors are unusual, pet guardians ask their veterinarians about them and their pets receive medical treatment. Without treatment, complex partial seizures can progress to convulsive seizures.

Convulsions: Grand Mal Seizures in Dogs and Cats

With grand mal seizures, pets lose consciousness, fall to the floor, and their legs convulse or paddle spastically. Normally, grand mal seizures last between 45 and 90 seconds. Some pets involuntarily urinate or defecate. During convulsions, blood and oxygen do not circulate to the brain and vital organs, so if convulsions continue for several minutes (status epilepticus), pets die of anoxia (loss of oxygen).
For some time before the seizure, which is called the preictal period, your pet's brain functions abnormally. During this period, which is called an aura, pets may be anxious, seek out the family, or hide under beds. After the seizure, known as the postictal period, the brain recovers in a process that may take minutes, hours, or days. During the recovery period, your pet may be blind, dazed, ravenously hungry, or dangerously aggressive.

Frequency of Seizures: Cluster Seizures/Status Epilepticus

Like drum beats, seizures can occur with different rhythms. Normally seizures are widely separated so that brain cells can recover completely. With some abnormalities, though, seizures occur much closer together than they normally would. These are cluster seizures. When seizures occur so rapidly that they are continuous, this is an emergency called status epilepticus.

Cluster Seizures

When seizures occur more than once in 24 hours, they are called cluster seizures. Cluster seizures are usually caused by toxins or structural problems within the brain that continue to excite neurons even when they are exhausted and would normally be recuperating.

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Unfortunately this last category is what happened to my cat. 

There was around 15 - 20 minutes between the first seizure and the 2nd.  I thought that since she seemed okay, she was okay, and that I could wait until the next morning to take her to the vet.

Status Epilepticus: A Medical Emergency

When seizures last longer than five minutes or occur so quickly that your pet's brain doesn't recover between seizures, your pet is said to be in status epilepticus. This is a medical emergency. Status epilepticus is usually caused by toxins or structural problems within the brain and is difficult to treat with normal anti-seizure medications.

TREATMENT OPTIONS:

Cats that experience grand mal seizures, epilepsy, or seizures of unknown origin are often placed on phenobarbital and/or potassium bromide; how much and how long depends on the severity or history of the seizures. Potassium bromide is often used with phenobarbital if the seizures cannot be controlled by either one of the medications alone; if phenobarbital is causing liver damage in the patient potassium bromide is administered without phenobarbital. Valium is often administered if a cat is suffering from cluster seizures, or if the cat is experiencing seizures due to an injury which needs time to heal. A newer type of anti-seizure medication in humans, Neurontin, has been used to treat seizures in cats with very good results and reduced liver side effects. All of these medications require prescriptions and supervised treatment by a veterinarian.

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If you witness a seizure, use a watch or clock to time the seizure, and record it. Don't attempt to grab the tongue. Pets will not swallow their tongues, though infrequently they will catch it between teeth and cut it. If you place your fingers near the mouth, you are very likely to get bitten.

If the pet has gone down on a hard surface such as ceramic tile, as the pet thrashes, prompt placement of a pillow between the head and floor may help to minimize trauma. The animal generates heat while in the seizure, so do not wrap them up in layers of warm blankets afterwards even if the pet is shivering a bit. Shivering is not due to a low body temperature. If the pet is hitting a chair or other object with feet or legs, try to move them out of the way, but otherwise, there is no need for intervention.

Sometimes a pet will show behavior changes prior to the fit (pre-ictus). If you think a seizure is pending, try to lead them to a soft place such as their cat bed so that when they seizure, they have good padding.

Some examples of this:  Before Buddy's first seizure her head turned like she was looking behind her and she couldn't seem to straighten it.  Before her 2nd seizure she began walking around in a circle.