Fitting cat - anything I should be watching for?

Mutter_2

Racy, has your kitty Daisy had any flea treatment before her fit?

RacyRed

Hi,

Daisy has been fine all day.

I've had some professional advice and the concensus is to get the rescue centre to find out as much as they can. They are known to help with tests and treatment if a rescued cat has a health problem, which is great news.

In the short term she is fine but I now how to get to a vet 24/7 if she has any further problems before being seen by the rescue centre vet.

Yogi has had flea treatment in the last week (Stronghold) but not Daisy. She was rolling on some catnip an hour or so before the fit so I've now removed all trace of that, just in case.

Fingers crossed.

Mutter_2

Awh, best of, to you all.

Little_Chicken

You poor thing, and poor Daisy. Hope it all goes well on Monday. sending you all a (((HUG)))

Mutter_2

MRSTITTLEMOUSE wrote: »

We had a rescue cat with epilepsy.We also have a daughter with epilepsy.
Both were on medication and both fine.
Our cat died aged 17,after having suffered nothing but epilepsy in her life time.It's a condition although scary can be treated and kept under control very easily.

17 is credit to any cat owner, let alone one with a medical condition.
Was wondering, MRSTITTLEMOUSE, If Daisy had a fit, how might Yogi respond?
Just thinking, dog should be removed if human were having one, how so cats?

RacyRed

Mutter wrote: »

17 is credit to any cat owner, let alone one with a medical condition.
Was wondering, MRSTITTLEMOUSE, If Daisy had a fit, how might Yogi respond?
Just thinking, dog should be removed if human were having one, how so cats?

Great question Mutter, I was wonding that. Last night Yogi was asleep in another room when Daisy had the fit.

I've been reading as much as I can about epilepsy today and am greatly re-assured about my ability to deal with this long term. I realise now that what I thought of as Daisy's quirky wide-eyed, paw shaking episodes are actually petit mal sezures. She can have these more than once a day. Last night, and probably the previous occasion, were grand mal sezures, severe convulsions, urination, foaming at the mouth etc.

I had no idea she was epileptic and as we have made it this far, my realisation simply means that I make darned sure she gets the medical care that she needs. I'm keeping a diary of any fits I spot in case the information helps the vet's decisions on her long term care.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE, any advice you can give me on general care of an epileptic cat would be very welcome, 17 is a fantastic age for any cat and a credit to your care. Reading back my posts last night were not well written and I realise I may have sounded as if I wanted nothing to do with illness, which is very definitely not the case, so please accept my apologies if I sounded heartless. I was very, very frightened though I'd especially appreciate knowing if there shoulds or shoudn'ts to help Daisy's post fit recovery, she was really confused last night, poor little mite.

I'm very used to dealing with chronic illness in humans (I have some myself) so I'm quite sure, now that I'm over the initial shock, I can deal with it with Daisy.

The railings I was worried Daisy might fall through or slip under can be dealt with by securing a fine trellis along them. I've started work on that already. We will get there, all three of us.

Thank you all.

Love from Jill, Daisy and Yogi.

Mutter_2

Please Racy, take care on reading about your cat's condition.
A little knowledge is dangerous.
The quirky, paw shaking, wide eyed, may not be "episodes" at all, but a cat dream.
My dog "races through the fields" in his dreams. His legs going and nose twitching. On the rare occasion, even a nightmare,screaming in his sleep. He is not however having a fit.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

Hi, Mutter yes my old girl did live to a ripe old age.Pequito as she was called was a beautiful silver tabby,a proper little madam.We took her mother in as a pregnant stray.My girl was the smallest of the kittens and was fine till at 6 weeks she developed epilepsy.We decided she had to stay with us so we could look after her.
The first thing you should do is have your cat checked out to see why it has started fitting there can be a number of reasons not just epilepsy.
If your cat does has epilepsy it's usually easily controlled by drugs twice a day.My daughter and the cat had the same drugs as it happened.They both used to have their meds at the same,twice a day.
I found that my girl did'nt realy stray far from the garden but if she had I would have kept her in as I would of worried incase she missed her medication as it was always realy important to give her it at the proper time.Once under control with luck they don't have fits very often if at all.
You'll probably start to recognise when they are going to fit,they have a look of blankness on their faces that you soon learn.After they start to fit they'll will paddle their paws,dribble,sometimes wee or poo themselves.My girl would make the most hellish yowling noises sometimes.I would just watch her to see that she did'nt hit herself on anything and look over her to check she was'nt choking on anything.Once the fit was over she would sleep.I used to keep her quiet and put her in her basket in a darkened warm room.During a fit just make sure they are safe,don't try to put your fingers in their mouths(unless somethings choking them)just let the fit take it's course and then you can attend your cat.While it's fitting there's nothing you can do but make sure it's not got anything around it that can bang into and hurt itself.I know it looks horrible and is frightening but they don't know anything about it.
All you can do house wise is make sure that she does'nt fall on anything sharp or anything falls over on her.I actually had all my ornaments secured with a bit of blue tack,they're easily removed and put back for cleaning but don't fall over easily.
If your'e going to have her checked out and she has another fit before you go try and video it on your phone or camera,it can help the vet to see your cat during the fit.Also try to give the vet a good description of your cat's behaviour before the fit,especially if it's acting out of character.Mine used to want sweet things a couple of hours before hand,jellytots were her favourite.
Once you know the cause of the fits they should easily be controlled and coped with.
It's not as bad as it seems honestly,just one of those things sent to try us as they say.Hope you get things sorted out.Good luck.
About your little dog Yogi,If you know he won't hurt your cat,he'll be ok to be there.Otherwise just put him in another room.

Mutter_2

The definative guide Mrs Tittle mouse. From one who's lived it.

Just to say,Racy Red has made no mention of a Dog.

Yogi, is another rescue cat.
Just wondered, if Daisy had a fit, how the other cat might react.

RacyRed

MrsTittlemouse,

thank you, that is a really helpful post with so much useful information. Fortunately Daisy doesn't stray from my "patch" so once I have made it safer for her she should be OK there. If it happens again I'll do my best to record it. Fortunately I have to avoid sharp knocks myself so most things in my home are already round cornered, upholstered or softened in some way.

Yogi is also a cat (but is larger than many small dogs!) I've yet to see how he reacts to Daisy's fits, but since last night he has been taking every opportunity to lick her ears and do nose hellos etc. Daisy thinks he is too big to be allowed and hisses at him (very half-heartedly :rolleyes: ) so I'll try to ensure he is away from her when she fits in case it makes things worse.

Mutter, Daisy has the little fits when she is wide awake and sitting up, sometimes it causes her to tumble off her favorite seat on the arm of a chair. She goes a bit vague looking just before and is a little confused afterwards. I thought she was just a bit clumsy. When I read about petit mal the description so closely matched Daisy's behavior it left me in no doubt. It is something that I will have checked and will also try to record as they are much more frequent events than the big ones.

In the meantime the only thing Daisy and Yogi are interested in just now is how to persuade me to give them a little more chicken