Cat Seizures
❤️❤️❤️Here at Bradford Cat Watch Rescue and Sanctuary our little furry family certainly know how to keep us on our paws. ❤️❤️❤️
Baked been has been under constant surveillance for over 48 hours now and has been monitored every 30 mins by volunteers.
Baked Bean is just 3 years old and has been with us since she was 3 months old. She has moderate cerebellar hypoplasia.
When she arrived with us she literally could not stand or walk… and she really has come on in leaps and bounds
On Monday afternoon totally out of the blue she has a very violent seizure and later that day was taken to the vets to be checked over.
The last seizure she had prior to this was 18 months ago
⚠️⚠️⚠️Would you know what to do if your cat had a seizure????⚠️⚠️⚠️
⚠️If you have witnessed an animal or person having a seizure (convulsion or fit), you will know how frightening it can appear. An animal suffering a generalised seizure (also known as grand mal seizure) will be unconscious. They may show violent, rhythmic movement of their legs, excessive drooling and twitching of the face and jaws. Some animals cry out and it is not uncommon for them to lose control of their bladder or bowels.
⚠️Although time seems to slow down when you are faced with a seizuring animal most seizures only last for 2 minutes or less. Seizures are not common in cats and some cats will have only one seizure in a lifetime. Remember your cat does not know what it is doing during a seizure so it is important to keep you and your pet safe.
⚠️The most important thing is to stay calm. Remember that your cat is not in pain or distressed during the seizure itself. The seizure is likely to be more distressing for you than your pet. Ensure your cat is in a safe place, i.e. not at the top of a flight of stairs and then do not intervene further or you may get hurt.
⚠️It is a good idea to have a plan that you can enact every time your pet has a seizure. If everyone in the family knows what to do in advance they will be less alarmed when a seizure starts. Print out the seizure plan and pin it in a prominent place in the house so everyone can access it in an emergency.
⚠️During the seizure keep notes as these may be helpful to your vet later on – write down the time the seizure started and finished and what your pet did during the seizure. It can also be very helpful to grap your phone and film it to show your vet too.
⚠️If your cat stops seizuring within 5 minutes allow them time to recover quietly. Immediately following the seizure your pet may show some strange behaviours and may be abnormal for minutes to hours after.
⚠️ If this is the first seizure your cat has had you should contact your vet and let them know. Your vet may ask you to bring your cat into the next routine appointment for a check and some routine blood tests. It is far better for your cat to recover quietly at home rather than be bundled into the car and carted off to the vet right away.
⚠️If your cat continues to have an active seizure as described above for more than 5 minutes or fails to recover fully before another seizure starts, or has repeated seizures within hours of one another, then you should contact your vet immediately.
⚠️Your vet will give some advice over the phone. If your cat has a history of seizures your vet may have given you medication to keep at home for emergency use. Some drugs can be given per rectum or nasally (i.e. up the nose) and this can be given during a prolonged fit and/or after individual seizures if the cat is predisposed to severe clusters. If you have to give medication by mouth wait until your cat is fully recovered and never try to put tablets in your cat’s mouth while it is still dazed. Your cat may not be sufficiently aware to swallow properly and you may get bitten.
⚠️If your cat has more than 3 seizures in a day you should contact your vet for further advice.
⚠️If your cat is still having an active seizure after 5 minutes your vet will probably want to see it straight away.
⚠️Always call your vet’s practice before driving there to be sure that there is someone on hand who can help your pet.
❤️You will be please to know that Baked Bean is back to her usual cheeky self and is no longer under constant surveillance
.. so we may get some sleep tonight ❤️