Hello Gill,
All most excellent questions.
I will start with a guide I have on eBay on feline seizures then I’ll address the questions directly.
---start of guide---
Seizures are a very serious problem, and if your cat has suffered a seizure, whether a full blown grand-mal or a petite-mal, you should take him a veterinarian right away. A proper diagnosis can cost a lot and take some time, but this may be needed in order to figure out the cause, eliminate causes and/or find out the best treatment be it surgery or medication.
There is a difference between epilepsy and seizures. Seizures can range from unusual mood swings, sudden loss of balance, uncontrollable thrashing and loss of body control. Seizures are usually symptoms of a disease or physical problem which include infections, tumors, toxic chemicals, and brain damage. Generally cat seizures are not caused by epilepsy. Epilepsy is more a word for seizures for which no other cause has been found.
You will usually see epilepsy divided into one of two types: idiopathic or primary epilepsy; and symptomatic or secondary epilepsy. Idiopathic is used for seizures that seem to have no other cause. Symptomatic refers to seizures caused by an underlying condition.
Seizures should not go untreated. There are risks of choking during the seizure and the seizures may be caused by an underlying condition that could be life threatening if left untreated. Anti-convulsant medications such as Phenobarbital may be able to control the seizures, depending on the underlying cause and diagnosis. Long term use of the medications and the effects on your cat’s body, behavior and organs is the subject of another guide I plan to write when time permits.
What if my cat has a seizure?If your cat having what you believe is a seizure, make sure you watch closely and observe every detail you can so you may describe in detail the event to your vet. As a rule, your vet will never be present during your cat’s seizure, so it is very important that you are able to describe exactly what happened prior to, during and after the seizure. Try to observe breathing patterns, paddling motion, rigidness of limbs, eye dilation and/or motion, salivation, body twisting, muscle twitching; and duration. There is nothing you can do to help your cat while the seizure is happening. Do not attempt to hold or control your cat. This is very dangerous for both your cat and you. Remember that your cat has NO control or ability to react while in the seizure and could scratch you and bite you as the muscles seizure. After the seizure is over your presence and attention will probably comfort your cat as it regains consciousness. At this point you should pet and speak to him. Our cat Leo has had epilepsy since he was a kitten and mistreated by his original owners. When his seizure ends I talk gently to him and brush him for a few minutes, then I get clean damp cloths and clean him up and put him in a bed where I will stay with him through the night (he has his seizures at night as a rule). I also make note of the duration and behavior during the seizure as well as his behavior following for up to 2 hours (he tends to suffer many petite –mal seizures for several hours following the grand-mal(s)). If his episode was strange (abnormal) enough or especially violent, prolonged or in groups, I will call the vet emergency number and take him in right away (for me this always seems to happen at 2-4am). If his episode was not abnormal for him I will call his vet in the morning with a full report and the vet decides if Leo should be seen.
If your cat is having a single prolonged seizure, continuous seizures without recovery between them, or two or more isolated seizures within 24 hours, contact your vet IMMEDIATELY. If it is after hours contact the vet emergency number or a local emergency vet hospital. Aggressive treatment is recommended in these cases and usually intravenous medication is called for. I cannot stress the importance of contacting your vet in this situation as your cat can actually “fry” his brain and die.
The main points- Take your cat to a veterinarian: The most important step is to find a good veterinarian to take care of your cat. If your cat has had one seizure, you should call and make an appointment. If your cat has had more than one seizure in 24 hours, find a vet IMMEDIATELY.
- Learn about seizures and epilepsy: Ask your vet for information that he may be able to copy for you, or where to locate good and proper information. The internet is chalk full of false or inaccurate information, please do not take any medical advice to heart that you find with a search, this includes MINE.
- Make sure your cat gets quality care: Ask your vet questions to see what tests are being done, what problem they suspect and what future course of action they recommend. Feline epilepsy is rare, so many vets are unfamiliar with it. Blood work should always be done, and Phenobarbital is generally prescribed. If you believe your vet is unaware of how to diagnose or treat the seizures then find another vet who can. Seizures or the cause can be fatal if not treated properly.
- Follow up on the care: Your cat may be put on permanent medications. Our cat Leo has been on Phenobarbital one a day for 7 years and his seizures were kept to a minimum. Our goal was 1 or less seizures every 6 months. But in the couple of years his seizures have become more frequent and violent. Follow up visits with our vet has started him the regular dose he always had plus a half dose every other evening. We also take Leo with us on every trip we go on. If you need to give your cat regular medications, work it into your schedule and consider how to handle extended absences. If you decide to take your cat on your trips, make sure to locate pet friendly hotels and airlines (a subject for another guide I guess).
Final WordsPlease remember that I am NOT a veterinarian or trained cat specialist. My advice and guidance is from person experience, self learning and talks with several vets. Before you take my advice (or anyones) to heart make sure you consult with your cat's vet and make sure that they agree with the advice. After all, you and your vet know your cat far better than I or anyone else does.---end of guide---
Now on to your questions:
What are the effects of a grande mal seizure while it is happening, as opposed to any other seizure?
Leo has Grand-Mal seizures and Petite-Mal seizures. Lucky for me he always has had them at night (except 2 so far). Since he sleeps on the bed in a heated cup next to my head the shaking always wakes me. He thrashes and jerks violently. His muscles contract while he thrashes and his eyes roll up into his head. It is very painful to watch and there is little you can do, which I’ll address on your 3rd question. He will also urinate while thrashing like this. Sometimes, depending on how he is facing it will spray up and wet the bed and me.
This will go on for 30 seconds to 2 minutes depending on the severity of the seizure. The violence of it can also range from moderate to horrible. After he lets out a gurgle mixed with a yowl and then slump over to one side totally wasted.
After anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes after the initial grand-mal he will be laying and his head will sway to one side and his ears go down while his head does this motion. He will do this one time every few minutes. This is his petite-mal seizures. They can also rear in some animals by staring in a trance. For Leo, they always lead into more grand-mals. The petite-mals happen more frequently and then he will sputter with them. The best way I can describe the “sputter” is imagine pulling out a gas (petrel there) lawn mower and pulling the rope and the motor starts to catch, sputter, pop then stop. It is like his “grand-mal motor rope” was pulled and the engine sputtered out. Once this happens it is a guarantee that within 1 to 3 more “sputter” petite-mals he will roar into a full blown grand-mal again. He can have 2 to 4 grand-mals in a night and as a rule I call the vet on the 3rd, get them out of bed and pay top have them meet me at the clinic (35 minutes drive for us). I also have learned to dilute some diazepam (valium) into a small amount of water and squirt it into his mouth with a syringe right after the initial grand-mal is over. This greatly slows the oncoming seizures and can reduce the number of them.
10 to 20 minutes after his last grand-mal he begins to drool for a few hours.
Do you know when they are going to happen, any warning signs?
Strangely I get a feeling within a few days of his seizures. I am right about 85 to 90 percent of the time. I cannot place a thumb on what exactly tells me, but some things I have noted include:
1. Leo gets a bit more active the night or a seizure.
2. Leo will ALWAYS have a seizure if I leave for more than a night. ALWAYS. So if Donna and I are going anywhere over night, Leo comes. Thus he has become a well traveled cat. He goes with us 1 to 2 times a year to the east coast when we visit my family. And it is no quick hop. This is a regional airport so we have to hop flights to get out. 3 weeks ago our flight out went: 6:15am left for airport. 8:15am flight takes off. 12pm we land in Mn/Sp airport and switch flights. We leave there at 1:15pm and arrive in NJ at 5pm. We arrive at my mothers home by 7pm. (keep in mind NJ is +2 hours to my timezone and the times I mentioned are local time). Leo will travel in the planes with us and we have a carrier that connects to a baby stroller like thing so we push him in the airports.
What do you do while he is having a seizure and what are its after effects on Leo?
There is nothing you can do. It is dangerous not only to him but you to try and handle him while in a full blown seizure. He can bite down on you and do serious damage to you or you can cause him to bite down on his tongue or lip by moving him. No, you have to sit there and watch, though it is very painful. I do place my hand on top of him, hardly touching him, in hopes he feels me there, and I tell him how much I love him and will watch over him. (hmm, tearing up a bit now).
Once he has one, I stay up the rest of the night with him, brushing him, petting him, wiping drool off him and talking to him. He is pretty spent though and will often just lay there 10 hours and not get up he is so tired.
From what I know of grand-mal’s in humans and what the vet’s tell me, he does not remember them. He just feels funny and very very tired and aches like he has the words hardest work out. In fact one reason I rush him in on 3+ seizures (used to be 2+ till 2 became common place, not 3 is) is that the body is exerting the muscles so much that it can raise the body core temperature. If the seizures are long enough or continuous the fever can kill.
Leo has to take phenobarbotal every day to help not have them. When I got him my vet in Chicago wanted to see how low we could take him and when we lowered it a lot he began to have them daily, so we raised the dose again. It is a hard game of quality of life vs seizures. The meds make him loopy and forever tired. So I have to always debate one vs the other, and I hate that.
There is a lot more medically than I described, but I hope you get the idea from this.
Sincereley,
David
