I don't know if fit or seizure is correct or if its a temporary paralysis, or what it is.

It's 5 weeks since his last one, the vet thinks he probably has a tumour which blocks messages from his brain to his back legs,but I'm not so sure.

The first one was the worst, he had been sleeping on the armchair, when suddenly he dropped to the floor, he rolled and rolled around uncontrollably, it lasted less than 2 mins then he seemed perfectly normal.

Five weeks later he was asleep on a kitchen chair when I heard a commotion and he was doing the same thing, it lasted less than a minute,
4 days later it happened again and only lasted 10 to 20 seconds

He was given a steroid injection and I was told to give it a week to 10 days to see how he fared.

Now 5 weeks later, early this morning, I was asleep and Smokey was asleep on the floor when he started rolling and bumping into the furniture,
By the time I was out of bed and reached him, 10 seconds at the most he was normal again, I petted him, he seemed perfectly ok, then he went trotting down the stairs, wanting his breakfast.

He eats well, he drinks ok, doesn't appear to have any pain, is energetic, playful, so surely if it was a tumour causing these episodes, they would be getting more frequent and lasting longer? so far they've been lasting for shorter and shorter periods of time.

The vet says the only way forward is to have an mri scan, but didn't really recommend it as even if anything did show up, chances were that it would be inopperable, and that any blood tests would be a waste of time, I have to wait and see.

Has anyone come across anything like this before?

I've searched on the internet and cannot find anything like it.

So far I've blamed giving him tuna, I gave him about a 40gr portion for 4 days running, he had his 1st episode the next day,
I've stopped it now.

Using Advocate as a flea treatment instead of Frontline combo, vet recommended it, but the last time I used it, Blackjack lay on the leather sofa and when he moved off, it had left a stain and taken the surface off the leather! What does it do to their skin? I used it 3 times on both my boys.
I'm back with the Frontline now.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Sheila It sounds exactly like how Chase acts when he has a seizure and my bet is that is what is going on. Chase only has them occasionally just like that. I don't know what you are feeding him but this is how we have handled Chase. First of all no grain, and no chemicals, period. Chase had a full Thyroid panel and found that he has low Thyroid, it showed normal on regular T4 panel, we had to have a full 4-5 panel test that showed T3 and other stuff. Is there any correlation you can find to the flea treatment. We have found that many meds and most chemical will cause him to have a seizure. We no longer use regular fertilizer on the lawn for instance and any kind of product, such as flea /tic treatment is out of the question. Chase was having them every 4-6 weeks now he goes for several month. Seizure meds are not given unless the seizures are more severe, like clusters, last a long time or are more frequent. Maybe by changing a few things you can slow it down. Chase is perfectly fine any other time, it is said that cats don't have seizures as commonly as dogs but they do have them and it can often be tied to chemicals or foods.

We have Chase very structured on everything, he only gets his grain free food, nothing else to eat. Only meds that are not related to seizure activity and absoulutely no chemicals, even his shampoo is safe. I had a cat that had a brain tumor, that is not how she acted, my dad also had a brain tumor. Smokey is normal right after and in between, a seizure is temporary, a brain tumor is constant, it doesn't go away. If you can do an MRI it may help you know so you can relax. But if he had a brain tumor for as long as this has been going on you would see other significant signs of decline and imapirment, but apparently you are not. A brain tumor or something like that would be affecting him to some degree most of the time, and it wouldnot be going away. A tumor does not swell up and cause a few minute, or seconds reaction then go away . One thing to keep in mind, a seizure is not painful, they usually don't even know they had one, and unless it is the serious kind that last a long time or cluster, that means more than one in 24 hours or one right after another, it does not harm them. If in fact it is a brain tumor it must not be an aggressive kind becuase it is not getting worse and it may be a long time before he is suffering from it, so take a deep breath. If you want more info or anything let me know.

Has the vet checked his heart?

Good question, that is one of the things that can cause siezures in cats. Had a cat that had a seizure from a heart problem also. I've had some sick cats I think

Thanks for all that info Dianne. It gives me something to think about, and gives me some hope

When Smokey was a kitten I was told to feed him Royal Canin by the breeder but it made him ill and didn't agree with him and so I swapped to James Wellbeloved Turkey and Rice and Duck and Rice. He's always been well on it.

I'll check out the pet stores at the weekend and try to find something grainfree for him, mix the two for a while.

I also feed him raw minced steak (for humans) top of the range, sometimes he eats it but usually Blackjack eats both helpings, his favorite was tuna, but I've cut that out now.

He also has one pouch of wet food a day Purina felix ocean feasts in jelly, I don't think there's any grain in them.(Usually he only eats the jelly)

Checking back on the Advocate, I used it for the first time on Smokey in April, June and August 22nd, his first episode was 10th Sept.

I used Frontline on him in November but won't be using it again until Spring.

I feel like a woman on a mission now

Yes, one of the first things the Vet did was check his heart and said it was fine.

Sheila I think a check of his heart like Tracy said would be good. Do you have a lot of tics,fleas etc. where you are that he could pick up? We don't because of the cold so I have never used any of that stuff. Unless it is absolutely necessary I wouldn't, they do abosrb through the skin and it is a pesticide. There are some natural alternatives, you may want to research it. Another culprit is preservatives, see if the food has natural preservatives, Rosemary can cause seizures also. Keep in mind I have a dog so I am just telling you what we have learned but I know the kids on my caseload at work that have seizures do basically the same thing. There is obviously some kind of event going on but what is causing it is the question. I know with my kitty that had heart problems and had a seizure there were other signs, shortness of breath, etc. But I feel heart problems need to be ruled out.

There are a million things that can cause a seizure, you just never know so I try to avoid the known causes, that is all I can do. Chase will go down and then start to flip around so I just keep him layed down and speak calmly until it passes. I also keep Resuce Remedy in several places around the house so if he has an attack I can give him some. It seems to make it pass quciker. I know how frightening it is, but keep in mind that right now it is not affecting his quality of life. Get some things ruled out so you can have peace of mind and then just learn what you can about what, if anything you find. He may just fine otherwise for many years. Good luck, I am sorry, I know this is scary no matter what the cause is.

Okay I just read that his heart was tested, so forget that part The thing that says to me possible seizure is the description of what he does and how he acts between. If it was something like heart, tumor or the likes I would expect other symptoms and a decline by now, he has been doing this for a bit. I know that Chase is extremely sensitive to grains/chemicals and medication. It only takes a little bit and he can seize.

Thanks Dianne, James Wellbeloved is 'naturally Hypo Allergenic with no added artificial colours, flavours or preservatives' or so it says on the bag. Also it doesn't contain wheat, do you class the rice as bad grain?

I have always deflead the cats every other month as a rule throughout Spring and Summer as they lay in the garden most of the time, I don't need to do them in the winter, but I will look into alternatives now definately.

Sheila, I don't have any suggestions for you, but Smokey Joe is certainly in my thoughts and prayers. I hope you can figure this out.

Hey there,

Smoky's "fits" definitely sound like seizures. There are different kinds.

It's true that they do not have any idea of what's going on except that they are very fearful during a seizure (tail usually fluffed, eyes dilated) and what is truly happening to their brain is that it is literally frying a little bit each time which is actually very painful and their temperature will be exremely high.

If this happens again, note if the cat doesn't know who you are - a big sign of seizures. Because of this, they are apt to bite, scratch or anything to get away from the pain of literal brain-fry.

"Squint" has not seized since on medicine. Her first seizure was about 3 minutes (anything over 3 minutes is a true emergency); and she was spazzing everywhere, my other cats were chasing her thinking she was playing, I grabbed her up and she was burning, and got cool, wet cloths on her. Second seizure a week later was a grand mal seizure - she was just frozen, staring up, unmoving - these are even more dangerous.

If it happens again and Smokey feels hot, immediately have cloths at hand that you can wet with cool water (NOT cold), drip over head and back and place cloth over head and back. If it lasts more than 3 minutes (some say 5, but that seems like a lifetime as I'm guessing you know just from the shorter time your Smoky had a seizure.

I highly recommend a second opinion as most vets know just from your explanation of what happened if it's seizures or not.

It sounds so much like seizures, and if it is, Smoky needs to get on the Phenobarbital. Keep the house as stress-free as possible (a trigger).

Each seizure fries a little more of the brain - important to get it checked out completely.

If your cat’s tail fluffed up, was foaming at the mouth and either staring up for 2+ minutes, he/she may very well had a Gran Mal seizure.

If it was one of those wild seizures where they run around the house wildly (because they are truly on fire inside their brain – temperature way above normal) and not knowing who you are (in either seizure case), not knowing the other animals or people in the house, this is another form of seizure as well.

The brain does literally fry during a seizure (human or cat), and if it’s not due to poisoning and the doctor who x-rays your cat’s head finds that you happen to have a seizure cat, your cat will need to be on Phenobarbital, probably 16.2mg, 2x/day for life.

I would also ask for an oral syringe of Valium to keep on hand (which has to go up the… a-hem…. Bunda (Portuguese for Butt), to slow down the seizure much quicker. Phenobarbital is VERY Inexpensive. I got a 150-day supply for $6.29 at Costco. (for 2x/day, and as close to 12 hours apart as you can pill your cat or use Greenies Pill Pockets).

I am so sorry this sounds so tragic, but it will be if left unattended and without medicinal intervention.

Sorry this sounds discombobulated(sp?), but if Smoky IS having seizures and is on the medicine, he can lead a completely normal life with a much lesser chance of ever seizing again, or will have very few seizures compared to if he were not on medicine.

Wishing the best of health for Smokey! He'll be okay if it is seizures if he gets on medicine sooner rather than later.

Warmly,

Julie O'

Red-Cross Certified in Dog and Cat First Aid
Retired Volunteer/Foster/Adopt-a-Pet-er for Kill Shelter
Owned by 9 Beloved Indoor-Only Kill Shelter Felines, 6 w/Special Needs >^..^