Fitting – an emergency?

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 generalized seizure (also known as grand mal seizure) will be unconscious and therefore unaware of its environment. It 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 seizing 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.

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The most important thing is to STAY CALM. Remember that your cat is not in pain or distressed during the seizure itself. The seizure itself is likely to be more distressing for you than your pet. Ensure your pet is in a safe place, ie 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 veterinarian later on – write down the time the seizure started and finished and what your pet does during the seizure.

If your cat stops seizing within 5 minutes, then allow him time to recover quietly. Immediately following the seizure your pet may show some strange behaviors and may be abnormal for minutes to hours after. If this is the first seizure your cat has had you should contact your veterinarian and let them know. They may ask you to bring your cat into the next routine appointment for a check-up 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 veterinary practice 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 veterinarian immediately. They will give some advice over the phone. If your cat has a history of seizures your veterinarian may have given you medication to keep at home for emergency use. Some drugs (diazepam or valium) can be given per rectum or nasally, ie 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 also contact your veterinarian for further advice.

If your cat is still having an active seizure after 5 minutes your veterinarian will probably want to see it straight away. Always call your veterinary practice before driving to the hospital to be sure that there is someone at the hospital who can help your pet.

Immediately after a seizure your cat may be very confused and could show strange behavior such as aimless pacing, wobbliness or a desire to eat and drink excessively. You must be very careful during this time as they can become aggressive.

Most of the time epileptic cats recover perfectly well after a seizure. A very small number of cats die as the result of an injury that has happened because of a seizure. In some cases, cats do die during a seizure without any obvious explanation. Sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP) also occurs rarely in people affecting 1 in 1000 epileptics. No-one knows how rare this is in cats.

These directions will help you manage your pet in a safe way during and after a seizure.

Before a seizure

1. Write your veterinary practice contact number here so you have it hand:
Veterinary practice contact details: …………………………………………..
Emergency contact number: ……………………………………………………
2. Know where emergency drugs are stored.
3. Instruct all adult members of household how to administer these drugs correctly.

During a seizure

1. Ensure your pet is in a safe place and if necessary, move them away from hazards such as the top of stairs.
2. Ensure that any other household pets are shut up away from the seizing cat. Other animals can become distressed seeing a companion having seizures and may get hurt if they go to investigate. In some cases, cats will attack a seizing companion.
3. Write down start and finish time of seizure. If a seizure lasts more than 5 minutes call your veterinarian for advice.

After a seizure

1. Keep other household pets locked away from seizing cat until it is fully recovered.
2. Keep human contact to a minimum until pet is recovered.
2. Immediately after seizure cats may be hungry, thirsty or need to toilet.
3. Allow the cat to fully recover in a quiet peaceful environment but you should expect that your cat may be restless or agitated and may move around a lot, so it is important that you provide a safe environment for this.