help me my cat is shaking :(

[erinmarie]

my cat krueger is about a year and a half old. up to date on all shots and vaccinations. he went to the vet last sometime over the summer and was in all around perfect health.
for maybe about a week now, he has sometimes been crying when i pick him up like he is in pain almost because sometimes he'll even bite me to let him down.
then tonight, my sister told me he has been shaking. tremor-like. she was holding him and his head was shaking then he was laying on the floor and his paws were shaking. his eyes don't close or anything like that so i don't think its seizures and i was thinking maybe he's cold but he's half long hair and my sister wrapped him in a blanket and it didn't help.
he's been going under our recliner a lot too like he doesn't want to be out. but then yesterday he was super loveable when i came home and was all over me and purring. i dont know what could be wrong with him.

i am so worried, upset and scared. everything on the internet makes it sound like he's going to die. i can't bear to lose him he's my little baby and i already lost a dog and a kitten in the last few years. i love him so much. what could this be? and what can i do to help him. i am taking him to the vet asap but i just want something to put my mind at ease but don't sugarcoat anything i really wanna know what could be wrong

thank you.

[tiffers]

You definitely need to get him to a vet. Especially if he's crying out in pain and is not acting right. There are no home remedies that can help him at this stage. How old is your kitty? It is possible that he is suffering from an organ failure or has an intestinal obstruction. Both generally treatable, but you can't waste time. He needs medical attention.

[special]

If you can, get a video of the shaking episode to show the vet.

And as tiffers said, don't delay, get him to the vet right away.

please come back and tell us what you find out.

[erinmarie]

to tiffers- hes only a year and a half and has been very healthy. i read somewhere about intestinal obstruction when i googled about this. we are definitely taking him to the vet hopefully tomorrow. the shaking has been sporadic, my sister said it first happened sunday then again today. he's been eating normally and everything and there are no beahvioral changes if anything he is MORE friendly than before. the whining when being picked up also only happens sometimes and my dad seems to think it's because he's not the kind of cat that likes to be picked up anyway.
i am def still taking him to the vet im just worried cause with our last cat who was only a few months old...everything seemed to be fine but he was bloated so we took him to the vet and put him down the same day because he ended up being very sick with petitronitis...we think krueger is fine but im scared the vet will tell us he isnt

[tiffers]

I am glad you're taking him in to see a doctor. I hope that it will be a simple fix, and do please come back to let us know what's going on.

[trip]

*you can have seizures without your eyes closing, but if this were all seizures, he'd likely be viciously attacking you to let him back down and would be crying before you picked him up (at least that would be the case if he were human) and it sounds like he's not biting you any more than he has to in order to be put down. though we did have one cat that was extra lovey after seizures (the animal ER couldn't get his heart beat because he wouldn't stop purring)


Just a random thought, but did you check to make sure his food wasn't anyway involved in the recall - my cats food doesn't contain any peanut butter, but all of the bags were pulled off the shelf because they could have been contaminated by being in the same warehouse. I believe they are still continuously updating the list. A call to the store you get it at should let you know

[special]

Originally Posted by trip

*you can have seizures without your eyes closing, but if this were all seizures, he'd likely be viciously attacking you to let him back down and would be crying before you picked him up (at least that would be the case if he were human) and it sounds like he's not biting you any more than he has to in order to be put down. though we did have one cat that was extra lovey after seizures (the animal ER couldn't get his heart beat because he wouldn't stop purring)
J

I feel compelled to respond that I have never heard of a cat in seizure attacking anyone.

A seizure cannot be interrupted even if you pick kitty up and very likely kitty doesn't even know it's happening, depending on the type of seizure. I have a cat with a seizure disorder and have done a lot of research over the years and have never come across any reference to violence in cats with seizures.

Excessively loving, and excessive appetite after an episode is very common, can in fact almost be used as a symptom, to diagnose the disorder.

There is a very rare disorder that could possibly be mistaken for seizures called "limbic rage syndrome" where kitty becomes dangerously violent.

That being said, I work with special needs girls, and one young woman I work with does become very violent toward the end of her episodes. It may even be AFTER the episode is over, but she's not quite with it yet. But she is a strong girl, and could hurt someone, though not intentionally of course.

Another girl I work with, her seizures are so subtle sometimes you don't even realize it's happening until her lips turn blue! (she tends to stop breathing during an episode)

And a third turns stiff as a board and shakes, but can be talked through it and you feel like she's hearing you.

a little off the topic I guess <s>

[trip]

I feel compelled to respond that I have never heard of a cat in seizure attacking anyone.

A seizure cannot be interrupted even if you pick kitty up and very likely kitty doesn't even know it's happening, depending on the type of seizure. I have a cat with a seizure disorder and have done a lot of research over the years and have never come across any reference to violence in cats with seizures.

During a tonic clonic or absence seizure the person/animal can not respond because their entire brain is seizure. There can be twitching and responses involved with simple partial, complex partial, and myoclonic seizures which are seizures that are not in both hemispheres of the brain. A complex partial seizure is often mistaken for deliberate strange behavior, in particular because something is simple as "screaming, running, and hitting anyone who trys to touch you" can be the full visible manifestation of the seizure. If having a seizure meant you were unable to respond to anything or act in response to stimuli, I'd have been comatose for just about a year now, as I have been having constant seizure activity for that long with daily seizures. And while its possible that I'm only posting here as a result of a CP hallucination, I'm going with the belief that this is a real forum, and I am actually moving about in the world. There is a difference between not interrupting the seizure, and not be able to respond to things/act during the seizure.

After a complex partial seizure, and some other types, such as tonic clonics, there is a state of post-ictal behavior where the "victim's" brain is recovering from the seizure. This can happen immediately after the seizure ends but usually occurs a few hours afterwards, and rarely longer than 2 weeks after the seizures (though a delay of months is possible). This brain re-organization results in strange behavior and the last thing you should ever do is touch the "victim" unless doing so is necessary for their own safety - ie if they are about to walk in front of a car/off a bridge etc. When you touch them you need to be very gently because they will often react very violently, in particularly if their seizure is manifesting itself as feelings of fear or anger - this is one of the reasons epileptics are so often maced, handcuffed, and even beat when they have a seizure in front of police who are poorly trained in how to deal with someone who is having a seizure. I've been tied down to a bed as a result of post-ictal behavior after my last generalized seizures because I was punching and kicking the doctors who were trying to treat me (secondary generalized seizures are technically tonic clonic though not officially so since they start in one brain hemisphere and then spread to two, while a true tonic clonic starts in both hemispheres are the same time). During my last post-ictal behavior from a CP, and as far as observed ones go, the worst since the attack on the ER doctors, my bf followed me as I wandered the streets of Pittsburgh, and repeatedly accused him of trying to kill every poor person in the world with his political beliefs. That was also the same night I tried insisting on sleeping on the porch. In terms of humans, the friends/family of people who are having clean EEGs but are suspected of having seizures are interviewed about the persons behavior to see if the person is acting strangely, volatile, confused, accusing others of something that didn't happen, insisting something they did in front of everyone never occurred, etc. For some people, this is the only thing that distinguishes where they are having epileptical seizures or non-epileptical seizures, and the treatment options are not interchangeable. Anti-epilepsydrugs will not work for some one who is having psuedo-seizures as NES are not caused by abnormal electrical activity.

I have a 27 year history of seizures, if you don't count the "official" remission periods, and will be discussing brain surgery options with my neuro tomorrow and getting a referral to an epileptologist because i'm not being controlled with medicine. As I said previously, most frequently the only way you would know I am having a seizure is because I would tell you that I'm having one. Otherwise, you would have to wait for the post-ictal behavior, and that is unlikely to happen with seizures such as absence ones, I can remember the seizures very well, I've only recently gotten to the point where I can remember any of my post-ictal behavior and then I don't remember it all. Like I remember trying to insist on sleeping on the porch a couple weeks ago - i don't remember how I got to the porch in the first place


This is a thread I like to use for showing just how having a seizure can cause one to behave in a way they have no control over (its for people of course). It brings up behavior that occurs post-ictally or during partial seizures, which can be concerning, but its okay to laugh at it - if it wasn't it wouldn't be posted there

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/...lepsy-if-3810/

[special]

Originally Posted by trip

A tonic clonic or absence seizure cannot be interrupted. There can be twitching and responses involved with simple partial, complex partial, and myoclonic seizures. A complex partial seizure is often mistaken for strange behavior, in particular because something is simple as "screaming, running, and hitting anyone who trys to touch you" can be the full visible manifestatiion of the seizure

After a complex partial seizure, and some other types, such as tonic clonics, there is a state of post-ictal behavior. this can happen immediately after the seizure ends but is where the "victim's" brain is recovering from the seizure. This involves strange behavior and the last thing you should ever do is touch the "victim" unless doing so is necessary for their own safety - ie if they are about to walk in front of a car/off a bridge etc. When you touch them you need to be very gently because they will often react very violently - this is one of the reasons epileptics are so often maced, handcuffed, and even beat when they have a seizure in front of police who are poorly trained in how to deal with someone who is having a seizure

I have a 27 year history of seizures, if you don't count the "official" remission periods, and will be discussing brain surgery options with my neuro tomorrow because i'm not being controlled with medicine. As I said previously, most frequently the only way you would know I am having a seizure is because I would tell you thats the case. Otherwise, you would have to wait for the post-ictal behavior, and that is unlikely to happen with seizures such as absence ones

I do understand you are speaking from your own personal experience, I have read your history you posted.

But cats' seizure disorders may be a little different. I'm not sure the two species (human vs cat) can really be compared.

[trip]

clarifiction - from your post, it seems as if you are referring solely to seizures that occur in both brain hemispheres (ie your comment which indicated to me you wer saying the cat couldn't react if picked up during a seizure). In animals, as well as humans, seizures can occur in one hemisphere of the brain and the animal/person can interact during the seizure. Like in humans, there is nothing about having a seizure that requires loss of conciousness, ability to respond, or even convulsing. of the ones that occur in both hemispheres, the person/animal can react after the seizure is over, but will do so in strange ways


*I'm not sure if its true for all seizure medicines, but some have been perfected by testing them on cats, as well as other animals. And we even share some of the same medicines to treat the seizures - though obviously very different doses

This is a document about feline epilepsy for vetinarians provided by an animal speciality hospital. Aggression is mentioned for clonic and complex partial seizures (might benefit the original poster to look over this)

http://www.vshsd.com/For_Veterinaria...ski-Osgood.pdf

[special]

Originally Posted by trip

clarifiction - from your post, it seems as if you are referring solely to seizures that occur in both brain hemispheres (ie your comment which indicated to me you wer saying the cat couldn't react if picked up during a seizure).

I did in fact say this:

Originally Posted by special

A seizure cannot be interrupted even if you pick kitty up and very likely kitty doesn't even know it's happening, depending on the type of seizure. I have a cat with a seizure disorder and have done a lot of research over the years and have never come across any reference to violence in cats with seizures.

MY cat was aware something strange was happening, and was very frightened, however his episodes were not able to be interrupted even if I held him. I did not say he couldn't react. He knew I was holding him. But the seizure could not be stopped, once started. The veterinary neurologist told me he probably didn't know they were happening, but I disagreed about that.

( Nor have I ever witnessed a seizure be prematurely stopped, human or cat, simply by interruption. The Vega Nerve Stimulator, {for humans}, of course, is a different story)

thank you for the interesting link. I noticed there is mention that certain behavior disorders can be mistaken for seizures, as I also noted

I guess it was partly your use of the word viciously that caused me to challenge your post. Aggressiveness is not the same thing as viciousness.

That and more importantly, the fact (the words below in) your post makes it sound as if this vicious behavior is a common, notable, and frequent symptom, almost a deciding factor of diagnosis, of seizure in cats.

That is not accurate and can be misleading. Someone whose cat, while acting terrifyingly strange, is not being vicious, may decide kitty is not having a seizure simply because he's not vicious, after reading your post:

Originally Posted by trip

*you can have seizures without your eyes closing, but if this were all seizures, he'd likely be viciously attacking you to let him back down and would be crying before you picked him up (at least that would be the case if he were human) and it sounds like he's not biting you any more than he has to in order to be put down.

[johnsg3]

Hi erinmarie - I read all of the posts in reply to your cat's strange episodes. I do not have seizures myself and I am not any kind of cat expert so I won't enter into that argument however what is going on in your cat sounds a little similar to what has been happening in mine so I will share with you all that I have learned in the past five months. My cat = 2yrs old, without indication and warning of any kind she began shaking and acting strangely over the past five month, actually runs into things HARD! Her episodes last anywhere from 20 min to 4 hours. She too would have increased appetite and become extrordinarily affectionate after these episodes. She is not typically a lovey dovey creature but... We took her to our vet and the Madison, WI animal hospital where they ran every kind of scan and test imaginable. (Cat MRI/CATscan - YES!) Diagnosis ????? (Just for the record, I have a master's degree in special needs and have been working with students/adults who have seizure disorders for the past 30 years. My mother had a seizure disorder. The numerous different seizures I've seen over the years look NOTHING at all like what my cat is experiencing.) Yet we were told that Cal is having something called psychomotor seizures (I believe they are also called partial complex or complex partial seizures.) We were told they are extremely rare and often there is no identifiable cause. Treatment will NOT completely rid the animal of the seizure but rather only help to control. (Who knew there was such a thing as a cat neurologist!) Anyway, these episodes are very very odd and scarey. One actually did evolve into a full blown grand mal.
We started her on Phenobarbotal (I cant' spell - sorry). That has reduced the intensity of these things but not the incidence. In addition, this med has had an unexpected affect and has caused her to stop eating. (I understand that it usually has the opposite affect.) We are now introducing kepra? which I am told also is a seizure med - a very pricy med. that is difficult to get. The intent is to slowly remove the pheno from her treatment and replace it with the kepra? so that she will begin eating again. She has lost a ton of weight - 16% of her total weight which brings my small cat down to under 5lbs.
I have to say that during the episodes, I pick her up and hold her. There is an unbelievable lurching that she experiences - on and off about every 30 - 120 seconds or so throughout the episode. Her eyes only wince at the start of the, "lurch," and her nails come out but she has never ever tried to bite. My holding her does not stop, reduce intensity, or lessen length of the episode BUT does keep her from running/lurching into walls, doors and/or furniture. (Sort of like what I would do for my mom when she had her seizures.) NOW we give her an extra dose of pheno when we catch her having an episode and that cuts it down to about 20 min. She was having them every 6-8 days but has been free for the past 14 now.
I sure hope your kitten is only having some sort of allergic reaction or something. I don't wish this on anyone. If you learn anything that can help me - please share.
Good luck with your vet. I am lucky with mine - she is great!
johnsg3

[special]

johnsg3, thank you so much for adding your experience to this thread. What an awful thing to have to witness in your poor kitty, and bless you for not ever giving up on her. I remember your original posts. I'm sorry the phenobarbital hasn't helped as much as you would have hoped, but I'm glad there is another choice available.

I hope you will come back and let us know how the Kepra works out.

[johnsg3]

Hey erinmarie - I forgot to ask... Is your cat by anychance a tabby mix. Mine is a half long haired orange tabby mix. Also, I wanted to ask what vaccine regiment your cat is on. Yearly for the rabies? or Every three years? Our episodes started out exactly like yours and did so the day after a vaccine booster. Just curious and grasping at straws.
johnsg3