Veterinarian Explains - Seizures in Cats - Episode 1 

I would like you to do another video showing partial seizures in cats and discuss possible causes and treatments.

Bless these pet parents for recording this video for educational purposes for not only vet professionals but other pet parents!

as someone who has sadly seen far too many seizures in her own cat, i would like to see some more videos of a cat experiencing a preseizure aura. i realize aura symptoms, if present, can widely vary from cat to cat but the more we see, the more we might be able to spot in our own cats and better prepare for the seizure. thanks for doing these videos and explaining things for us!

Thank you so much for this video! I have never seen what a seizure in cats looks like and if I had witnessed that for the first time with one of my cats, I would have been terrified. While I hope that I will never have to experience one of my cats having a seizure, I feel much more prepared knowing what to expect and what to do in that unfortunate event. I would love to see more videos about cats in the future!

My cat who passed away 3 years ago had a grand mile sezcure. She ate some dry food in the morning and that same afternoon she sat in front of me looking at me like this is the last time I'm going to be able to jump up in your lap, she jumped in my lap and layed down and started purring but all of a sudden her stomach started jerking (wich i think was a parchaal sezure?) Then she went into a full grand mile sezcure witch lasted about 2 mins. And she vomited a little bit during that time. Afterwards she started purting again and then she wanted down and tried to jump off my lap but i stopped her and put her down so she would not get hurt jumping off my lap. But after that she completely refused to eat or drink anything. She was an outside kitty who adopted me as her owner and at the time i was living at an assisted living facility witch i only got $54 a month so i wasn't able to get her to a vet witch i feel horrible about 😢. During the night i noticed that she wasn't her self at all because she was walking around in circles and walking through other people's wheelchair spokes instead of going around them. I still to this day wonder what caused her death after the sezure as she was 14 or 15 in cat years?

Thank you for talking us through these seizures. It was very helpful.

This was very informative. Thank you for making this video. My farm cat had a seizure yesterday that lasted for approximately 25-30 minutes. I made the hard call to end her suffering peacefully. Although I am at a loss as to what brought on the seizure, I suspect poisoning because this was the only one I ever witnessed and it lasted for so long. Thank you once again for the informative video

Thanks so much for posting these videos. My cat had a very short seizure about six weeks ago. I didn't realize that was what it was until last week when she had another one that was about the same. All my Vet told me to do was watch her until she had another one. She had one Friday night so I took her to the Emergency Vet Saturday morning. He made an appointment for a Neurologist for her tomorrow. She had another one yesterday afternoon. They are all less than fifteen to twenty seconds and she comes right out of them, and they happen when she's been sleeping. I don't feel like I'm being taken seriously because they are so short. But I saw some of what happens in a couple of these videos. I hope that they can figure out what's going on. She's about fifteen.

I never knew about seizures in cats until it’s happened to my cat last night 😭..I’m feeling so bad because I don’t know what to do and just watching him and put him at the warm place..

I used to work on a pediatric neurology floor and saw many seizures. It’s interesting for me to see seizures in dogs/cats in the videos you posted. Thank you for posting informational videos! My cat has the sugars, but thank the lord no neurologic issues. Do cats have a postictal phase where they are knocked out after the seizure?

I’m so grateful my pets don’t have seizures. It would be so upsetting to watch my fur baby go through that.

Loved this video! I wanted to ask what exactly happens in the brain during a seizure and what how medications to treat seizures work!

Thank you for this video. My 10-year-old cat appeared to be going into the pre-ictal phase from what I can tell from this video but never had the full-blown seizure . Took her to the vet and they are thinking perhaps her hyperthyroidism may have caused it. I’m thinking it also could be her hyperesthesia as she has every symptom of that. Thanks again for the info.

Thank you so much fg or going through this and describing the stages. Our kitty just had it's second seizure earlier tonight and this time seemed more stressful for him. We took him in the first time and there were no clear conclusions. We haven't been in the room to witness the full seizure either time so we're not sure if it's epileptic or something else. Sigh. Anyway, thank you for the video!

My cat just had her second seizure ( that I witnessed ). The first one I remember she was a little more vocal than usual but she is also a tortie like this cat and she is always pretty vocal. She jumped on the counter and I was making her chicken on the stove and I heard her fall down ( I thought she jumped ) and she was meowing very loud and on her side twitching. It lasted over two min. I rushed her to ER but she came out of it very fast but was drooling. The second seizure I didn’t notice her any more vocal then normal. I didn’t notice anything different at all. I sat on the floor to grab my pills out of my bag and she had a seizure that looked exactly like the first one. Lasted a little over two min. I wiped the drool off her mouth and she laid next to me and got up then she ate ! She is now on seizure meds . She is 16 and also on chemo. It’s absolutely terrible to see this feeling helpless. But my cat didn’t do any of that weird look or circling before her seizures. She looked absolutely normal then bam a seizure

Wow, your wife is so cool.

Currently here because my cat had one, so im trying to learn more. Im not entirely sure about the cause or anything, but im just trying to do my best because i can't go anywhere until tomorrow

What is reason cause of seizure??

My cat has had seizures since three months old and in 2 years, probably 60+. It breaks my heart 💔

thank you so much doctor ❤ 😘

A list of potential causes would be more helpful , as understanding there are a number of them can help a pet owner to process details of cats life around time of seizure- I.e., the couple days leading up to it for example, and inform their vet with relevant detail). And the best & worst & most common prognoses wld also be helpful to avoid magical thinking in a pet owner. Thx

I have 2 Siamese cats that are believed to have cerebllar hypoplasia, one has presented a strange type of seizures for several years: She will lose all coordination and spasm a small amount before falling over, she loses functionality of her rear legs with some very stiff and sudden muscle spasms of sorts ( I can't really explain it I'd need to share a video of it ) and frequently couples with defecation/urination. She does not lose consciousness, and is able to drag herself around with her front legs, but these "seizures" are incredibly long lasting. She will often have them a few days in a row and then be normal for a week or two before they come. Usually 30 minutes to an hour, sometimes several hours. I have taken her to 4 different vets, blood work generally comes back normal. Phenobarbital was tried at once point, but did not seem to make any difference to these episodes so she was eventually taken off of it. Diazepam was prescribed once via rectal, which did stop the episodes within about 5 minutes, but the current vet will not prescribe that for her. Now the 2nd CH cat has had a couple of those same sorts of seizures, although his are much briefer and clearly have started many years later (first time I saw him have one I'd already had him for 6 years) but they present the same way where he is conscious during the episode. I am assuming it is idiopathic since both cats have it and are related to each other, and none of the other cats I have ever showed signs of it, but I am trying to figure out what my next steps are at this point to get both of them under control

great video, thank you so much. I am a paranoid cat mom. I love them so much that I am in a constant fear that they have some silent disease and they might die the next day. I know it's an irrational and extreme fear. my question is, if this happens, is it recommended that we take the cat to the vet immediately? or let them rest and take them the following day? I can imagine the cat being exhausted and confused after a seizure and that rest period might beneficial for them than adding another layer of stress by taking them out and all. I would appreciate an answer. than you so much for the very informative video!

This is just heartbreaking to see... Got here after my cat had an episode of 3 short 1-minute seizures in a span of about 15-20 minutes or so with partial recovery in between, the vet said she would call it 'just 1 episode' and said to keep following. The cat is 8 y.o, 5 days after a tough pyometra surgery. She had short episodes about 3-4 times in her life before, but never like this when it came back and back again. I'm really worried. Any advice?

Great video!

This is so hard to watch! We are currently trying to figure out what exactly is going on with our cat. Not sure if it could be seizures or if she maybe had a stroke.

Love the video! But may I ask if you should hug your cat during the seizure? Also, what are the typical diseases that cause them?

My cat does the really quick legs moving up and down and then in about 4 10 seconds he's done with it he doesn't do anything beforehand but he falls to the ground even if he's standing or on the back of the couch he very very quickly he's never done this till the past month I don't know if this is seizure or not or happens so quick that I can't really watch him to see what's really going on but I sadly think he's starting to have seizures

Great video- Is there a PartII?

Very helpful thanks

My 1 year old ragdool has had 2 grand Mal seizures a day. While starting Keppra. No near diagnosis yet. Would you say digestive can be linked? He started with colitis 3 months ago and slowly started to have digestive issue, nothing shown on Ulta sound but starts seizures out of the blue. Heart breaking, and I am able to calm him down within 20 seconds by distracting him. He's still very traumatized after.

Very informative thankyou

Thank you for this. Have not faced it yet but wanted to prepare in case in happens, since my cat is having neurological problems that might be leading to this...she is 18, ataxic (wobbly and loosing coordination), her blood work is good, neurologist wanted us to try Clavamox for vestibular problems to rule out infectious cause in the inner ear (she had no signs of more central causes at that time.) But although Clavamox may have helped a bit in some regards (she stopped falling over when she shakes her head/shakes out her ears) she is not out of the woods at a little over two weeks of treatment. Are we looking at seizures next? Seems possible. I needed to psychologically prepare for what we might face...wish we had some kind of anti-seizure meds at home to stop a seizure if it seemed to be status epilepticus.

Could you please do a video on dementia in cats/dogs? Thanks so much.

My cat, 9 year old female, suddenly started walking around wobbling continuously, sometimes falling over, and biting and scratching her lower back bloody, and also bit my finger which she never did before. Doesn't want to eat or drink. Eyes are generally focused but dilated. Not making any sound. Does it sound like rabies? Was outside about 4 months ago briefly for a couple of days in the backyard. I urgently need your opinion, this is in Lubbock, TX, I went to the emergency room after she bit me, they told me that Lubbock no longer has anti-rabies vaccine injections due to budget cuts, so if its rabies then there's nothing they can do for me.

My cat is having a seizure as of the moment. It started around 4:30am. It was actually his first seizure so we are very stressed out. He just finished his last seizure around 30 mins ago. And it was maybe his 6th seizire since an hour and a half ago. Until now his head is pointed to the ceiling and breathing heavily. He is only 5 months old. 🥺😔

I understand this is educational but i do not understand the abscence of treatment while in the seizure. Are seizures in cats not treated as they happen with a rescue medication? Are these kitties not at risk of dying ?

Can cats exhibit only symptoms of the pre ictal phase?

Sadly I have seen this more times that I would have liked in my kitty. She recently started having mini seizures I think. Tonight she had a focal seizure. I wondered if mini seizures is a thing? She went in circles and would howl and her tail got stiff and fluffed out. It didn’t last long and she didn’t urinate or convulse. She had all of the behavior after it was over that she does with a grand mal and focal. She paces and is extra lovey and starving.

I need help! I rescued 2 kittens 5 years ago. Their mother was killed. They were about 5 weeks old. They r brother and sister. Took them to the vet got their shots. Ok fast forward the female almost 5 years old this evening went into a seizure. I went into shock. They have never been outside since I rescued them (5 years ago). No new pets or anything. She laid on her side and started twitching and flipping. This went on for 30 to 40 seconds. She is now fine! What is going on. She is domestic house cat. She was like the blk cat in video. What started. There was liquid on my wood floor but where she was twitching it got on her fur. Not sure if she lost her bladder or came out of mouth My cat and her brother have never have had issues. How can this just suddenly start?

I have a question, so my 7 month old kitten started having a seizure on Saturday the first time ever that I’d ever seen her do it. It started out as just salivating and shivering like they do when you bathe them. I took her the vets and explained the kittens history, she’s always been smaller then her siblings and used to salivate randomly in the past and sometimes seemed disoriented. So I took her to the vet the same day, they told me she was too ‘wriggly’ to do a blood test and sent me home with 1 gabapentin to give her for when I took her back to the vets 2 days later. But she got worse over night, full body shaking, salivating and urinating. The next night she got really really bad, seizures happening every few minutes, yowling and then she started growling and hissing whilst seizureing. I was on my way to the emergency and the seizure kept going, wouldn’t stop, her eyes has fully dilated and stuck her tongue out and went still- she died. So my question is was she in pain and is it normal to die when having seizures and why did the vets send me home

Are they in pain when seizing? Thank you for the video! I’m here from the Facebook group. :)

My kitten seems to have these is it also normal for white foam or white drool to come out of their mouth while this is happening?

Hello my kitten of 4 months have been having seizures. All the test are normal. We have been given phenobarbital but its not working. Vets dont know what to do anymore. My poor kitten has experienced more than 50 seizures in last 10 days. Im helpless. If anyone knows what can be done to save his life please let me know.

ik this video is rather old so idk if you’ll see my comment, but my cat has very similar seizures to the first cat. she pees and drools, but she also bleeds from the mouth too. i’m pretty sure she’s just cutting her mouth while seizing, but it happens every time and i honestly just need to know if this is anything that’s happened to other cats/animals? i have taken her in but they said not much can be done. i just feel terrible about the blood since i don’t see it in any other videos online. she never seems to be in a lot of pain, i try to examine her mouth but don’t really see anything alarming. she even eats right after so i’m just not sure if she cut her mouth or what. sorry for super long comment, would appreciate help from anyone honestly haha

All you did was describe what we all already know…..you left out causes and solutions.

I would pose this question: What happens if a really young person, especially a todler experiences this? It may sour them to cats or dogs forever. Our cat has psychomotor seizures. It is terrifying. I have cats all my life and NEVER experienced her behavior. Any child or adult would be freaked out. It’s litterally like having a wildcat in your house. We may be euthanizing her next week. We have spent almost $1000 on medical advice and medicines. We still have one cat and she has been fine up to this week then she had a seisure. These cats came from the same litter and we are thinking genetics or brain issues possibly from parasites. It’s been horrible but good days are ahead.

All you did in this video was show us what we already know, a complete waste of time.