My cat had a seizure. What causes cat seizures and what should I do?

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Kovu. Oh no, poor boy! That sounds awful. It could be an idiopathic seizure, meaning there is no known cause. There is a potential it could happen again, so I do think he should see a vet as soon as possible to get checked out, taking him into an ER vet tonight if you can. Best of luck.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Seizures can occur due to many reasons that go from a toxicity, metabolic diseases, inflammatory diseases and even tumors. I highly recommend that you have him evaluated by a veterinarian as soon as possible for further assessment and treatment. Diagnostics that will be recommended will include bloodwork and advanced imaging such as an MRI. They would also be able to start him on anti-seizure medications to try to avoid the onset of more seizures. Good luck and have a good day! Hoping for a speedy recovery!

This sounds very much like a seizure.Poor guy. I would try to keep him in a quiet, cozy room for tonight and try not stimulate him any more than necessary until his morning appointment. Sometimes seizures can be exacerbated by stress, so its best to keep him stress free until further testing in the morning. If you do witness another episode like this, then its really valuable to record it so that you can show your veterinarian. I hope that your fur baby Watson will be ok. If he has another seizure that seems to last more than 3-5 minutes, then its really best to take him to the ER vet instead of waiting til morning to get emergency medicine to stop the seizure and hopefully avoid permanent brain damage. Best wishes and take care.

If she seems perfectly fine now...eating, drinking, peeing, pooping and walking normally with a normal activity level (not lethargic)... and this was her first episode, there is nothing that your vet could do other than routine screening bloodwork to rule out a liver/kidney issue or low blood sugar as the cause of the seizures. Your vet may also prescribe rectal valium suppositories to have on hand to treat any future seizures. Cats and dogs are usually not started on seizure medications unless they have several seizures a month or a prolonged seizure. Hopefully Rey won’t have any more episodes, but if she does, a short video clip may be helpful to bring to your vet. Good luck!

It is a little unusual for seizures to happen during a sleep cycle, but if she seems disoriented after waking up this is probably what is happening. In a cat Cassie's age I would worry that the seizures are due to a primary brain disease and not something more benign like epilepsy. Kidney disease, liver disease, or hypoglycemia can also cause seizures but it would be less likely for Cassie to act like her normal self in between seizure episodes. Infections, some inflammatory diseases or cancer would be most common. Regardless of the cause of the seizures anti-epileptic drugs can sometimes help control the frequency and severity of the seizures, but if the underlying disease is not treated at some point the seizures will progress. I would recommend seeing your veterinarian to discuss testing and treatment options.

When pets have seizures, they are unable to respond to normal stimuli like calling their name. The shivering is still concerning because cats should not shiver. He could be sick and I recommend to have him examined today to play it safe. I hope this helps.

Poor Maui!! I understand your concern for him. This definitely could have been a seizure, the decreased energy you are now noticing could be the post-ictal or post-seizure phase. Being completely relaxed such as during sleep can lower the seizure threshold for some animals. I would recommend that Maui be examined by your regular veterinarian. They may want to do some diagnostics (such as X-rays, blood work and a fecal exam) to rule out some conditions that may contribute to seizures. Your vet likely will not recommend any medications or treatments at this time, it is important to determine if this is a once off incident or if Maui is going to be prone to seizures long-term. I would recommend keeping a log of ahyvsusosct activity, especially any physical symptoms (such as limb paddling), and also duration of the episode.