Did my senior dog suffer from a seizure due to kidney failure before passing?

I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your dog. Unfortunately, chronic renal failure is a common problem in elderly dogs, and is often in the late stages already by time it's diagnosed. The situation was likely complicated by the fact that your girl also had CHF, because the treatment for renal failure (lots of fluids) is essentially the opposite of what dogs with heart disease need to control their symptoms. So we are often stuck between a rock and a hard place, when it comes to trying to treat dogs who have both of these problems. It sounds like your girl had a wonderful life, to have made it to 17 years old. It doesn't sound like there's anything at all you could have done differently - these are both just bad diseases, that are unfortunately common in older pets. Again, I'm very sorry for your loss.

I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your dog. It's possible that he may have had a stroke or blood clot secondary to his heart disease that traveled to his brain. Or, if he was regularly having collapsing episodes due to his heart (syncope), what you saw may have been one of these that was especially severe, as this is a common cause of sudden death in dogs with severe heart problems. If you want to try to get a more definite answer on what the cause of death may have been, you would need to have an autopsy done, called a necropsy in animals. Your veterinarian should be able to let you know where you can have this done, if it's something you want to pursue. Again, I'm very sorry for your loss.

I'm sorry to hear your dog isn't doing well. No, this isn't normal - if he has been diagnosed with kidney failure then I recommend keeping him hospitalized and on IV fluids until his kidney values improve and he's feeling better and regains his appetite. Sometimes we can turn kidney failure cases around, and sometimes we can't - it really depends on their response to our therapy. Your vet may have not been open for the weekend and therefore had to discharge him Friday, but I recommend looking for the nearest 24 hour emergency vet location if he's still doing poorly, and then potentially transferring him back to your vet Monday morning.

Hello, sorry to hear about Oscar. When cats have severe kidney disease they may develop something called uremic encephalopathy. This can cause seizures. However, given your cats age, other causes should be explored as well. Please have Oscar seen by his veterinarian if he continues to have seizures. Hope this helps and best of luck.

The most common symptoms of a full-blown seizure in older dogs include drooling, violent muscle spasms, running movements of his legs, loss of bladder and bowel control and possible vomiting. So the incontinence may be part of the seizure. But anyway in a situation like this you NEED to get your dog to your vet as quickly as you can, to stop seizure if persistent or any more seizures and start diagnosis of the underlying cause The leading causes of seizures in older dogs changes and while epilepsy is the leading cause of seizures in younger dogs (under 6 years old), in senior dogs the leading causes include brain tumors, liver or kidney disease, trauma, poisoning, under active thyroid gland (hypothyroidism).

I'm sorry to hear that Mozza is having such severe seizures. While I do not think that seizures cause true pain, it sounds as though her quality of life is severely diminished. Recurrent or prolonged seizure activity can cause significant elevations in body temperature and subsequent brain damage. At this point, Mozza should see a vet immediately to evaluate her current neurologic status. Your vet will be able to discuss euthanasia or seizure management options, should you choose to pursue them. I'm sorry that you are all in this situation.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The falling/lethargy episode you described may have been a seizure. This may be due to toxin ingestion or epilepsy, which does occur occasionally in older dogs. Head shaking may be related or unrelated as an ear infection. I recommend having Sami seen by her vet who can perform bloodwork and x-rays and prescribe anticonvulsant medications if the seizures continue. I recommend bringing a video of the episode if you are able to, as his will be really helpful in determining if the episode was truly a seizure. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!