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[fluffyfeet]

Got back from a friends house last night to the usual yells for food from our two moggy's.

As I was emptying the pouch into the eldest one's dish he started to twitch as though something was frightening/shocking him. He has done this a couple of times recently but never this violently.

However this time it wasn't just one or two twitches. He seemed to be what I can only describe as having an epileptic fit. He went onto his side twitching and jumping quite violently, I put my hands where I could to prevent him banging himself on the laminate too badly. He seemed to be rather rigid and then appeared to lose control of his bladder and wee'd everywhere.

OH was now present having heard me screaming for help and held the cat until he stopped.

Mort's eyes were like saucers and he didn't seem to know where he was, appeared blind almost - no response when we moved hand past face etc.

Then after 10 minutes or so he seemed to come back to normal and promptly scoffed down a packet and a half of food.

 

Has anybody else ever seen this?

 

By the way - the cat is about 20 years old and very deaf.

 

Cheers.

 

Dawn x

[mags]

hi

sounds to epileptic fit to me

we had a cat who had only one and I kept an eye on her for the next few days after it

 

if you feel your cat's not back to it's old self, then pop to the vet

 

 

Mags

[Olly]

Oh dear, I'm afraid that sounds like a fit to me. I was told that they can be triggered by kidney failure, which is common in older cats.

 

If he's had one or two, he may well have another. Probably best to seek veterinary advice. If it's any consolation, though, the cat will be unaware of what's happening (or so I was told) - it's frightening for us but they are not suffering during the fit.

[chickencam]

This happened to my old cat Toffee a couple of times and is very scary. she was about 19. Get him checked out at the vets.

[Seagazer]

I think you should definitely get your cat checked out just to be on the safe side.

 

I hope he's ok. Let us know how you get on.

[Snowy]

Definitely a seizure. We had a dog that started fitting when she got older. Poor cat will need medication to control the seizures otherwise I am afraid they will just become more frequent and severe.

[craftyhunnypie]

Our lovely cat Holly had this - she was only 12 & a half. We also think Orchid had similar.

They do appear rigid, twitch as if violently dreaming, roll over & have a glazed confused stare about them.

See the vet. They may or may not do anything. With Holly - they just told us to take her home & love her. We had about a month more with her. She would have fits, then be more or less normal again. Then one night she had a big one.

Orchid, we didn't know what was wrong - we put it down to her being in heat. We didn't know her exact age. She was an old cat - not a youngster as we thought. We thought one time she was having kittens. Looking back now - they were funny turns. She too passed away.

 

Please see your vet & big hugs coming your way. I know exactly what this is like.

 

Emma.x

[Chucky Mama]

Even if your cat now appears normal it is important to get it checked out now as it almost certainly wont be a one off at this age. I dont want to overly frighten you but it is probably not a good sign It is difficult for vets to do anything diagnosic during a fit so it is important to ge them to assess things while your cat is calm and 'normal'. Good Luck.

[fluffyfeet]

Just a quick update.

 

Many thanks for all your thoughts and advice - much appreciated.

 

Had a word with a veterinary nurse about Mortimer and she said that if he is not showing any after effects and hasn't had any more then it is probably best to leave him be, bearing in mind that he is about 20 having him poked and prodded by a vet would probably be more upsetting for him.

 

He has been quite perky since his 'fit' and the other cat seems to think he needs a good wash and is happy to oblige whilst Mort lays back and thinks of fish suppers.

 

Fingers crossed he'll be with us a while longer yet!

 

Dawn x

[Seagazer]

I'm glad he's been ok since.

[Chucky Mama]

That is great news

[Eggquisite]

Oh bless him.. pleased to hear he's sounding ok today

[chelsea]

Phew, hope he stays perky and well from now on.

[TAJ]

I had a cat like this - after the first fit the vet said unless it happened again he wouldn't investigate, after the 2nd time we went back and he said unless it is happening more than once a month (they were not that frequent) it was not worth medicating as the tablets had so many side effects. He had always had a fit and been back to normal within 10 mins, then one night he had a fit and died - by the time I had the out of hours vet on the phone he had gone.

 

So I would say push the vet to do something.

 

Tracy

[Olly]

Unfortunately, with a 20-year old cat, there will not be much that they can do. I think it's sensible advice not to put him through too many tests or investigations - it sounds as if he's enjoying life at the moment, long may it last.

[fluffyfeet]

He had another fit a few days ago - OH witnessed this one too and was quite perturbed by it.

I popped him (the cat not OH) to the vets and he has put him on something called Activait which apparently helps control the brain spasms or something like that.

 

He seems fine again, especially when i caught him on the dining room table looking for s"Ooops, word censored!"s of the Sunday dinner today - little blighter!

 

Dawn x

[Chucky Mama]

Sorry to hear that he has had another fit Dawn. I am worried about your cat as having fits at this age is a worrying symptom.

[fluffyfeet]

We both know that his time is running out and feel blessed every morning when he appears wailing for his breakfast.

 

He has always amazed us lasting this long, as he was hit by a car when he was about 2, which resulted in an amputated tail, fractured pelvis and ribs and a bald behind. It was just after this that I moved in and I remember my OH telling me that he hadn't purred since the accident, and it then became a challenge to get him fit and purring again, which he did.

 

He has always run in a rather strange fashion, front legs run, back legs hoppity hop, which is why we refer to him as Cabbit - half cat half rabbit, and so has always been rather special and unique (to us anyhow).

 

Fingers crossed we can spoil him for one more Christmas......

 

Dawn x

[Chucky Mama]

We both know that his time is running out and feel blessed every morning when he appears wailing for his breakfast.

 

Fingers crossed we can spoil him for one more Christmas......

 

Dawn x

 

Sounds like a very sensible approach Dawn