🌺 Cat Seizures
Websites: ✿ ✿ YouTube: 📽 📽 📽 📽
🙂 Cats, like dogs and humans, can experience seizures, which affect up to 2% of all cats and are among the most common neurological issues in felines.
🙂 Seizures are caused by a sudden surge in brain activity, leading to twitching, shaking, and spasms. They typically last from a few seconds to several minutes.
🙂 Seizures can occur as single events, clusters, or recurrently. Various causes exist, and lifelong treatment is often needed for frequent seizures.
🙂 Causes of cat seizures can include head trauma, toxins, brain tumors, inflammation of the brain or spinal cord, metabolic diseases like heart disease or diabetes, and epilepsy.
🙂 In rare cases, infectious diseases like feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) can cause seizures.
🙂 There are two types of cat seizures: focal and generalized. A focal seizure happens when a small part of the brain has excessive electrical activity, causing an isolated reaction.
🙂 Focal seizure signs in cats include twitching eyelids or face, excessive drooling, loud vocalizations, disorientation, abnormal head or neck movements, and random behavior.
🙂 During a generalized seizure, the entire body is affected, consisting of three phases. The pre-ictal phase, also called the “aura,” occurs just before the seizure starts.
🙂 At this stage, you might notice your cat appears nervous, shakes, whines, seeks out their humans for comfort, or hides away.
🙂 During a seizure, cats may fall over, lose consciousness, shake uncontrollably, have their head drawn backward, emit loud yowls, and involuntarily empty their bladder.
🙂 This phase can last seconds to minutes. Despite its frightful appearance, remember cats aren’t distressed; they’re usually unconscious.
🙂 The post-seizure phase typically lasts minutes to hours. Afterward, your cat may experience confusion, disorientation, pacing, and temporary blindness in some cases.
🙂 When your cat has a seizure, stay calm. Avoid touching them unless they’re in danger; keep them safe with pillows away from stairs or falling hazards.
🙂 Do not pick up the cat or place your face [or] fingers near its mouth. Seizing animals can and will bite because they don’t know what is going on.
🙂 If you can, take a video of the seizure to show your veterinarian. If your cat’s seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes, immediately take them to the emergency veterinarian.
🙂 Regardless of seizure duration or severity, call your vet for an appointment. Monitor your cat afterward; they may need time to recover or have more seizures in a row.
🙂 To better understand your cat’s condition, take notes about the seizure. Continue to add to the log as your cat recovers and if your cat has additional seizures.
🙂 Log information such as when the seizure occurred, its duration, your cat’s symptoms, and any behaviors exhibited before and after.
🙂 Cats usually have a good prognosis and recover after a seizure. However, you’ll still want to identify underlying causes of the seizure and determine if your cat needs treatment.
🙂 Cats usually have a good prognosis after a seizure. However, it’s important to identify any underlying causes and determine if your cat needs treatment.
🙂 At the clinic, your vet will examine your cat and perform blood tests to rule out disorders causing seizures, like those related to the liver, kidneys, and blood sugar levels.
🙂 If initial tests are normal, further testing may be needed for severe or frequent seizures, often done at specialized animal hospitals and including spinal fluid analysis, CAT scans, and MRIs.
🙂 If initial tests are normal, further testing may be needed for severe or frequent seizures, often at specialized animal hospitals, including spinal fluid analysis, CAT scans, and MRIs.
🙂 Pet parents can aid diagnosis by checking for toxin exposure. Inform your vet of any recent trauma, illness, or behavioral changes before the seizure.
🙂
A single seizure may not require treatment, but if convulsions persist over 5 minutes or occur frequently, medication might be necessary for management.
🙂 If your cat has seizures due to a brain disease, treat with anti-seizure medication like Phenobarbital, reducing frequency and severity, especially for frequent convulsions.
🙂 Other causes of seizures may require different treatments. Steroids can aid when brain tumors are suspected, and surgical tumor removal, when feasible, can cure seizures.
🙂 For seizures due to metabolic issues like low blood sugar or liver disease, managing the condition can reduce seizures. If toxins are the cause, remove them from your cat’s reach.
🌺 Cat Seizures
Websites: ✿ ✿ YouTube: 📽 📽 📽 📽
🙂 Cats, like dogs and humans, can experience seizures, which affect up to 2% of all cats and are among the most common neurological issues in felines.
🙂 Seizures are caused by a sudden surge in brain activity, leading to twitching, shaking, and spasms. They typically last from a few seconds to several minutes.
🙂 Seizures can occur as single events, clusters, or recurrently. Various causes exist, and lifelong treatment is often needed for frequent seizures.
🙂 Causes of cat seizures can include head trauma, toxins, brain tumors, inflammation of the brain or spinal cord, metabolic diseases like heart disease or diabetes, and epilepsy.
🙂 In rare cases, infectious diseases like feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) can cause seizures.
🙂 There are two types of cat seizures: focal and generalized. A focal seizure happens when a small part of the brain has excessive electrical activity, causing an isolated reaction.
🙂 Focal seizure signs in cats include twitching eyelids or face, excessive drooling, loud vocalizations, disorientation, abnormal head or neck movements, and random behavior.
🙂 During a generalized seizure, the entire body is affected, consisting of three phases. The pre-ictal phase, also called the “aura,” occurs just before the seizure starts.
🙂 At this stage, you might notice your cat appears nervous, shakes, whines, seeks out their humans for comfort, or hides away.
🙂 During a seizure, cats may fall over, lose consciousness, shake uncontrollably, have their head drawn backward, emit loud yowls, and involuntarily empty their bladder.
🙂 This phase can last seconds to minutes. Despite its frightful appearance, remember cats aren’t distressed; they’re usually unconscious.
🙂 The post-seizure phase typically lasts minutes to hours. Afterward, your cat may experience confusion, disorientation, pacing, and temporary blindness in some cases.
🙂 When your cat has a seizure, stay calm. Avoid touching them unless they’re in danger; keep them safe with pillows away from stairs or falling hazards.
🙂 Do not pick up the cat or place your face [or] fingers near its mouth. Seizing animals can and will bite because they don’t know what is going on.
🙂 If you can, take a video of the seizure to show your veterinarian. If your cat’s seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes, immediately take them to the emergency veterinarian.
🙂 Regardless of seizure duration or severity, call your vet for an appointment. Monitor your cat afterward; they may need time to recover or have more seizures in a row.
🙂 To better understand your cat’s condition, take notes about the seizure. Continue to add to the log as your cat recovers and if your cat has additional seizures.
🙂 Log information such as when the seizure occurred, its duration, your cat’s symptoms, and any behaviors exhibited before and after.
🙂 Cats usually have a good prognosis and recover after a seizure. However, you’ll still want to identify underlying causes of the seizure and determine if your cat needs treatment.
🙂 Cats usually have a good prognosis after a seizure. However, it’s important to identify any underlying causes and determine if your cat needs treatment.
🙂 At the clinic, your vet will examine your cat and perform blood tests to rule out disorders causing seizures, like those related to the liver, kidneys, and blood sugar levels.
🙂 If initial tests are normal, further testing may be needed for severe or frequent seizures, often done at specialized animal hospitals and including spinal fluid analysis, CAT scans, and MRIs.
🙂 If initial tests are normal, further testing may be needed for severe or frequent seizures, often at specialized animal hospitals, including spinal fluid analysis, CAT scans, and MRIs.
🙂 Pet parents can aid diagnosis by checking for toxin exposure. Inform your vet of any recent trauma, illness, or behavioral changes before the seizure.
🙂
A single seizure may not require treatment, but if convulsions persist over 5 minutes or occur frequently, medication might be necessary for management.
🙂 If your cat has seizures due to a brain disease, treat with anti-seizure medication like Phenobarbital, reducing frequency and severity, especially for frequent convulsions.
🙂 Other causes of seizures may require different treatments. Steroids can aid when brain tumors are suspected, and surgical tumor removal, when feasible, can cure seizures.
🙂 For seizures due to metabolic issues like low blood sugar or liver disease, managing the condition can reduce seizures. If toxins are the cause, remove them from your cat’s reach.
🌺 Ear Cytology
🙂 Ear cytology for cats is a diagnostic procedure used by veterinarians to examine the cells and microorganisms present in a cat’s ear canal.
🙂 This technique helps in identifying the causes of ear infections, inflammation, or other ear-related issues.
🙂 Here’s a step-by-step overview of the process:
🙂 Sample Collection: A veterinarian uses a cotton swab to collect a sample from the cat’s ear canal. Care is taken to ensure that the swab reaches the areas where potential pathogens might be present without causing harm to the cat.
🙂 Slide Preparation: The collected sample is then transferred onto a glass slide. It is usually spread thinly to allow for proper examination under a microscope.
🙂 Staining: The slide is stained using specific dyes that help differentiate between various types of cells and microorganisms. Common stains used include Diff-Quik or Gram stain, which make bacteria, yeast, and other cells more visible.
🙂 Microscopic Examination: The stained slide is examined under a microscope. The veterinarian looks for the presence of bacteria, yeast, parasites (such as ear mites), and inflammatory cells. The type and number of these organisms help in diagnosing the condition.
🙂 Diagnosis and Treatment: Based on the findings from the cytology, the veterinarian can diagnose the cause of the ear problem. For example, a high presence of yeast might indicate a yeast infection, while bacteria could suggest a bacterial infection. The results guide the veterinarian in selecting the appropriate treatment, which could include ear drops, oral medications, or cleaning routines.
🙂 Ear cytology is a valuable tool in veterinary medicine as it provides quick and accurate information about ear health, enabling effective treatment and management of ear conditions in cats.
Milo (2/21/2016)
Toby (5/24/2017)
Milo (3/03/2016)
Toby & Milo (8/17/2015)