Witnessing a dog or cat have a seizure is a disturbing experience. Ironically though, for all the horror you feel when you realise your dog or cat is seizing, in truth, you almost certainly have less cause for thinking your pet is dying than you would if your dog was showing the almost invisible clues that indicate she is bloating.
This is not to say that if you see your dog or cat having a seizure you should shrug and go back to watching House of Cards; only that your pet will actually suffer very little actual harm from a seizure.
The issue of concern is not the seizure, but what might have caused it. Even on that front, however, chances are in favour of a relatively benign diagnosis.
The most common cause for seizures is epilepsy. If this is your pet’s diagnosis, he or she may very well live a normal life span, be otherwise healthy and might not even need medication.
Epileptic dogs and cats have seizures, but not all seizures are caused by epilepsy. In fact the term “idiopathic epilepsy” is really no more than a default diagnosis if your dog’s or cat’s seizures can’t be explained by any other cause. In other words, if no one can figure out a reason for your pets’ seizures, they will be called epileptic.
It’s what they tell you your pet has, when they don’t know what your pet has.
I guess it’s better than declaring your pet is possessed by a demon.
That right there is St. Noter Balbulus attempting to beat the devil from a ‘possessed’ dog. He was a stutterer okay? Apparently, he had issues.
Your vet will start by trying to rule out various identifiable reasons why your dog or cat had the seizure. For example, the seizure might be the result of heat stroke or the ingestion of a toxic substance like antifreeze or Xylitol, the artificial sweetener in a lot of sugarless gums. The toxic substances in flea and tick control substances can be the culprit. Brain tumours or pressure in the cranium from brain inflammation or encephalitis could cause your pet to seize, as could low blood sugar, kidney or liver failure.
Hypothryroidism can causes seizures. If your dog has had a seizure and the vet doesn’t mention this, ask to have your pet’s thyroid checked. In one study, 70% of dogs with hypothyroidism also had a history of seizures.
Vets have reported seeing dogs who’ve had seizures from “cervical subluxation”. These dogs are chained up outside on a long lead, race to the end of the chain chasing a squirrel or something, and get their heads snapped violently back. This can result in the C1 or C2 vertebrae being injured, which triggers an increase in spinal fluid, resulting in a seizure.
There is some evidence that in a very small proportion of dogs and cats, vaccines can cause seizures.
FIP (feline infectious peritonitis) is a common reason for seizures in cats, as is a thiamine deficient diet.
Hopefully, all these very alarming and serious things will be eliminated as causes for your pet’s seizure. He or she will then be diagnosed as epileptic.
There are more epileptic dogs than cats. Cats undoubtedly know this. It is yet one more reason why they act so damn superior.
It is estimated that between .5% and 5% of dogs suffer from epileptic seizures. The condition is often hereditary. For that reason, certain breeds are more prone to it than others. My beloved Belgian Terveruns are at risk for this. One study showed 21% of Tervs had had seizures. Beagles, German Shepherds, Dachshunds and Keeshonds are other breeds that have a high incidence of epilepsy.
No one really knows the underlying cause of epilepsy. The immediate catalyst is a sort of firestorm in the brain. Small areas of abnormal or damaged brain tissue send out random electrical signals, which touch nerve cells around them. This starts a sort of chain reaction of abnormal muscle spasms and cognitive responses.
But why those brain tissues are abnormal in the first place, is a mystery. Like why the Aussies put beets on hamburgers.
Onset usually occurs between one and five years of age. Some reports indicate that most seizures occur at night, or when the pet is resting.
For the majority of dogs, epilepsy is non-progressive, although other opinions say that if a pet has a seizure, then his risk of further seizures increases over time, because “additional hotspots may be created”.
Seizures, we are assured by the experts, are not painful for your pet, although they are obviously very painful to watch.
Your pet will fall on her side, legs stretched out and back rigidly arched. The jaws will clench, at least initially. The gums may pull back into a sort of grimace or rictus. She may whine even though – again – we are told they do not suffer pain. She may lose control of her bladder or bowels. She may thrash around violently, or paddle her legs.
Your pet may have a complete seizure, where he loses consciousness. The experts say he will have no idea the seizure happened once he regains consciousness.
He may just assume his missing memory is from the epic bachelor party the night before. We did say a lot of seizures occur at night.
It may be a partial seizure, where the dog or cat is dozy and disoriented, but awake. Partial seizures can be so small that they are often misinterpreted as just facial ticks.
If the seizure affects the part of the brain that controls behaviour and thought, your pet may show fear or aggression and snap at you. He can exhibit bizarre or comical behaviour, such as snapping at non-existent flies or appearing to chew gum. He might run around in circles. He might appear blind or deaf.
Some owners don’t even realize that their pet is having a small seizure.
If your pet is having a partial seizure and is mobile, you have to take charge so that she doesn’t hurt herself, because she has no judgment. On the other hand, do not put your hands near her face, especially her mouth. You may very well get bitten.
Don’t worry about him swallowing his tongue. The experts tell us that is an impossibility.
Officially, there are three stages to a seizure:
1. “Aura” or ‘Preictal’ warning stage: Your pet may appear anxious or restless, seeking you out and acting as if they want something, but don’t know what. They may obsessively pace. They may tremble or vomit. Ironically, some dogs can identify when a human is in the preictal stage of epilepsy.
2. Ictus: This is the full onset of the behaviours described above; the violent thrashing and uncontrolled movement because of the electrical storm in the brain. Typically, this stage lasts from one to three minutes.
If the seizure lasts over five minutes, get your pet to the vet.
The seizure may have to be broken with valium/diazepam. Prolonged seizing can cause difficulty in breathing. Although your pet cannot swallow his tongue, the tongue may partially obstruct the airway.
3. Postictal: The symptoms will fade and stop completely. Your pet will gradually recover. If she was unconscious, she will wake up. She may appear dazed and confused with a blank expression. She may stare off into space. When she becomes mobile, she may bump into things. She may well be exhausted and go to sleep.
What do you do if your dog or cat has a seizure?
In truth, other than making them comfortable, there is not much you can do. Though it probably won’t be heard or felt by him, it will probably make you feel better to touch your pet, soothe him and speak in a low voice.
You can put a folded up towel under their head. You can place them on their bed, or a blanket. Something easily washable. On that note, from a coldly practical point of view, since they may lose control of their bowel and/or bladder, you probably want to get them off the white carpet.
The main thing you can do is
Keep the surroundings calm.
Unless the seizure last more than five minutes, or full recovery does not occur (“status epilepticus”), there is not even much point in racing your pet to the vet. Unless it is a ‘status’ seizure, your vet won’t do anything more than you can, and the seizure may well be over before you arrive.
You will want to schedule an appointment with your pet once the seizure has passed though. Your vet will definitely want to know that your pet has seized. As discussed above, it is important to try to figure out if there is a specific causes for the seizure.
So if everything else is ruled out, and epilepsy is the default diagnosis, what will be the treatment?
What your vet is likely to tell you depends on the frequency and severity of your pets’ seizures. She or he may well recommend that you do nothing, except possibly change your pet’s diet. A low carb, high protein, medium fat diets have helped humans, and there is some evidence it might also benefit epileptic pets.
As to drugs, this may depend on whether your vet leans towards pharmacological solutions. My guess is that, just as with human doctors, some vets are quicker to reach for the prescription pad than others.
If you look at websites run by drug companies, you will see all sorts of alarming statements about how epileptic seizures are bound to become more severe and more frequent without drug treatment. On the other hand, there are vets who say there must be at least one seizure a month before you even think about drugs. Another says that if your pet has not had more than a couple of seizures and there is no family history of epilepsy, they should not be on drugs.
As a a concerned pet owner, it may feel natural to you to demand, as my mother used to when consulting her physician, that the doctor
It is hard to hear what is sometimes the truth: that there is nothing to be done.
Before you harass your vet into prescribing a drug regimen, bear in mind that all drugs have potential side effects.
Anti-seizure drugs like Phenobarbital, Levetiracetam and Potassium Bromide work by slowing down neuron activity in the brain. But the meds don’t just slow down the neurons involved in seizures. They slow everything down. Your pet may become lethargic and dopey as if sedated. Because, well, he is sedated.
Perversely, it may result in hyperactivity.
In addition to the lethargy and doziness resulting from sedation, it can upset the pet’s stomach and result in nausea and vomiting.
Phenobarbital can affect motor function and result in a loss of co-ordination or back end function. Although if those side effects occur, they may well decrease as your dog or cat’s body becomes accustomed to the dose.
Phenobarbital increases appetite and thirst. Your pet may gain weight or always be hungry. They will drink more and pee more.
If Phenobarbital is given for more than three months, it can also affect the liver and pancreas. So it is important to have your vet continue to monitor your pet’s progress with blood tests and pre-and post-bile acid tests.
Potassium Bromide has no effect on the liver. Unlike Phenobarbital though, it can take three to four months to become effective. Sometimes those two drugs are prescribed together, as use of Potassium Bromide may mean that the Phenobarbitol dosage can be decreased.
Potassium Bromide can also (rarely) cause muscle twitching, behavioural changes and/or a staggered gait. Salt content in food can cause the potassium bromide to affect your dog differently than intended, so that is something your vet will consider.
Bottom line on drugs seems to be that if your pet does not have regular seizures, you may be advised to forego drugs. Otherwise, your vet may suggest trying potassium bromide or perhaps a combination of Potassium Bromide and Phenobarbitol.
Remember that all kinds of famous people were epileptics, like Julius Caesar, Napoleon and Lenin. But unless you dog or cat starts plotting world dominion, you don’t have serious problems. Come to think of it though, isn’t that pretty much the agenda of every cat in, like, the world?
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