Conference misery::feline_v1

    The vet is right; I'll bet on a heart attack.
    
    Hope he gets better.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.

    I thought that heart attacks were EXTREMELY rare in cats,
    except in situations like trauma?  I have heard of cats
    having epileptic type seizures though.
    
    Donna

    Re .2:
    
    Maybe so, but apparently that's ultimately why I lost Morlock.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.

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PUFFIN::BLODGETT "DonnaB NRO2-1/P2 234-4279"         12 lines  15-JUN-1987 09:23
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			<Update on Brewster's seizures>

    Thank goodness, Brewster hasn't had any more seizures, that I've
    seen, since the one he had Friday morning.  According to the 
    blood work that was done, his kideny's aren't functioning very
    well.  At this point he's on K/D special food for kidneys.
    Neither he nor July, my female, like it so I'm mixing it
    with the C/D.  I guess it's just wait and see now, to see
    if his blood improves in four weeks and/or if he has any
    more seizures.  
    
    Will keep you informed. 
    
    Thanks for the support

    RE  .3
    
    Steve,  same type of symptoms as base note?
    
    Donna

    Did the vet explain how malfunctioning kidneys cause seizures?
    I don't understand the connection.
    
    Donna

I knew a dog, many years ago, who had seizures due to (according to
the owners) problems stemming from heartworm. And I know of another
dog who has epileptic seizures. 

I have not personally had any experiences with animals having
seizures. However, my husband has Grand Mal epilepsy, and even though
the epilepsy is pretty well controlled through medication, he has
seizures every once in a while. 

When my husband has a seizure, he (similar to your cat) loses
consciousness and loses motor control. Usually what happens is that he
acts very disoriented for a few moments, then suddenly falls over and
thrashes around for what seems like forever, but is probably only
about 5 minutes. What I do is make sure that he does not hurt himself
by banging against furniture or whatever, and make sure that his head
is turned to the side so that he doesn't choke on his own saliva. Once
the seizure is over, he is disoriented for a while. He often aches for
days afterward because of the strain on his muscles, and usually has a
bad headache for several hours. 

I am telling you all this because it may be similar to what your cat
is going through, and may help you understand your cat's actions
before, during, and after a seizure. Also, knowing what is going on
always makes things less frightening. Please keep in mind that (to my
knowledge, anyway) a seizure is more frightening for the person
watching it than for the person (or animal) having it. My husband
never remembers the actual seizure; as a matter of fact, he calls it a
"blackout". 

I am really interested in what is causing the seizures. Does the vet
think that it is somehow related to the kidney problem? Or is that
only a coincidental finding? 

I hope everything turns out okay!

Marleen 

It's been a long time since high school biology.  However, I do remember
that the function of the kidneys is to purify the blood by filtering out
poisons and impurities.  If the kidneys aren't functioning properly, perhaps
there is a build up of some substance capable of causing seizures?

Pam

    618.8 is about right on the seizure explanation.  Seizures can be caused
    by anything that disrupts the normal functioning of the neurons
    in the brain.  If your kitty has kidney problems, probably the toxins
    left in his blood (and elsewhere) are building up in his brain too
    and causing abnormal firing of neurons -- which you see as the seizure.
    
    Good luck with curing the kidney problems.  Hope the kitty feels
    better. 
                                                                     
    

    Re .5:
    
    Not quite, and the fatality was in conjunction with other
    complications.  As the vet who was in attendance said, "He let out
    a cry, went into a siezure, and by the time I got the cage door
    open, he was dead."
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.

    Something similar happened to one of my cats but it turned out
    to be plant poisoning.  He went crazy, heavy breathing, uncontrollable
    twitching, extreme nervousness, he actually tried to run up a wall.
    We rushed him to the vet who gave him some kind of shot.  We got
    rid of the plant.
    
    Another time I was talking to a friend on the phone and all of the
    sudden the cat let out a cough, rolled onto it's back and started
    trashing uncontollably.  The first thing I thought about was heart
    attack.  This lasted about 30 seconds when all of a sudden I saw
    something fly out of its mouth.  It was a small chicken bone that
    was shaped somewhat like a 'wish' bone.  Must of been lodged in
    its throat.  Then I remembered the night before we had chicken, I
    finished my meal, got up from the table and went into another room
    for a minute.  When I got back Pug had his head in my plate wolfing
    down whatever he could get into his mouth.
    
    Hope this helps.
    

    I'm not sure about the relationship between the kidney not functioning
    and the seizures.  When I go back to the Vets this week for more
    kidney food, I will ask that question.
    
    Brewster seems to be back to his normal rambunctions self, thank
    goodness.  I am still fairly panic stricken about him.  Is he drinking
    enough water etc. but I guess that will change with time.
    
    I thank you all for your support and encouragement, and I will let
    you know how Brewster is doing.
    
    Donna

    I had a dog that had the same type of seizure.  She'd start pacing
    throughout the apt. and then just stand with a glazed look in her
    eyes, panting heavily.  She seemed very disoriented during the seizure.
    The first thing I would do was grab the leash and get her downstairs
    and out as her pacing often told me she had to urinate in a hurry.
    She was tested and put on a strict diet of K-d dog food.  She drank
    an awful lot of water, I know that.  The seizures started the first
    part of 1986.  She seemed fine at times and then have the seizures
    off and on during the year.
    
    One morning last June, she lost complete control of her kidneys.
    I had her put to rest as I could not see her suffer any longer; she was
    too good a friend in the 14 years I had her and it was time to let
    her go.
    
    Hope your cat makes it to 14+.
    
    Pat