Cat Having Seizures

Reader Question: Hyperthyroidism and Cat Seizures

I hope someone can help me. I have a 2 year old male cat that has recently developed some worrisome health concerns. When I came home from my honeymoon I was greeted by a crazed cat. He was extremely aggressive and hissing at me and trying to bite me.

Now this same cat before this was the kindest most laid back cat I have ever encountered! I was terrified with his behavior and decided to take him to the local emergency vet. During his two day stay there he continued to be aggressive.

They did some basic blood work and found his WBC to be high. He also had crystals in his urine but no infection. Based on his behavior the Veterinarians there thought he may have ingested some sort of toxin.

They treated him with iv fluids and waited for it to wear off. This did not happen. He continued to be aggressive. The veterinarian also told me he had ulcers on his eyes. On the third day I decided to transfer him to my vets office.

When I picked him up for the transfer he was completely out of it. He would not make any eye contact. My vet even thought he may be blind. But he checked his eyes and said they were completely fine.

While I was at the visit with him I noticed his ears and head twitching a bit and thought this was odd. The next day he started having seizures. During his 4 day stay with my vet he continued to have seizures and be aggressive. During this time he had a strange oral fixation. He would chew his IV line and blankets. He was not using the litter box either. By the 6th day of his illness the veterinarian felt as though he was well enough to come home.

Now that he is home he is no longer aggressive. He still continues to have seizures however. He also is jumpy if you go to pet him. He uses the litter box most of the time now. The past two days he had developed diarrhea and eats his stool.

Also yesterday I noticed that it seemed as though he was having trouble smelling. And today he is sneezing and his nose is stuffy. He is on his 8th day of clindamycin. My Veterinarian thinks he may have a head injury, but to me it does not seem to fit completely. The one blood test my Veterinarian performed was a test to check his liver to make sure he did not have a liver shunt. This was normal.

If anyone had any ideas I would greatly appreciate it!

Suggestion from Our Veterinarian on Causes of Cat Seizures

Hello,

I’m afraid I cannot diagnose what is going on with your cat without having the chance to examine him, but based on your description I am very concerned about him. I need to ask one question at the offset. Is your cat current on his rabies vaccination? It sounds as if his condition is improving, and if that is the case rabies can be ruled out, but some of his symptoms are consistent with that disease.

Once the possibility of rabies has been ruled out, a veterinarian needs to determine whether your cat’s neurologic signs are originating within the brain or are due to dysfunction elsewhere in the body that is adversely affecting the brain. If a full panel of blood work and a urinalysis didn’t show anything significantly abnormal than it is safe to assume that the problem is within the brain itself. Possible causes include trauma, an infection, inflammatory disorders, a tumor, and more. Blood tests for feline leukemia virus (FELV), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) and toxoplasmosis could help rule out some of the infectious that can lead to seizures in cats. Brain imaging (e.g., a CT scan or MRI) or analysis of cerebrospinal fluid may be necessary to reach a definitive diagnosis.

Best of luck,

Jennifer Coates, DVM