Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: MarleyMoo on May 13, 2011, 10:05:09 AM
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Hi all,
My old girly, Maggie, who's approx. late teens, had a seizure yesterday morning at 8am. No clinical signs running up to the seizure: she got up, ate brekkie, wandered round, then my partner heard a bang and woke me up and she was having a seizure. It lasted max. 3 mins, and after a few minutes she responded to us/her surroundings and looked around. Thankfully, being a vet nurse, I called my vet friend and took her in to get her checked.
She was, as expected, still flat and wobbly, but she ate straight away, and we got her on IV fluids. After several hours, she was still a bit wobbly, but managed to walk. She's done some head-pressing and crying quite a bit. The bloods were relatively normal, but the potassium was low. Glucose was a little raised, but stress etc accounted for. T4 normal ranges. All other electrolytes fine.
I brought her home on fluids and started potassium supplements. She's eating well, and when she sleeps, she's resting well, but on waking she cries and heads for a corner. Or wants to be let out and goes to the toilet, bless her.
I'm looking at getting blood pressure checked a.s.a.p.
Just wondered if anyone has had experience of this happening, or can offer any other advice?
We're at a bit of a loss now, and because of her age etc and condition at present, I am not going to put her through anything major - it's not fair on her.
I'll do anything I can for her, but I am not liking seeing her head-pressing (tumor worries) and the crying when she can't settle.
My poor little Maggie Moo - I adore rescuing my oldies, but get a little too upset when the go downhill quickly.
Thanks in advance for any advise.
Liz and the normally feisty Maggie Moo.
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I'm sorry to hear she is unwell but you sound to be doing everything right for her.
I'm not much help but it sounds to me as if she is in some pain with the head thing. I have noticed that when any of our cats have had a pain they try and run away from it or hide in a corner.
Could she have suffered a stroke? We breed hamsters and have noticed this behavior in hamsters who have had a stroke. We find if they get through the first 24hrs they do tend to make a good recovery.
Maybe it is the pressure of this that is hurting her?
I hope she feels better soon and gets more comfortable x
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My head is in a mess at the moment cos lost my beloved Franta Napoleon this week and he had seizures on and off for last 2/3 years.
His cureent decline began with a seizure but dont think it was related to his blsadder and kidney probs.
Sorry rambling but 3 mins is a very long seizure and I am not medicall qualified or anything but I think it says that a tumour or mass is possibly involved. The head pressing seems to indicate that too I think.
Franta Napoleon had a brain infection and its thought that it was an abcess and when it got to a certain size it pressed on the brain and he had a seizure, they lasted for undere a minute and a very powerful ab that gets into the brain was injected for 7 days and he would get better again. We had got to the point that he only had one seizure if the marbocyl was given quickly and they were 6 months to 9 months apart.
An eplileptic cat is basically a cat that has no reason for seizures and puggy(zoe) cat Ollie is like this and is on phenabarbertone but he is also a very young cat about 3 yrs old I think and he went to a big hospital in Scotland for an MRI to ensure he had nothing in his brain like a tumour.
The only way of finding out for sure is tio get an MRI scan but its very expensive and needs to be somewhere where they are expert in reading the MRI scan.
I suspect that your cat may have another big seizure if its a tumour, Napoleon and Ollie had no clinical signs at all. Napoleon never even had a temperature!
Sending you lots of love to you and Maggie cos I can feel your pain :hug: :hug: :hug:
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No advice I'm afraid, just a gentle headkiss for Maggie :care: and a hug for you :hug:
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Forgot to add, after a seizure put a dish of food in front of Maggie once she has calmed down.......abour 1-4 mins and they will gobble the food until they have had enough.
Nobody knows why this happens and Napoleon was tested for low blood sugar after a seizure at the vets but was fine.
All the cats on Purrs that have had seizures have had this craving for food, the vets didnt know about it and I dont remember reading about it on all the stuff I have read.
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Poor puss
head banging sometimes happens with a portosystemic shunt but that is normally a problem the cat is born with
I would think mre likely to be blod pressure related -my old Siamese girl was fine then fell everywhere and became very dsorientated -she had gone blind -luckly my vet boss gave her treatment very promptly and after about 4 days her sight returned -she was still ataxic and did have one more attack butthe steroids kept it at bay -she died of old age at 21.
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Thank you all for your advise. I really appreciate it.
Sadly, I have let Maggie Moo go to sleep. She was eating, but seemed to have no idea what she was doing. I could no longer watch as she woke and circled and stumbled and then tried to get into a corner to press her head, and her cry was unbearable. The seizure came out of the blue - no symptoms until then - and I tried everything I thought was fair for her. But to see her as a tiny shadow of what she was only yesterday, for me, was just not right. She was much too old to mess too much with, so she peacefully went to sleep being cuddled and kissed on my knee at home. I think she'll be relieved I made this horrid decision for her. She'd had enough. I only had Maggie 7 months, and while she was my third old rescue cat, the alternative for the three of them was pts.
She was feisty and put the other ten cats in their place, and up until yesterday had few health problems other than a heart murmur and stiff legs. I thought I'd have her much longer.
I also didn't want to take her in the carrier, which she hated, and stress her out at the vets when I knew she'd had enough already.
I'm on my own today to am grateful for the catheter being in place so me and my old lady could sit together at the end.
Sleep tight Maggie Moo... now you're free to be feisty again. Love you. xxxx
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I am so very sorry to hear this but from what you said you made the hardest decision at the right time. My thoughts are with you and Maggie has passed to the Bridge and Napoleon will be waiting to greet her
RIP Maggie play hard
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Very sorry to hear this :hug: Sounds like you gave her a lovely retirement home and gave her the greatest gift at the end :hug: RIP Maggie, safe and sound at the Bridge by now xx
The Greatest Gift
I always knew this time would come,
From the very instant our eyes first met.
How I loved you then! How I love you now!
I made a promise then, and I will keep that promise now...
You will not suffer from a pain that will not heal;
You will not know the loss of a life remembered, now gone.
It is for me alone to make this decision,
The price for the bright joy and pure laughter
You brought me during the time we shared.
I am the only one who can decide when it is time.
When my hope dies, and my fear rides high,
Just when I need you most, I must let you go.
It is for you alone to tell me when you are ready
For without your guidance, I will not know
When to lay my grief, my guilt, my anger
My sorrow and my selfish heart aside
And give you this last gift, this greatest gift.
Your eyes will speak to mine, and I will know.
The pain of this moment is excruciating.
Tears stream down my face in a river of sorrow.
And my heart drowns in a pool of grief.
For you have spoken and I have listened,
And unlike other decisions I have made
This one brings no relief...no comfort...no peace.
For if there´s one thing you´ve taught me,
If there´s only one thing I´ve learned...
Unconditional love has a condition after all,
I must be willing to let you go, when you speak to me
I must be willing to help you go, if you cannot go alone.
And I must accept my pain so you can be free of yours.
Go easily now, go quickly now,
Do not linger here, it is time for you to leave.
Go find your strength, go find your youth.
Go find the ones who've gone before you.
You are free to leave me now, free to let your spirit soar
Rest easy now, your pain will soon be gone.
I pray I will find comfort in my memories...
In the dark and lonely days ahead.
I cannot say I will not miss you, I cannot say I will not cry.
For only my tears can heal my broken heart.
But, I promise you this; as long as I live,
You will live, alive in my mind, forever in my heart.
So I give you this last gift, all I have left to give,
And this will be my greatest gift...sending you away.
It is the measure of my unconditional love...
For only the greatest love can say,
"Good-bye, go find the bridge, we'll meet again,
Loving you has been the greatest gift of all."
Forever and Always... Until Rainbow bridge....
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sorry to hear about Maggie. Sounds as though she was very lucky to have found you :hug: x
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So sorry you had so little time togther -sleep well now little one
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So sorry to hear about Maggie but am glad she had someone who cared for her in her final months :hug:
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So sorry for your loss :hug: :hug:
RIP Maggie xx
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sorry to hear this, but you made a decision out of love for her and i know when you meet again she will thank you herself. Sleep tight Maggie x
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So sorry to hear about this :(
RIP Maggie
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What a beautiful poem It has really touched me Thankyou