By Dial A Vet Veterinary Team
Watching a cat seize is frightening. Keep yourself and your cat safe, time the event, and contact a veterinarian promptly for first seizures, long seizures, or clusters. Related deeper pages: cat seizures causes and treatment and epilepsy in cats.
Key takeaways
- Do not put fingers near the mouth or try to "pull the tongue forward."
- Move hazards away; keep the environment quiet and dim if possible.
- Seizures lasting more than about five minutes or repeating without recovery need emergency care.
- Cats may have structural brain disease more often than young dogs with idiopathic epilepsy, so veterinary workup matters.
- Never give dog seizure drugs or human meds unless prescribed for that cat.
Immediate steps
- Time the seizure
- Prevent falls from high places
- Avoid restraining the head/jaws
- Call your emergency clinic while the event is ongoing if it is prolonged
After the seizure
- Let your cat recover in a quiet room
- Note appetite, vision, and walking ability afterward
- Keep other pets away until your cat is oriented
FAQ
Can ear mites or itchy ears look like a seizure?
Some vestibular or itch behaviors are confused with seizures. Video helps your veterinarian differentiate.
Talk with a vet
Prolonged/cluster seizures: ER now. Follow-up questions: dialavet.com.
References
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Epilepsy in small animals.
- VCA Animal Hospitals. Seizures and epilepsy in cats.
- Berendt M, Farquhar RG, Mandigers PJJ, et al. International veterinary epilepsy task force consensus report on epilepsy definition, classification and terminology in companion animals. BMC Vet Res. 2015;11:182.
Disclaimer: Educational only. Cat seizures require veterinary assessment.