Epilepsy in cats

[Allykat]

Has anyone here had any experience of keeping a cat with epilepsy?

It's looking likely that my 2 year old will be diagnosed and put on treatment for it :-(

Has anyone had their cat on treatment? Does it stop the seizures completely to enable him to lead a normal cat life of going out and hunting?

With the seizures he is having he is currently being attacked by my other 2 cats and we can't risk letting him out. Treatment is for life with regular vet checks and blood tests which we are happy to provide but I need peace of mind that it will improve his quality of life from what he has now. We will be going back to the vet tomorrow but I wondered if any of you had experienced the same thing.

Thanking you all in advance.

 

[dollyanna]

No experience with cats but a fair bit with humans and dogs. Epilepsy is notoriously difficult to get the right treatment for because there are so many causes and everyone responds to treatment differently. Sometimes meds are able to stop seizures and allow a completely normal life, sometimes not. Meds can have side-effects as well which may need to be taken into account - you may find the side-effects limit the ability to let him out as much as the epilepsy does. You'll just have to try it and see - and bear in mind it can take time to take effect, and you'll still need to monitor closely as levels sometimes have to be adjusted from time to time. It is also worth considering if you are prepared to take the risk of him going missing and missing doses.
Good luck, fingers crossed yours is one that responds well.

 

[Allykat]

Thank you. Yes they are all the things going round my mind at the moment. Vet did warn meds take a while to get in the system, a while to get right and a close monitoring of the side effects will be required. There is also the what if he misses a dose and what if we cant be there at the right time to give it. So many what if's. We will give it a try, we have to. Thank you.

 

[Umbongo]

My brothers cat is epileptic, which is quite rare in cats. She was diagnosed when she was 1 years old and she will be 15 this year. She used to suffer very bad cluster seizures and broke all of her canine teeth from falling from a height. She was put on diazepam and phenobarbitone. She has regular 6 monthly blood tests. On the medication she has about 1 seizure every few months.....a lot better than she used to be. At one point a few years ago a vet took her off her meds to see what happened...and she went back to very traumatic and regular cluster seizures.

The vets are slowly tapering down her medication now as she is getting older and they are starting to see slight issues in her blood tests. But she is still doing very well. Most of her younger adult life she would hunt and bring in various wildlife. She seems like a very happy cat and eats/drinks well. I must admit the vets are always surprised that she is doing so well every time she goes in for her check ups.

Throughout the years there has been the odd missed dose,or giving them at slightly wrong times but she has not suffered any ill affects. Obviously every cat is different.