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Posted by Aretha on January 19, 2003 at 14:04:40:

Dear Dr. Tobin,

Since September, my 12-year-old (spayed, female, indoor) cat has been having seizures. Her legs go rigid, she arches her back and cranes her neck, sometimes kicking her front legs violently. It usually lasts no more than a few seconds, but afterward she's catatonic (pun intended). She can go a week or more without having a seizure, during which time she slowly regains her ability to walk -- and eventually to jump up onto things and discipline our younger (and completely unafflicted) cat, but when the seizures come more frequently (sometimes several in the same day) she's basically comatose much of the time.

Our vet has ruled out everything he can test by drawing blood or urine, so we've been trying to treat the symptom rather than the unknown cause -- first through steroids, then antibiotics, and now a daily doze of diazepam (4mg) which hasn't stopped the seizures but makes her almost as catatonic.

Sometimes, the cat is so debilitated by seizures that she seems much more dead than alive. As I write this, she is lying beside me breathing so shallowly that I have to look carefully to tell that she's breathing at all. Twice before, when she's been in this state, our vet has suggested that we consider putting her down. Yet this resilient cat keeps fighting her way back. In her prime, she was a terror to dogs and rodents alike, and I believe she can fight this too.

Are you familiar at all with this syndrome? And is there any treatment you can suggest for this otherwise healthy animal that might help her retain some semblence of a quality life if not overcome the seizures entirely?

Thanks very much,
Aretha

Follow Ups:

• Re: treatment for seizures? PHDrTobin 01/21/03 (0)