Can stress cause a seizure in cats? msg.....

[Eileen F.]

Traci.....Nike had a seizure last night and I am wondering if it is not caused by stress?

She had been seizure free for several years so last June my vet and I decided to try and cut back on her pheno (she was taking 2 a day). I gradually dropped her back to one a day and shortly after that she had a seizure. We put her back on 2 a day and she has been fine until her seizure last night.

both times she seized , my sisters two cats, Fergus and Caeser (Max's brothers) have been staying here!!! I think having the cats here has stressed her out. Caeser leaves her alone but she seems to be afraid of Fergus, who is a very BIG Maine coon. She will hiss and growl if he comes near. I do lock those two out of the bedroom at night.

Also I adopted a six month old kitten in June (wonderful orange boy whom we have named Sidney). However Sidney doesn't seem to bother or upset Nike and her first seizure was before I got Sidney.

My sister is having her condo painted which is why i have her cats and they should be going home Wednesday. For now Nike seems fine and I won't take her to the vet unless she has another seizure. I just took her one and a half weeks ago because she had a big lump under her chin. My vet said it was a bad outbreak of her feline acne, most likely due from stress. She gave her a shot and the lump had totally disappeared by the next day!! Nike freaks out when I take her to the vet so I don't want to take her again so soon unless I have to. I'm assuming if she has another seizure my vet will want to blood work.

Any thoughts on this? Thanking you in advance.
Eileen

[Traci]

Yes, it can. However, can you describe any certain event/situation that occured directly before the seizure, or within a 24 hour period prior to the seizure? How long were your sis' cats in the home before Nike's seizure?

Was the seizure mild, short, or?

[mamabear]

I would want to know what traci asked as well.

But yes although I believe a vet visit is in order he was just there and the stress will not be good. Especially if this is caused by stress.

Just to make sure i am reading you correctly ...

Kitty has seizures and is on phenobarb..
yOu lowered dose,he had one and you put him back on regular dose.
You adopted a new kitten a while back but he seems to be fine with that.
Your sisters cats have come to live and now he is stressed out with hissing and having seizures. Right?

[Eileen F.]

Yes, you got it all right!!

I was sound asleep and awoke to a noise and I just knew right away Nike was having a seizure. I jumped out of bed and the only other cat I saw in the room was Sidney. The seizure lasted maybe 30 seconds and she seemed non-responsive for about 30 seconds afterwards, maybe more. A bit dazed.......Then she was absolutely fine!!! She has been fine since.

It must be stress since the last seizure was when my sister's cats were here also!!! They are going home tomorrow so I plan on keeping a close eye on Nike.

Thanks for both of your responses!!!

[Eileen F.]

P.S. We have had the cats for 10 days so far. Her last seizure occurred after the cats were here for awhile also (in June we had them for almost a month.....my sister took a trip to Italy and also had hardwood floors put in her condo).

In most cases I just go over my sisters to care for her cats when she is gone but because of work being done in her condo I took them into my home but guess I will have to think twice about doing it again!!!

[Traci]

Her seizure history, have the seizures in the past, including this last one, been consistent regarding length of seizure and fast recovery? If so, this may have been due to a stressful event. However, if the frequency, duration or type (petite vs cluster vs grand mal) of the seizure ever changes, then you need to get her re-evaluated by your vet at once. At this point, call your vet and tell him about this last seizure, the duration, her reaction and recovery time. He needs to have this recorded in her health record.

On another note, does she have problematic feline acne? Do you use stainless steel dishes and feed canned food on a minimal basis? If feeding canned, be sure to gently wipe her chin or other face areas with a soft cloth and warm water after a meal. If she has frequent outbreaks, consider ruling out food allergy as well, and ask your vet about a hypoallergenic diet. What was the injection the vet gave for that? If a cortisone injection, be cautious, one does not necessarily need to use cortisone for feline acne unless the condition is severe. If the feline acne is problematic, rule out eosinophilic granuloma complex which could give the appearance of feline acne, but tends to be more serious, and reoccurs often, due to stress and/or food sensitivity or allergen. Treatment usually requires removing the offending cause (ingredient in food or environmental allergen), change of diet, minimizing stress and in severe cases, short courses of prednisolone.