Tiger Has Epilepsy

It started about more than a month ago. But I didn’t recognise it.

The first time I noticed it, Tiger was scratching his ear, then suddenly, he scratched very vigorously and fell off the table. I thought his claw got stuck to his fur and that made him panic. Furthermore, Tiger has always been a bit clumsy all his life.

Then, it happened again and again. All in three times, about 7-10 days apart, more or less. I did not jot down the dates, unfortunately. I did get a little suspicious, but it would happen for just a few seconds (not more than 3 seconds) each time. And I still thought his claw got stuck to his fur.

Until yesterday when it happened again. This time I knew it was something more serious. It was a fit.

Epilepsy.

The thought of that devastated me.

But Tiger is FIV+, so this is not totally unexpected. Degeneration happens faster for FIV+ cats. Tiger is 10 years old now.

This morning, I consulted the vet.

Well, all is not lost.

The vet said epilepsy is often idiopathic in nature. That means, we don’t know what triggers it. It could be anything at all. It could range from kidney failure (urea and creatine levels going up) to toxoplasmosis and a host of other possible causes. It is extremely difficult to isolate the cause.

However, there are things we can do to help Tiger.

First, I have to keep a record of all his episodes from now on and try to discern a pattern. Take a video of the seizure, if possible. So far, I have witnessed it four times. Each time only lasted about 3 seconds. Then, he would be totally normal after that.

Second, I have already started Tiger on fish oil, CoEnzymeQ10 and Vetri DMG. The vet said to add Neurobion for the nerves. It’s vitamins B1, B6 and B12.

Third, we will KIV barbiturates should the frequency of the seizures increase. This option is put on hold for the time being. The vet said there was a cat who had epilepsy and was put on barbiturates for many years. The cat lived until 20 years old. There was even a dog who would go on a fit on the exact date every month (isn’t this strange?), so the owners would only give him valium a few days prior to his “fitting” date. The function of the barbiturates is to dull the brain so that it doesn’t fire up so easily.

I told the vet that for each of the four times, it always started with Tiger scratching his ear, then the fit would happen. The vet explained that there is a threshold to cross before a fit happens. Maybe Tiger’s trigger is the scratching of the ear. Maybe the scratching got too intense and resulted in a fit. So, we should check his ears for mites.

I came home and took Tiger to the vet. The vet cleaned out his ears but there was insufficient wax or dirt to check for ear mites. From the looks of it, it may not be ear mites too, but the vet suggested we clean his ears twice a day using the ear mite liquid (Ilium Ear Drops – it contains lignocaine, which has a numbing effect; it’s what dentists use when they want to numb our gums for a procedure) and monitor his condition. We will do this for about 10 days to see if another fit occurs during this time.

So for now, it’s all about monitoring Tiger’s condition.

I asked the vet how frequent the fits should be before we consider starting Tiger on barbiturates. This, again, is quite subjective. The vet said he’s had a cat who would throw a fit once a day and another dog, had seizures 20 times a day!  Finally, it boils down to this, if the fits get more frequent and at closer intervals, it would be time to consider the barbiturates. Fits are due to abnormal electro-chemical activity in the brain.

I can only monitor when I am home and when I’m in the room with them. So far, in the four times I’ve witnessed his seizures, they only lasted about 3 seconds.

We weighed Tiger today and he was 5kg. Back in 2014 (from this medical records), he was 5.75kg. We did notice that Tiger had lost some weight recently, but this could be a good thing because he was previously obese. But we are not sure if this weight loss is due to some condition which could be related to the fits.

Tiger, our mildest and most peaceful cat.

He has been through quite a bit – he had mange as a little kitten when he was rescued (too young to be given Ivermectin, so we rubbed the medicine onto his skin and that worked), he had a rare limping problem which no vet could cure until acupuncture did the trick and he could run again, he had sporotrichosis where the prognosis was poor (because he was FIV+) but he healed in 54 days.

Now, it’s epilepsy. Another hurdle. Another challenge.

On a personal note, I had epilepsy too. For more than a decade – it started in my late twenties and went on until my early forties. Then, the seizures stopped coming. I didn’t do anything or take anything for it at all and the doctors (even the neurosurgeon) couldn’t find anything wrong with my brain. I’m hoping Tiger’s seizures will also stop, just as mine did.

Source: https://myanimalcare.org/2016/07/21/tiger-has-epilepsy/

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AnimalCare is a registered society that promotes caregiving to street animals and helps in their neutering and medical needs. AnimalCare has a Medical Fund, Food Fund and Education Fund.

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