Epilepsy is brain dysfunction, typically being accompanied by convulsions, usually short. It is quite a frequently occurring disorder for small animals, such as cats. Seizures may be stimulated by any cause that interferes a normal brain activity.
Seizures are divided in two categories: real epilepsy (idiopathic) and pseudoepilepsy (symptomatic). One can hardly determine what exactly causes seizures in case of real epilepsy, probably that is inherited genetic disorder of brain that evokes convulsions. Pseudoepilepsy is an acquired syndrome. Seizures may be the symptom of some other disease. If one manages to detect this disease and to cure it, the seizures should stop.
A period of unusual behavior precedes a seizure: a fixed glance, loss of orientation and other signs. Sometimes holders even don't notice them. Sometimes this aura-phase of disease lasts from five to ten minutes and allows the holder to prepare for a seizure: to make sure that the cat is in safe place, on the floor, for instance.
During seizure an animal falls down, loses consciousness; paws stretch and grow numb; the respiration stops. This phase is short (10-30 sec) and soon is replaced by convulsive movements of limbs as if the animal runs or swims. Jaws usually move as if chewing something.
During convulsions pupils widen, saliva pours out, involuntary urination or defecation happens; at the end of seizure the hair rises.
After the seizure the animal may return to normal state after several seconds or minutes, but sometimes may stay motionless, or in lethargic numbness, or confused, disoriented or blind for several minutes and sometimes several hours.
The experience of latest years shows that all animals are potential epileptics. At the bottom of this may lie some disorders of metabolism, after-effects of electric shock or application of medicaments. However the endurance threshold for different animals is very different. If a cat displays symptoms of epilepsy in early age, it is most likely that the epilepsy is inherited. But if symptoms appear later in adult stage this is probably an acquired epilepsy (resulted from trauma or disease).
Generally every infectious disease that affects central nervous system may cause convulsions. After all, what are the initial reasons of epilepsy? These are - leukemia, ischemic encephalopathy, bacterial meningitis, metabolism dysfunction, incorrect feeding (for example if diet consists only of fresh fish) or long lasting starvation, or various toxins. Epilepsy may be the first sign of cancer of brain and other diseases. Finally, injuries of head may serve as an initiator of epilepsy. The disease may start right after the accident, or may reveal itself weeks, months, or years later.
If a young cat has seizures less than once a year, there's no need to cure it because the disease doesn't pose hazard to its' life, and one shouldn't go beyond observations of the animal. If seizures happen more often than once a month, a therapeutic treatment is needed. Use anticonvulsive medications carefully, because if the cat will not get its' usual drug during one-two days, seizures will resume and even may become harder. Successful treatment much depends on correct home care after the ill animal, which helps reduce the frequency of seizures, shorten their duration and relieve them with minimal side effects.
Translated by Tatiana Karpova (Moscow)
(MSU, Biology faculture, Dep. zoology and ecology).