Serious Cat Problems
I'm having crazy problems with my cat, Emmy. She's six years old, spayed, outdoors for her "business", but otherwise indoors, I've had her since she was about 8 or 9 weeks old. Not the friendliest cat... but we get along. She's kind of like a room-mate that likes her privacy. Emmy's never been sick or had any problems that needed medical attention. So here's my problem:
Two or Three months ago:
Emmy got up on the stove (not something that is allowed, but thank goodness the stove was completely cool at the time) and fell to the floor with an awful noise. The dogs found her first, with me on their heels. She was twitching and spasming on the floor, hissing and spitting. It seemed to last forever, but I'm going to say no more than 30-40 seconds. She urinated on the stove and all over herself on the floor. I consulted several friends as well as the animal rescue that I volunteer for, and I was told that epilepsy is not uncommon in cats and not to worry too much unless she exhibited any other symptoms. I watched her closely, but hadn't seen anything.
Last Week:
Emmy was on the back of the couch, resting on a blanket. In a flash, she was rolling down the stairs (fortunately, the blanket cushioned her fall) and onto the landing. Again, in a horrible shaking fit, spitting and hissing. I sat with her but didn't touch her until it was all over. She urinated all over herself, again. She got right up afterward and cleaned herself off, then ate some kibble.
Present Day:
I found some stuffed animals in one of Emmy's favourite sleeping places, covered in dried urine. I know enough about cats to know that they don't tend to soil their sleeping areas. I accidentally locked Emmy in a bedroom this morning (please keep in mind that Emmy will often not leave a bed for several hours once she's staked it as "hers", so this isn't uncommon - PLUS, she'd been out all morning up until that point) - and this evening I find the pillow drenched in urine, with spots down the blankets. This bed is another one of her prefered resting areas, BUT, she isn't terribly fond of the person who sleeps there.
I'm wondering a few things here....
1. Does it sound like epilepsy to you guys?
2. Has anyone else dealt with an epileptic cat? How on earth do you go about keeping them safe? (that fall down the stairs could have been disasterous, we were super lucky)
3. Do you think the urinating on her "comfy" spots in the house is an act of revenge or dislike - or could she be having more seizures that I'm not noticing?
4. Where do I go from here?
***********
I posted this in the kitties group here too. I don't know what to do. I'm already on thin ice with a certain someone for the dogs (they're hairy, they're noisy sometimes, pooperscooping is hard in the snow, etc.), and I'm lost. I seriously don't know what to do! If I have to take the cat to the vet, they're going to want to run all sorts of (expensive) diagnostic tests and I don't know where that kind of money is going to come from. I've been told to "get rid of her" - but I *work* in animal rescue, I wouldn't want to put that strain on the system. And I'm thinking too, what if she's really sick and these seizures are just a symptom of something way worse? I don't want her to suffer. Any and all advice would be great here. I'm stressing.
I'm having crazy problems with my cat, Emmy. She's six years old, spayed, outdoors for her "business", but otherwise indoors, I've had her since she was about 8 or 9 weeks old. Not the friendliest cat... but we get along. She's kind of like a room-mate that likes her privacy. Emmy's never been sick or had any problems that needed medical attention. So here's my problem:
Two or Three months ago:
Emmy got up on the stove (not something that is allowed, but thank goodness the stove was completely cool at the time) and fell to the floor with an awful noise. The dogs found her first, with me on their heels. She was twitching and spasming on the floor, hissing and spitting. It seemed to last forever, but I'm going to say no more than 30-40 seconds. She urinated on the stove and all over herself on the floor. I consulted several friends as well as the animal rescue that I volunteer for, and I was told that epilepsy is not uncommon in cats and not to worry too much unless she exhibited any other symptoms. I watched her closely, but hadn't seen anything.
Last Week:
Emmy was on the back of the couch, resting on a blanket. In a flash, she was rolling down the stairs (fortunately, the blanket cushioned her fall) and onto the landing. Again, in a horrible shaking fit, spitting and hissing. I sat with her but didn't touch her until it was all over. She urinated all over herself, again. She got right up afterward and cleaned herself off, then ate some kibble.
Present Day:
I found some stuffed animals in one of Emmy's favourite sleeping places, covered in dried urine. I know enough about cats to know that they don't tend to soil their sleeping areas. I accidentally locked Emmy in a bedroom this morning (please keep in mind that Emmy will often not leave a bed for several hours once she's staked it as "hers", so this isn't uncommon - PLUS, she'd been out all morning up until that point) - and this evening I find the pillow drenched in urine, with spots down the blankets. This bed is another one of her prefered resting areas, BUT, she isn't terribly fond of the person who sleeps there.
I'm wondering a few things here....
1. Does it sound like epilepsy to you guys?
2. Has anyone else dealt with an epileptic cat? How on earth do you go about keeping them safe? (that fall down the stairs could have been disasterous, we were super lucky)
3. Do you think the urinating on her "comfy" spots in the house is an act of revenge or dislike - or could she be having more seizures that I'm not noticing?
4. Where do I go from here?
***********
I posted this in the kitties group here too. I don't know what to do. I'm already on thin ice with a certain someone for the dogs (they're hairy, they're noisy sometimes, pooperscooping is hard in the snow, etc.), and I'm lost. I seriously don't know what to do! If I have to take the cat to the vet, they're going to want to run all sorts of (expensive) diagnostic tests and I don't know where that kind of money is going to come from. I've been told to "get rid of her" - but I *work* in animal rescue, I wouldn't want to put that strain on the system. And I'm thinking too, what if she's really sick and these seizures are just a symptom of something way worse? I don't want her to suffer. Any and all advice would be great here. I'm stressing.
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She was also allergic to wheat which for her would double the chance she would have a fit if she was eating things that had a lot of wheat in them. I know also some dogs *not sure on cats but something to ask about* can have fits due to loud sounds it can make them seize or become aggressive when they are normally docile so maybe something to ask about.
Hope this helps a little, I know what it's like to worry about your loved ones *pets* I currently have 8 cats at the moment