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Seizures in Pets
Seizures in Pets
Learn how to identify a dog or cat experiencing a seizure
and what to do when a seizure happens.
Deena Caruso, contributing writer
August 31, 2004
Witnessing your precious dog or cat having a seizure can
be a most frightening experience. During seizures pets often
lose control, fall over, chomp their teeth, salivate or drool,
whine, paddle with their feet, and begin to urinate or defecate
on themselves. Their eyes become large (dilated) and unresponsive.
A pet caregiver feels panicked and helpless while watching
it all happen.
Hopefully, you and your pet have never, and will never, have
to experience this shocking event. But, if you have, or if
you experience it in the future, this article will help you
to understand what causes seizures, what you can do while
your pet is having a seizure, and the various treatment options
available.
What causes seizures? Epilepsy is one cause. Certain dog
breeds are more susceptible to epilepsy. These include: cocker
spaniels; poodles; collies; german shepherds; irish setters;
golden retrievers; dachshunds, labrador retrievers, saint
bernards, miniature schnauzers, siberian huskies, and wire-haired
terriers. Veterinarians are not sure what causes this "hereditary"
epilepsy.
In cats hereditary epilepsy is unusual. Vets can normally
find the cause of seizures. These include chemical toxins
(which includes chemical preservatives used in many pet foods),
brain tumors, feline leukemia, feline infections, peritonitis,
feline AIDS, head trauma, and problems with the liver and
kidneys.
In dogs there are many causes of seizures besides hereditary
epilepsy. Allergies to food and the chemicals, preservatives,
and artificial flavors put into the foods can cause seizures.
Other causes include liver and kidney disease, tumors, poisonings,
and low blood sugars.
What can you do while your pet is having a seizure? Try to
stay calm. This is hard to do, but using a calm, reassuring
quiet voice will comfort your dog or cat. Move any furniture
or other objects on which your pet could hurt itself. If you're
unable to move the object, place pillows or wrap blankets
between the pet and the object. Slide something soft under
your pet's head, but be sure to keep your hands and face away
from his head so that you don't risk a possible bite. You
can gently stroke his hip or side, but position yourself opposite
the side of the feet and toenails as the muscle spasms make
the feet curl into claws that can gouge or rake your skin.
Dim the lights, and keep the environment as quiet as possible
by turning off the TV and loud music.
If possible take notes about the seizure so that you can
give details to your vet. Jot down the time of day it occurred,
the length of each seizure, and the time in between each seizure
if they are recurrent. Your vet will also want to know whether
your pet urinated or defecated, if the seizure hit suddenly
or progressed from mere body twitching, whether your pet regained
consciousness, and how long it took before your pet appeared
normal again. In addition, you'll need to figure out whether
there were any possible triggering events. These include loud
noises such as fireworks, unusual items that were eaten, and
excessive playing or exercise.
After the seizure, pets usually appear lost or drugged. This
drugged state can last a few minutes to several hours depending
on the severity of the seizure. Your pet may respond to you,
but do so in a very slow manner. Since seizures are exhausting
for your pet, he will probably want to sleep afterwards. It
is best to allow him to sleep, but check in on him occasionally
without disturbing his rest.
If this is your pet's first seizure, call your vet as soon
as possible. Some vets will want to see if another seizure
occurs, while others will perform a variety of blood tests
to check for anemia, liver & heart functions, calcium, glucose,
& electrolyte levels. Your vet may even run a screen for possible
toxins, take x- rays, or perform an electroencephalogram.
The test results may not indicate the specific reason for
the seizure. In this case, your vet may wait to see if another
seizure occurs or he/she may suggest medications. If the diagnosis
is epilepsy, pets have an excellent chance to live a normal
life as long as proper medical care and follow-up are provided.
If you discover the cause of the seizure, you may be able
to eliminate future seizures by eliminating the seizure's
source. For instance, if the seizure is due to chemcial toxins,
make sure your pet remains as free of toxins as possible.
Provide human grade food and treats that do not contain chemical
preservatives, fillers, or byproducts. Clean your house with
chemical-free products. Also, use more natural flea, tick,
& heartworm prevention products as some of these products
may lower your pet's seizure threshold and make seizures more
difficult to control. Avoid products containing organophosphate
insecticides. For safer heartworm prevention, use products
containing interceptor and filaribits.
What can you do if your pet's seizure condition cannot be
cured and you realize you and your pet may have to live with
the seizures? In the past, the only treatment options available
were strong anticonvulsants that could have serious side effects.
These still may be your only option. But, more natural approaches
have been found to help some pets, either prior to stronger
medications or in addition to them so that you may be able
to lower the dose. There are a variety of treatment options
that include a natural diet, acupuncture, nutritional supplements,
homeopathy, herbs, and conventional medications.
As mentioned above, give your pet a human grade diet, free
of chemicals and additives. Also, remove other toxins from
your pet's environment. Clean with natural products and use
more natural flea, tick, and heartworm prevention measures.
Minimize stress in your pet's life. Try to avoid sudden changes
in his environment, loud noises, and other stressful situations.
You can also try herbs that act as sedatives. These include
valerian root, kava, skullcap and oatstraw. Note that when
using herbs and supplements, you may need to lower the dosage
of other anticonvulsants.
Several supplements appear to help in preventing seizures.
Try an antioxidant combination of Vitamin C, E, B-6, and selenium.
Your vet can recommend the dosage for your pet. Magnesium
and DMG (dimethyl glycine) are other helpful supplements.
Acupuncture is another helpful option which has helped to
control seizures in many pets. Sometimes just placing an ear
acupuncture tack in a dog's ear will stop seizures, and this
only requires one acupuncture visit.
If the ear tack doesn't work, gold implants can be placed
in different locations under a pet's head. Or your pet can
be treated with traditional chinese acupuncture.
As you can see, there are many natural approaches to treating
seizures in pets. These should help your beloved pet to live
a normal and comfortable life.
- Deena Caruso
Deena Caruso, author, teacher, & distributor of natural
pet products Helps pet owners create healthy, happy pets.
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