My kitten is having fits. What to do?

She had a couple some 3 weeks ago. Meds helped so the vet stopped them. 2 weeks she was fine then 3 over 12 hrs. Back to the vet in the morning. Back on meds I suppose. What can we do to help the poor thing? Thanks.

You could turn off that strobe light for starters.

My brothers dog has seizures, has had an MRI scan, the full works. Nothing there to cause seizures, which generally occur when the dog is stressed, but vet has said if they persist & increase in frequency then they’ll start phenytoin.

Hope you’ve got a decent insurance policy for the kitten?

Film it, stick on a dance music background and get it on youtube.

That’s a couple of very cruel comments there. No need.

Not much from the sound of it. Start with lots of cuddles and making sure it feels safe. Poor wee thing.

You’ve Been Framed FTW.

you have a vibrating pussy and dont know what to do with it?

Stop putting it in the bath?
Even if you do like a wet feline.

Sounds callous but is she suffering? Will she survive or is her existance painful? If so rather than ongoing medication I’d consider the ‘sleep’ option. Sorry.

Like this?

Not much known about it in cats, but current treatments for feline congenital myotonia involve using dog medicine. Maybe have a word with the vet about this?

EDIT: that video might be more palatable with the volume turned down.

When my sister was an animal nurse she saw kittens fitting due to a reaction from flea drops/ flea repellent – have you changed or used a new flea product?

If it’s like the above clip could be an inner ear balance thing? My son used to keel over like that when he was little – quite scary but he grew out of it

f it’s like the above clip could be an inner ear balance thing? My son used to keel over like that when he was little – quite scary but he grew out of it

Not sure your inner ear balance issue would cause them to become rigid and fall over 🙂 Vet, maybe a second opinion, will be the best person to diagnose this, not ‘tinternet full of well-wishers.

i’ve never had a job looking after animals so i feel i am as qualified as everyone else to give you my opinion on the matter.

i believe it was TJ who said something along the line of:

if gaffa tape doesnt fix it, beer will.

or maybe try wd40?

either way i think you need to invest in some body armour and a helmet for your kitten

(hope it works out dude, vets may be expensive but i’d trust them over any internet advice! fingers crossed for your kitten)

monkeychild – Member

Film it, stick on a dance music background and get it on youtube.

😯 you sir, need to get a life!

When my sister was an animal nurse she saw kittens fitting due to a reaction from flea drops/ flea repellent – have you changed or used a new flea product?

This is worth checking out HC, a friend of ours had a kitten that reacted badly to flea drops.

“you sir, need to get a life!”

And you Sir/Madam need to get a sense of humour.
It’s a cat, not your mum.

monksie – Member

“you sir, need to get a life!”

And you Sir/Madam need to get a sense of humour.
It’s a cat, not your mum.

Do you want a slow clap for that jem?

And you Sir/Madam need to get a sense of humour.
It’s a cat, not your mum.

What a sad view to have about a living critter. Ah well, takes all sorts.

I feel a sense of proportion is also in order.

I feel a sense of proportion is also in order.

Well yes, of course, the kitten is sufficiently unimportant to you that you find it funny to video to having a fit and laugh at it. I can see why you’d want a sense of proportion involved. Doesn’t stop you sounding like an arse.

*wonders how many farmyard critters are euthanized everyday because they’re not well*

*wonders how many farmyard critters are euphenized everyday because they’re not well*

You mean euthanised? Not too many, because they’re valuable and the vets tend not to like killing them until they’ve had a chance to treat the problem. And how is that relevant? The gap between “is the animal well enough, no we should euthanise it” and “is the animal well enough, no, cool lets film it and laugh” is somewhat large.

dont worry TSY, just dont post up on here if you’ve got the sniffles… providing they dont know, they cant send you to be put down.

(no i’m not saying the kittens just got the sniffles)

It’s just probably what I’d do with it. That’s just me though.

A friend of mine spent £2k on an MRI scan for their cat. It died 3 weeks later. They have another cat now. Not a f**king chance I’d spend that sort of money on a cat!!

Not a f**king chance I’d spend that sort of money on a cat!!

If you can’t afford it, or it won’t ultimately help the situation, then there’s little other choice I suppose. While it’s in my care, any pet gets all the care and expense it requires providing I can afford it and it’s going to help.

we had a dog that was epileptic

started after we had her spayed

she was on meds for the rest of her (too short) life

best dog we ever had, but the meds made her really lazy and she got so fat

She’s ill, it’s that simple. Any moron that thinks it’s funny should consider this: 1.30am, you’re asleep, suddenly you get woken up by a banging sound. In the kitchen your little kitten is convulsing and looks as if she was having an epileptic fit. Would you be so cheeky? Would you keep smiling? Yeah, right.
And no, it’s not my mother, that’s why I can’t get an MMR scan unless I pay a grand or more. And by being just a cat she can’t tell me how she feels, what she needs etc.
AFAIK cats don’t suffer pain when they have a fit. They need antibiotics, often with steroids and anti-seizure meds on top. Twice daily. For the rest of their life. Lovely, not!

She may well grow out of it, kittens sometimes do have funny problems that sort themselves out as their bodies grow. Or it may be fixable without permanent medication. We had a cat who had fits for a bit, turned out to be connected to his kidneys and a change of diet sorted it, he lasted another six or seven years.

Listen to what the vet says, but if they don’t sound like they’re getting anywhere with it seek a second opinion. Sounds like you’re doing all the right stuff, anyway. Hope she gets better soon.

Well yes, of course, the kitten is sufficiently unimportant to you that you find it funny to video to having a fit and laugh at it. I can see why you’d want a sense of proportion involved. Doesn’t stop you sounding like an arse

Well said.

You’re quite right. I’m going to have a very stern word with myself.

Worth noting that according to my Criminology lecturer at uni (well the bits I listened to when I got bored winding up the rascist thugs from the Police College), and no doubt any number of reputable sources, many serial killers start off by torturing small animals, before they graduate to carving people up and storing them in the freezer.

And at the other end of the spectrum soft people spend thousands keeping their hamster alive. I know who I would rather be friends with.

Phew! I’ve never (knowingly) killed anybody and I’m not aware I have any inclination to do so.
Anyway, I’ve been told and I don’t think it’s funny anymore. I am ashamed of myself and I am very sorry.

haven’t read all of the thread (skipped the predictable crap from the WUMs), but i had this with an older cat. terrifying. vet thought it was a build up of ear wax* pressing on the brain, the noise the poor thing made when he dug it out was heartbreaking but she didn’t have any recurrence of the fitting. might be worth mentioning at the next visit.

hope it goes ok, feel for you. off to give my “kitten” (actually 12) a bit of love 🙂

*actually i can’t remember if it was definitely wax, or an infection due to ear mites. a build-up of something.
he used a solution to loosen it and then scooped it out.

Very sad but this sort of thing does happen I guess.
Give it a chance and go with the meds again while the little chap[ette] grows then see how it gets on without them.
I think if the fits can only be controlled using meds then you need to think about the long term – I’m not sure it’s feasable to give meds every day for the rest of its life, in which case it may be best to go with the ‘sleep’ option.
I’m not a fan of cats but everything needs to be given a chance, except rats.

….many serial killers start off by torturing small animals, before they graduate to carving people up and storing them in the freezer.

I thought it was a much harder profession to get into than that!

Afternoon,

We had a cat that used to suffer from fits, he was treated with phenobarbitone that used to be given twice a day. It took a while to sort the dosage out, but once it was sorted it was extremely rare for him to have a fit (from at least once a week) but we had him for fifteen years and he was great, cost a fortune but as long as he wasn’t suffering no other options were for us.

On a practical note, try and get insurance that treats for the life of the pet.

Sad to see the furry chap go.

Our 14 year old cat had several fits over a couple of months last spring. We thought it was a sign he was coming to the end of his life but he’s been fine since so maybe just an unexplained ‘phase’?

Monksie – you should know better than to make mean jokes about cats on the internet. Fat people, poor people, ugly people – all fair game. But kittens? Don’t even go there.

The point someone made earlier about flea drops is true, have you been using the ones you can buy anywhere, rather than the proper ones from the vets?