"Witnessing your cat having a seizure is a very upsetting and distressing event. A seizure is a sudden and uncontrolled burst of electrical activity that may cause chomping and chewing, foaming at the mouth, jerking of the legs, and the passing of urine or stools. Cats are usually unresponsive during a seizure and gradually regain normal consciousness thereafter.
Although seizures commonly occur without any obvious trigger, we have found over the years that cats may have seizures in response to particular noises. Some of the sounds that we have known to trigger seizures in cats include the sound of breaking the tin foil from treatment or tablet packaging, the crinkling of tin foil, a metal spoon dropping into a ceramic feeding bowl, a daisy wheel printer (now a thing of the past), a digital alarm, the hammering of a nail, the clicking of an owner’s tongue or even the slapping of an owner’s forehead!
This is not something that is unique to cats. In human patients, the condition where seizures occur in response to a trigger is known as reflex epilepsy. If this trigger is a sound then the term audiogenic reflex epilepsy is used. Little is known about the condition in people or cats. Therefore, with the backing of International Cat Care, Davies Veterinary Specialists are looking to find owners who have cats with suspected noise-induced or audiogenic seizures. The aim is to use this information to help cats and it may even become useful to help people who suffer from this difficult condition.
If you think your cat may have auditory induced reflex seizures, or you would like further information, then please contact Mark Lowrie either by email:mll@vetspecialists.co.uk or telephone 01582 883950."
No comments:
Post a Comment