Sending mail about feline epilepsy

I regularly get mail from people about their cat's seizures. While I would love to respond to every piece of mail I get, that's not always possible. Please understand that if you don't receive a response, it doesn't mean I didn't get it, it most likely means that I didn't have the time to respond.

You may find the Epi-Felines mailing list a good place to ask questions.

To answer some common questions, I'm not a vet, so I can't dispense any sort of veterinary advice or diagnosis. Most of what I know you can find on my feline epilepsy page or on links off of that page. I do have some common pieces of information that I have given out in the past.

• The biggest concern in email I get is who to see about getting a diagnosis, and whether the care being received is adequate. This is an almost impossible question, but my simple guideline is that if the animal has had more than one seizure in a period of a couple months and your vet has not performed blood tests, then there is a problem. In particular, if your cat is having repeated seizures and your vet has done nothing, or merely wishes to observe the cat, I would switch vets. In any case, if the problem is not solved, I would recommend getting a second opinion, or, in particular, taking your cat to a veterinary school or internist if at all possible. In any case, make sure you get the blood tests done!
• My cat, Shadow, was successfully treated with phenobarbital. Not every cat can be. In many cases it is necessary to find the underlying condition causing the seizures. Some vets will try to solve the problem with phenobarbital before recommending significant diagnostic work. This is a decision between you and your vet.
• There are a number of people who believe that nutritional deficiencies can cause seizures in (some) cats. They claim to have had luck with certain vitamin supplements. I do not have further information on this, and have not tried it, but you may want to investigate it further and consider it.
• Many people are anxious about the effects phenobarbital treatment will have on their cat. What I was told when we began phenobarbital treatment was that Shadow would initially be drowsy, and drink and urinate more, but that this would return to normal within a few weeks. This is exactly what we observed. Within about 3 weeks, we were not aware of any difference. Five years later, he was less active than he was at 1 year, but that didn't seem surprising. We obviously don't know if his behavior would have been different at that age if he wasn't on medication. In terms of health effects, phenobarbital generally does not cause liver damage when used properly. The related links section on my main feline epilepsy page, and Phenobarbital (for dogs) provide more information.

Above all else, good luck with solving your pet's problem. I know how difficult it can be.

If you've read this and would still like to send me email, feel free. Due to my schedule, I can't promise that I can answer it, but I do read it. In particular, if you have additional information which you feel would be appropriate for inclusion on my web page, please send me mail.