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My
Pet’s Having a Seizure – Help!
By Deena Caruso
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.
Caregivers can feel 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, here’s
what you need to help you understand what causes seizures, what you can do while
your pet is having a seizure and what various treatment options are available.
Why him? Why me?
What causes seizures? Epilepsy is one cause. Certain dog
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breeds are more susceptible to
epilepsy, including 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 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 sugar.
In cats, hereditary epilepsy is unusual. Vets can normally determine 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.
Help -- she’s seizing!
What do I do?
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 herself. 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, since muscle spasms make his 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 a seizure, pets usually appear lost or drugged. This drugged state can
last from 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 and heart functions, calcium,
glucose and 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 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.
Preventing recurrence
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 caused by chemical 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
and heartworm prevention products, since 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 that has helped to control seizures in
many pets. Sometimes just placing an ear acupuncture tack in a dog's ear will
stop seizures; 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
and distributor of natural pet products, helps pet owners create
healthy, happy pets. To receive free "Pet Pointers" newsletter,
go to: www.healthyfoodforpets.com or
contact deecaruso @ cox.net, (760) 758-7963 or (877) 877-0665.
