Seizures in Pets


by Deena Caruso - Date: 2007-02-05 - Word Count: 1127 Share This!

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 deficate 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 deficated, 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 variet 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, author, teacher, & distributor of natural pet products
Helps pet owners create healthy, happy pets.
To receive FREE "Pet Pointers" Newsletter, go to:
http://www.healthyfoodforpets.com
deecaruso@cox.net
Ph: 760/758-7963, 877/877-0665


Related Tags: dogs, cats, pets, epilepsy, seizures, seizures in pets

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