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Our 10 year old Beagle Bassett hound mix has been down since last Wednesday. She had what we thought was a seizure, and couldn’t get up after. We took her to the vet, and they kept her but said that she wasn’t giving any indication to where the pain was or where the infection might be (a blood panel revealed high WBC) Sent her home with phenobarbital and clindamycin for the infection. Fast forward to yesterday, they decided to do an x ray and discovered she has degenerated vertebrae that have fused. They gave us prednisone and methocarbamol and advised us to call in on Friday if no improvement. Our poor girl can’t get up hardly at all, and the vet isn’t giving me any information as to what caused this, if it’s curable or manageable. I don’t know what I’m up against and a 2nd opinion isn’t something we can afford right now.
Our 13 yo Cairn Terrier went to his usual grooming appt today. The groomer called me and said after his bath, he was crying constantly and seemed panicked. He was pacing and crying.
She thinks it may have been a seizure or something like it. When I picked him up from her, he was very happy to see me. We went home, he ate and is now acting like his normal self. The ER vet had a 10 hour wait! And no other vet can see him.
hello,
I would say that my advise would be to keep a close eye on him, ie eating, drinking, peeing, pooping and behavior.. Call your vet, register the concern, and see how things go. Ask to be scheduled for the next available appointment. If he hasnt had his annual exam, or blood work/diagnostics in the last 3-6 months it is probably a prudent thing to do,
good luck
krista
Could repeated flinching/seizure-like behavior be associated with eyesight?
Here is a compilation video: https://vimeo.com/434151259
Our 10-year-old toy poodle has begun flinching (for lack of a better word) repeatedly on walks. We’ve been to the vet, but due to an enlarged heart with a leaky valve he wants her to see her cardiologist to ensure it isn’t heart-related. We are trying to get an appointment but the pandemic is making wait times in the weeks and we’re concerned in the meantime about how dangerous waiting could be.
Based on our experience, the flinches rarely happen at home, happen much more frequently in bright sunlight on walks, especially facing the sun. They also occur much more frequently when leaving a shadow into the sun or leaving the sun into a shadow. Her vet has noticed early signs of cataracts and we’ve noticed her eyes getting cloudy. She’s also begun walking into things occasionally.
We’re hoping these are eye-sight related rather than seizures or neurological issues, but are unsure of next steps while waiting appointments with specialists.
Thanks.
Hello,
This is a tough question to answer based on the information given. The optic nerve which services the eyes is connected to the brain so yes they can influence each other. But I am also worried about pain. I think it’s imperative to see a neurologist. Or try to get a second opinion from another vet. I also think that bloodwork and xrays are a good place to start. You can also ask to see an ophthalmologist. Please keep calling and please seek help from a vet locally. I hope this helps. Let me know what happens. Good luck.
Boston terrier was having neck pain. Vet gave muscle relaxer, gabapentin and prednisone.. she suspected IVDD. My baby wasn’t doing that great with meds every 12 hours. So recently we went to 8 hours. He seemed to be doing a lot better. Well today, he started to walk towards me and he froze in mid step. And fell down. Rushed to vet. She said he is in a lot of pain- major spasm- not seizure. Gave him a pain shot that pretty much not him out. She said he needed surgery – only can do it in Dallas. If I couldn’t afford surgery then he needs to be put down. I’m trying to get donations for the surgery. Trying to give him a chance. He still walks on his own, poops etc. I saw videos of dogs recovering from IVDD without surgery and they were worse off than my baby. What should I do??? Any advice? I’d like to know what meds Dr. Magnifico used on Hank in her YouTube videos. Please help!
Hello,
I think I would go to another vet for a second opinion. I have lots of information on IVDD at my blog and YouTube channel. Please go to both and search “IVDD” you will get it all. Of search pawbly for IVDD and read the other questions by people in similar situations. I wouldn’t give up unless you feel it is the right things to do
My 4 year old cat had a 3 year rabies shot and a distemper shot at about 11:30AM this morning. It is now 9:25 PM and she is having tremors in her leg muscles. It is NOT a seizure but I’ve never seen muscle tremors like this before. She is also lethargic and not eating too, which I know is fairly normal…I’m just worried about her muscle tremors. Does she need to be seen immediately or is it ok to wait until morning to call the vet?
Hello,
It is very hard for me to answer this safely. The advice always has to be to err on the side of caution so that safety comes first. A veterinarian will listen to heart and lungs, take a temp, and assess neurological function and probably give an injectable steroid. We also check mucous membrane color. All of this is done to assess severity of the condition and be prepared to halt it from progressing. The tremors can be pain or anxiety due to pain or discomfort. But without all of the rest of the physical parameters to use as an assessment I can’t tell you whether or not to be worried. I’m sorry. I know that is not cut and dry. But it’s the honest truth. I think you are a Jvc client. If so please pm me on the Jvc fb page and I will call you for immediate help.
Krista.
Thank you so very much for your quick response and the phone call. Your help is very much appreciated!
Has anyone experience for REM Sleep Disorder in cats?
Ezra is an ca. 8 year old female cat. When she was in our shelter she seemed to be somewhat slow in her movements/reactions. She also had a weird way to walk – she moved her front legs a bit like a prancing horse. She also was a bit wobbly on her feet.
Otherwise she was very affectionate and cuddly, always eating good and didn’t seem sick.
However very often in the morning we found her bed wet. When we were around she always used the toilet and we never saw her urinating in her bed.
When we gave her to the vet, they found out, that she already was neutered and had an urinary tract infection. It was succesfully treated, but the problem still remained.
X-Ray and Ultrasound showed nothing special, same with bloodwork.
Her movements most likely were due to ataxia. Wether due to an accident or if she was born with it nobody knows.
So we found a new home for her and we informed them about her “problem”. I had contact with the new owners and it turned out she only pees when she sleeps. It looks like she has a seizure while she’s in deep sleep and she urinates during that. She may fall down from the chair our wherever she sleeps on due to her rapid movements – and wakes up confused.
When she’s in such deep sleep it is hard to wake her up, but possible.
An MRI then was done without result.
Medication for epilepsy was tested, but she became very quiet and tired with them, without solving the problem, so they were stopped.
Des anyhone have ideas what could be done to help her? Ezra itself doesn’t seem to suffer from this, as she doesn’t realize she’s peeing. When she wakes up she just goes away. But the danger of falling down is still there. The peeing is also a problem, which is why she is not allowed to sleep on the couch or bed when nobody is around.
The owner uses special pads on her chairs etc. depending on Ezras sleep those sometimes are completly shredded.
Maybe someone has an idea how to help in this situation?
Hello,
What an interesting kitty. My initial hiught was perhaps cerebellar hypoplasia. But I will do some research and digging and see if I can find anything. It is so wonderful to her that she found a home inspite of her uniqueness.
Hello,
I know it has been a year by now. But Ezra is back at the shelter for a few months now, since her new owner died.
She roams free at aour station now, as she won’t really find a new home (but is obviously still up for adoption). When she came back another epilepsy medication was tried, but with same solution than before, so it was stopped.
Her problems still remain. And now that she moves freely we can often see her “seizures”. She nearly always falls down from where she sleeps during that. Luckily she mostly sleeps on the lower things. When she falls down she wakes up, but sometimes will just lie there, looking absent – as if she only slowly realizes what has happened.
What I noticed too – she is extremely sensitive on her whole back and sites. When you touch her there, her whole fur will twitch (rolling skin syndrome?) and/or she may start licking herself or hands in reach and/or scratching with her hindlegs in the touched spots (seems like a reflex caused by touching her there).
However she still demands attention and loves cuddling.
A while ago she as started pulling out her fur on the left and right site of her back symmetrically on small areas. Blood works came back fine, the skin is fine, too. No parasites either. It looks like she is grooming herself, like cats soemtimes do with their theeth, but she starts pulling her fur during that. I think she pissibly has some sort of “frong feelings” there?
So I’m just curious if you could find something?
I thought about “cerebellar hypoplasia”, too. I guess that’s what I meant with Ataxia. (We call them “Ataxie-Katzen/Ataxia Cats”. We sometimes have kittens, that show wobbly gait, problems with judging distance and similar – however despite this they are still normal, playful, active kittens. The worst case was a little red tabby whose mother most likely had contact with cat-parvo. He could hardly stand when he got old enough to leave his box. His littermates were wobbly, too but not like he was. He had a hard time to walk at the beginning. But after he got the possibility to run around and train hismucles, he learned how he can run and walk – it still was wobbly, but he was not falling over all the time anymore.
However none of the kittens ever showed the symptoms Ezra does when she is asleep. And none of their new owners ever called because of soemthing similar.
Please let me know if you find somwthing. I would love to learn more!
It seems there is not much to be found for her specific problem. But maybe I’m looking wrong as English is not my native language. I only found a Youtube Video and some short texts on google, but nothing really helpful.
My dog has had about 10 seizures since last nite he is taking phenobarbital he is 11yrs old
Hello,
Please consider this an emergency and go immediately to your vets office.
We did they put Jim on phenobarbital but he still having just as many seizures is der anything we can do or give until we have enuf money to go back to vets we only get paid on Mondays and we brought him Monday gone they put him on phenobarbital 2 2wice a day
Perhaps you can Call the vet and ask for a prescription of Valium? Or another sedative to help manage the seizures like gabapentin? Maybe these can help and be affordable? They are also available at human pharmacies and often are very affordable. Or ask your vet to see you and allow you to make payments. Your pup needs help ASAP.
This might be useful for you: https://www.petmd.com/cat/emergency/common-emergencies/e_ct_seizures_and_convulsions
Seizures in animals, like in humans, can present differently. If you suspect your cat had a seizure, please call your vet right away and explain exactly what happened and why you suspect a seizure and get an appointment. I hope your cat is ok!
I agree! Seizures can be hard, even for a vet, to distinguish. Please play it safe and see a vet. I will also add that I see a large number of cats who present looking like a seizure but are in fact a toxin exposure. Like a topical treatment, getting into drugs from their owners, exposure to drugs (from their owner), ingestion from grooming, etc. etc. Cats are very sensitive beings please see a vet immediately if anything is abnormal, or concerning.
My cat used to have seizures, it was really scary. Come to find out, it was caused by feeding her people food. We stopped giving her people food type treats and she hasn’t had a seizure since.
I would hold her and talk to her while she siezed. She was always very disoriented when it was over and went exploring the house like she’d never been there. It turns my stomach in knots remembering those horrible times.
I had my puppy in my arms today and he jumped out of my arms and landed on his head and seemed to have a seizure straight away it came out of it but is breathing very fast through its nose and they are not deep breaths and his stomach is moving when he breathes its really rapid. He also doesn’t seem to want to move and is having a hard time standing and walking
I agree!! Emergency.
This is an emergency. Take your puppy to the nearest pet ER NOW.
My 6 yr old beagle ate chocolate a day ago, which we just figured out, and starting having seizures and posturing. He is also very lethargic. Can I still give him activated charcoal to absorb whatever toxins are still in his system and how much? Any help is appreciated.
I agree. Seizures always warrant help from a vet. Please go immediately.
I’m not a vet, but once a dog has started having seizures, you should skip giving him activated charcoal and take him to the vet. If he ate it that long ago, he’s already absorbed most of the toxins. Activated charcoal is only effective before he’s absorbed toxins, not after. It may be a costly visit, but seizures are never a good sign.
Hello,
I would probably go find a different vet and ask for more help. It doesn’t sound like your vet is helping you enough. I also think that a full patient care conversation is warranted. I talked about how to help manage these guys wrt feeding peeing pooping ambulating and pain meds. I also talk about methocarbamol as I think these guys need this. Also ask about gabapentin and acupuncture.
I have a lot of information on my blog and YouTube channel. Kmdvm.blogspot.Com search Ivdd.
Thank you so much. Does this seem like IVDD to you? That’s how I came across your blog, and to me, the symptoms you describe sound a lot like what our girl is experiencing.