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
Websites For Sale My wife and I have been married for 32 years.... Read More The 10 Greatest Puppy Training Tips of All Time According... Read More Dog day care programs benefit the dogs of owner's who... Read More What you feed your dog is really SO important for... Read More Your mind-set, approach and way of thinking (beliefs) are critical... Read More Brings live to your community tanksMany freshwater fish-keepers have a... Read More The proper selection of a training collar can have a... Read More Much has been written about the Discus, or Symphysodon aequifasciatus,... Read More For some 25 years I have alerted the public to... Read More Fleas have plagued dogs, cats, and their owners since time... Read More Parachromis managuense has a bad reputation, just like many of... Read More Puppy CarePuppy care can be a lot of work, but... Read More Settling a puppy into a new home successful is often... Read More Betta fish, also called Siamese fighting fish are one of... Read More So what does it mean to float a horse's teeth?... Read More Mistake #7 ? Assuming You Can Get On Any Horse... Read More Can you comprehend a time when dog food, cat food,... Read More If you're contemplating the idea of starting a home-based business... Read More I would like to write a few words about my... Read More Some Dogs like Boxers unfortunately, are prone to several potential... Read More Hamster breeding can sometimes be confusing for a hamster owner.... Read More Even with the best care, cats can become ill. Sometimes... Read More OriginDo you know that the adorable little puppy you bought... Read More Presently, and throughout the 1990s a phenomena swept through the... Read More This is general information on Discus, a member of the... Read More
Cheap Domain Names
Okay Lets Do A Poodle Again
10 Greatest Puppy Training Tips of All Time
The Positve Benefits of Dog Day Care
Commercial Pet Food for Your Dog?
Mind-Set: The Second Of 6 Keys To Building A Life Long Partnership With Your Horse
Glow Light Tetra - A Lovely and Peaceful Member of Your Community Tank
Dog Training Collars -- Proper Selection Leads To Training Success
Water Chemistry For The Discus Tank
The Case AGAINST Raw Frozen Pet Foods
Old Fashioned Flea Control
Parachromis Managuense
Puppy Care 101
Dog Training - How To Win Your Dogs Confidence
Ten Tips for Caring for Your Betta Fish
Float a Horses Teeth -- What Does that Mean and Why is it Necessary?
The TOP 7 Mistakes Horse Owners Make
How Are You Treating Your Pet?
Starting a Home-Based Pet Related Business
Unusual Breeding Behaviour in Wild Caught Archocentrus Sajica
Dog Health Conditions and Terms You Should Know...
Tips on Hamster Breeding
How To Keep Your Cat Healthy - Your Guide to Cat Diseases and Conditions, and How to Cure Them
History of Dogs? Or Maybe Wolves?
The Background and Use of Clicker Training For Dogs
A Reference Guide for Symphysodon Aequifasciatus (Discus)
Chihuahua Training is Easy! You may be wondering if Chihuahua... Read More
One of the greatest thrills for a little boy or... Read More
We all know how special interest groups can blow things... Read More
Until a very recent period, dog worms were thought to... Read More
Most people who have horses would like to develop a... Read More
Part2: Does your puppy want to be crate trained?Yes! in... Read More
Throughout the course of my life, I've encountered my own... Read More
A family, including three dogs and a cat live happily... Read More
Dog owners, who recognize the early signs and symptoms of... Read More
Cats need only be provided with decent shelter, food and... Read More
Did you know that arthritis affects one in five dogs... Read More
You do clean your house don't you? Well you have... Read More
With ancestors who were a breed of tenacious terriers, most... Read More
Are you ready for a Boxer?The answer is "no" if... Read More
Betta fish, also called Siamese fighting fish are one of... Read More
Many of us dream of having a beautiful, exotic bird... Read More
Pets can enjoy the therapeutic effects of aromatherapy as much... Read More
Can cats and dogs live together without constantly being at... Read More
Animal Communication, or telepathy with animals, is as common an... Read More
Bringing a new puppy or dog home is a huge... Read More
Obesity is one of the greatest health concerns facing dogs.... Read More
I've been around many people who try to lead a... Read More
Some people are so attached to their pets that they... Read More
The performing of dog tricks, while not a necessary part... Read More
Dog food is very important for the health of dogs.... Read More
Pet |