Cramps in a cat

Often cramps in a cat are considered a sign epilepsy, but not always muscle spasms are caused precisely by this disease. There are also non-epileptic seizures, which can be caused by a variety of reasons. Also, seizures are divided into tonic and clonic. For tonic spasms characterized by a prolonged muscle tension, and for clonic - short sharp cuts, alternating with relaxation.

The true epileptic seizure in a cat is usuallyaccompanied by loss of consciousness, but cramps in a cat, caused by other causes, can occur without losing consciousness. Cramps in a cat can be caused two main groups of reasons, which include diseases of the brain and metabolic disorders or intoxication.

To the disease of the brain, capable of provoking cramps in a cat, except for true epilepsy are, for example, inflammatory diseases. Most often they are complications in all sorts of infections (rabies, toxoscoplasmosis, plague, parvovirus encephalitis), parasitic diseases, fungal lesions of the brain.

Also, seizures can be provokedhydrocephalus (cerebral edema), craniocerebral trauma, thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency, brain tumor, vascular diseases (ischemia or cerebral infarction), and chronic diseases of the central nervous system, which are accompanied by a lesion of the brain (they count more than a dozen).

But also cramps in a cat can be caused by causes that are not directly related to the activity of the brain. One of these causes is hypoxia (insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain) caused by impaired breathing or cardiac activity.

Cramps in cats can also be associated with a low content of calcium in the blood (hypocalcemia) or glucose (hypoglycemia). Hypoglycemia can occur with diabetes,liver diseases or pancreatic tumors. A hypocalcemia can accompany endocrine diseases, kidney disease, as well as eclampsia (a disease that occurs during lactation in a given birth of cats).

Among other reasons that can cause seizures incats, it is possible to name defeat of an intestine by parasites, heat stroke, diseases of a thyroid gland, and also an intoxication (a poisoning with organophosphorus, plants, rat poison, heavy metals and even chocolate). And this is only a small part of the possible causes of convulsive seizure.

therefore If your cat has convulsions, you need to take her to the vet as soon as possible. Put an accurate diagnosis "by eye" will not be able toeven a specialist. To accurately determine the cause of seizures, the doctor will take tests and conduct a series of studies. First of all you should tell him everything about your pet as much as possible: how do you feed it, do all the vaccinations are done, were there any injuries and diseases, exactly how was the seizure (duration, intensity of spasms)?

After that, the veterinarian will take urine and blood tests. Usually, three blood tests are done - totalclinical, biochemistry and serology (analysis for viruses). You may also need to listen to the heart and lungs, examine the reflexes, do an ECG and a chest X-ray.

What if your cat has cramps? First of all - do not panic. First you need to remove away from the cat all the items that she accidentally can be injured, and wrap the animal in a blanket or put cushions to prevent the cat from hurting itself. Try not to touch the muzzle of the animal with your hands and hold it with your hand or knee.

If the seizure has passed within four minutes,affectionately talk to the cat, try to calm her down. In this case, emergency calls to the veterinarian are not required, but later it will be necessary to go to the clinic. If the cramp in the cat lasts more than four minutes, as well as with repeated repetition of seizures, you need to place the cat in a closed carry and immediately take it to a vet clinic.

Cramping in a cat is a symptom that can not be ignored in any way. The sooner you contact the veterinarian, the more likely it is that your cat will eventually be all right.