You have to figure in the cost of the bloodwork that is required to monitor how much damage is being done to the pet’s liver, potential anemia, etc., not just the cost of the medication. Blood will have to be checked initially, then a couple of weeks after starting the medication. If the dosage is adjusted, blood will have to be checked again a couple of weeks later. Even if no dosage adjustment is required, blood must be checked every six months. It adds up to a lot of money that might be better spent on some tuna to make kitty happy.
Phenobarbitol is considered “safe,” but lethargy and increased appetite/weight gain are typical side effects, and missing a single dose can trigger a seizure. It frequently causes liver damage, and once a pet is on it, discontinuing use can be fatal. Spending a lot of money to potentially harm the pet may not be worth the risk.
One thing to consider is that cats are very good at hiding pain. I would at least take Kitty to the vet just to make sure she’s as good as she seems to be. (I had a cat with a bad tooth, and we didn’t even realize it until she caught a cold from our new kitten. A blessing in disguise!) Seizures can get worse over time, and there IS the danger of choking. (Although not on one’s tongue, contrary to popular belief) A visit to the vet is in your best interest. Please don’t wait.
AnaMen, I don’t know how seizures are for animals, but if they’re anything like they are for people, they’re pretty damned painful.
The cat might have been hiding pain, or it might not have been in pain in spite of the bad tooth. We can never truly know another’s perceptions.
I agree that seizures are probably awful, but riding in a car to go to an unfamiliar place full of terrifying sounds and smells to be stabbed by needles may also be awful to a cat. Taking medicine daily that makes one starving and sleepy is also awful. The cat is eighteen years old. No matter what steps are taken or how much money is spent or what pharmaceuticals it is dosed with, maximizing the cat’s remaining time should be foremost. The cat is too old for surgery, so exploring causes that would require it is pointless, even if the expense was not significant. Which it is. Perhaps the seizures are a reaction to something in its environment or a food ingredient. The vet has no way to diagnose that either. It could be a side effect of a flea control product, but the vet won’t be able to determine that either. So a prescription can be written and that is all, and the medications have common non-trivial side effects and risks.
If there was any chance of a great solution from the vet, I’d agree that the cat should go ASAP, but what would it be?
So your solution is what, just let the cat possibly suffer? :dubious:
The cat “seems to shake them off within an hour” or so and other than the seizures seems to be doing “pretty well.” It is not suffering in its daily life, only for an hour or so a month. It isn’t depressed or behaving as if it lives in terror of the next episode. I’m not saying it’s not a big deal and should be ignored because it doesn’t matter, just that vets aren’t magicians.
So I’d try feeding the cat different food, not using oral flea meds, and just letting the cat live its life until such time as that life appears to be more pain than pleasure, at which point, hopefully a vet will make a house call and do what needs to be done.