Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Epilepsy and seizure signs in British Shorthair cats in Sweden
By Tenger, Marianne et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2022·Anicura Albano Small Animal Hospital·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Epilepsy in British Shorthair cats in Sweden.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study found that 0.9% of British Shorthair cats in Sweden experienced epileptic seizures, with 0.7% having presumed idiopathic epilepsy (PIE), which means their seizures had no known cause. These cats typically had infrequent seizures, and while some experienced clusters of seizures, none had severe episodes known as status epilepticus. Interestingly, none of the cats were treated with anti-seizure medications, and there were no reports of seizure remission. Overall, the condition appeared to be relatively mild, with little progression in seizure frequency over time.
People also search for: British Shorthair cat seizures · idiopathic epilepsy in cats · cat seizure treatment options
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of epileptic seizures and of presumed idiopathic epilepsy (PIE, describing epilepsy of unknown origin) in a cohort of British Shorthair (BSH) cats in Sweden. The secondary objective was to describe epileptic seizure characteristics and outcome for cats with PIE. METHODS: Owners of BSH cats born between 2006 and 2016 and registered with SVERAK (the Swedish Cat Clubs' National Association) were invited to reply to a questionnaire about their cat's general health. Owners who indicated that their cat had experienced epileptic seizures were invited to participate in an in-depth telephone interview about the epileptic seizures. The clinical characteristics of epileptic seizures in BSH cats were determined from the results of the interview. RESULTS: In this population comprising 1645 BSH cats (representing 28% of registered BSHs), the prevalence of epileptic seizures was 0.9% and for PIE it was 0.7%. BSH cats with PIE presented with infrequent but consistent epileptic seizures. Twenty-seven percent of BSH cats with epileptic seizures had cluster seizures but none presented with status epilepticus. None of the BSH cats was treated with antiepileptic drugs, and none of the owners reported epileptic seizure remission in their cat. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The prevalence of PIE in this population of BSH cats was 0.7%. The prevalence of epileptic seizures was 0.9%. In general, PIE in the BSH cat displayed a relatively benign phenotype where progression of epileptic seizures was uncommon.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34431738/