Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with head tilt and seizures linked to brain tumor
By Peters, Rosanne K·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2025·Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Vestibular epilepsy associated with a temporoparietal lobe meningioma in a cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 15-year-old male domestic shorthair cat was brought in for increasingly frequent episodes of head tilting, unusual eye movements, and vocalizing, along with drooling and restlessness. After tests, a small tumor (meningioma) was found in the brain. The cat was treated with a medication called levetiracetam, which helped reduce the frequency of the episodes. Although the cat had a couple of minor episodes later on, it remained stable and healthy until it was euthanized for a different health issue nearly three years later.
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Abstract
A 15-year-old male castrated domestic shorthair cat presented with increasingly frequent vestibular episodes. The cat exhibited episodes of a head tilt, nystagmus, abnormal mental state, vocalizing, hypersalivation, restlessness, and vomiting. Episodes were <60 minutes long with normal inter-episode condition. Systemic evaluations were generally benign. Magnetic resonance imaging documented a small meningioma in the left temporoparietal junction area with no other structural evidence of vestibular system pathologies. The episode frequency decreased with administration of levetiracetam which was discontinued 91 days post-craniotomy. The cat had 2 more limited vestibular episodes: 1 at 211 days after craniotomy, and the second at 489 days after craniotomy. The cat maintained normal inter-episode condition until it was euthanized for unrelated transitional cell carcinoma 907 days post-craniotomy.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39890586/