Question about a 6 year old chartreux/himalayan/american short-haired mix

by Taylor
(Hamilton, Ontario, Canada)

Just to give you some back information, my cat is 6 as mentioned above, I also have another cat which is his brother, and he is 100% normal. Their mother and every other cat in the litter have at some point either gone insane or had seriously health problems and had to be put down.

The cat I am writing about has occassional "neurological ticks".. it's almost like a panic attack, he starts twitching, his pupils get big, and sometimes he begins panting with his tongue out. He then sits kind of balled up and doesn't really respond to anything for a while, he's usually fine after a couple hours or so. This used to happen maybe once or twice a year but now it happens atleast 5 times a week. He does not have a stressful life at all, my cats are spoiled beyond belief and very well cared for, they are also never allowed outside.

I was wondering if there is any known psychological or physical disorder for cats that fits this description? and if there's anything I can do to help him? I have spoken with my vet about this but they said the only way they could really do anything was if they did some testing on him. but due to his "panic attacks" I really would like to avoid putting him through any stress, as he gets terrified when going to the vets.

If you could give me any information that would be very much appreciated as I love my cat so much and hate to see him going through this.

Thank you :)

ANswer from KAte

Hi
I really do think that it would be in your cats best interest to have some tests done. If he does have a neurological problem such as epilepsy then their are medications which can make his life a much happier one.

It could well be that you are witnessing some sort of fit rather than a panic attack.

It sounds to me like their may have been some genetic problem running through this cat family and sadly if this is the case then medication from the vet is probably your only option.

best wishes Kate

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