High-Pitched Sounds May Cause Your Cat to Have a Seizure

Keep your elderly cats away from high-pitched sounds. Scientists have found that older cats actually have seizures when they hear certain high-pitched sounds.

In this latest study, the researchers compiled a questionnaire for cat owners to complete. The scientists received hundreds of replies from across the globe from people who had noticed problems in their cats in response to certain types of sound.

Not content with just the survey, the researchers pulled together further information from 96 of the cats, looking at the type and duration of seizure and triggering sound. This showed that cats do indeed surfer from audiogenic reflex seizures, which are consistently caused by sounds. Certain sounds induced "absences" (non-convulsive seizures), myoclonic seizures (bright, shock-like jerks of a muscle or group of muscles), or generalized tonic-clonic seizures.

The scientists found that the average age of seizure onset was 15 years, with cats ranging in age from 10 to 19 years. The most commonly reported triggers were the sound of crinkling tin foil, a metal spoon clanging in a ceramic feeding bowl, crinkling of paper or plastic bags, hammering of a nail, and even the clicking of an owner's tongue.

Avoiding the sounds could certainly reduce the seizures. However, it's sometimes difficult to avoid certain sounds. In addition, the loudness of the sound seems to increase the severity of seizures.

"We have been overwhelmed by the response to our work," said Mark Lowrie, the lead author of the new study, in a news release. "A second study is soon to be published suggesting that levetiracetam is an excellent choice of medication in managing this condition. Our experience is that it can completely rid a cat of these sound-induced seizures, including the myoclonic twitches-one owner reported that levetiracetam had 'truly been a miracle drug for my cat.'"

The findings are published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery.

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