I guess feline epilepsy is a thing.

I cannot even believe this week has really happened. 

On Monday at 4:30am we were awakened by Banana having a grand mal seizure. Off to the emergency vet once again! They did bloodwork and an exam and said there was nothing obviously wrong with him, and that sometimes cats just have a one-off seizure. They do?

So I took him home and sat around for a while trying to get some sleep. At 11:00 or so I gave up and decided to go to work. When I stood up he had another seizure. Cat seizures are SCARY. and awful.

Since our regular vet was open, I took him there. You can see how completely unaffected he was by any of this, except for the actual seizure part. He was immediately fine afterward both times. 

My vet said we could either start him on phenobarbital, or if we had the money she really recommended a full neurological work up at NC State to find out what was causing the seizures. Two in one day like that is rare and warranted some kind of immediate intervention either way. Ben and I talked about it and tried to decide whether to do the neuro consult, but as soon as I had Banana back in the car I knew there was no way I could take him home not knowing what was going on. I drove straight down to NC State and handed over my credit card. 

He ended up staying overnight for observation and then getting an MRI and spinal tap the next day. They also started him on phenobarbital, which is making him pathetically groggy and uncoordinated. 

Long story short: he just has epilepsy. Hardly any cats have epilepsy. Every vet I talked to said it's extremely rare. But there are cats out there with it, and now I've got one. He has to take phenobarbital twice a day for the rest of his life. 

The grogginess is finally starting to let up today, his fourth on the medication. The vets say he should be back to his normal self in a week to 10 days. It's hard to believe right now - he is so sad and tired and uncoordinated. It's tough to see. 

I kind of can't believe how much money I've spent on my cat. We may have to skip the trip to Europe we had planned for November. But when it comes down to a week in Paris or Copenhagen vs 10 more years of Banana? No contest. This is a good cat. He's worth it.