Seizures in dogs and cats: what to do during and after the fit

A generalised seizure passes through three moments worth knowing, because they help describe the episode without confusing the phases. Before the seizure some animals show a period of restlessness, seek the owner, hide or appear disoriented: this is the phase that people living with an epileptic animal learn to recognise. Then comes the seizure itself, with loss of consciousness, stiffness and rhythmic limb movements. After it there is a recovery phase that can last from a few minutes to several hours, during which the animal seems dazed, walks as if drunk, bumps into furniture, is intensely hungry or thirsty and sometimes fails to recognise those around it.

Telling a true seizure apart from other events is not always easy by eye. A cardiac faint, a tremor, an acute painful episode or a vestibular problem can resemble a seizure without being one. That is why the owner's job is not to make a diagnosis but to observe and record precisely: the duration, the appearance, whether or not there was loss of urine, the behaviour just before and just after. These details guide the vet far more than the word seizure used on its own.

In the moment of the seizure you do not hold the animal still and you do not touch the mouth. The aim is only to stop it hurting itself and to let it pass through the episode safely. The useful actions are few and simple, and they should be done calmly, because the animal cannot register who is speaking to it but does register commotion as it starts to come round.

1. 1

   Look at the clock and start counting

   The duration of the seizure is the single most important figure. Note the start time: in a full emergency time seems to stretch, and without an objective reference people vastly overestimate how long it lasted.

2. 2

   Move dangerous objects away

   Shift furniture with sharp corners, objects that could fall and other animals. If the animal is near stairs, a pool or an edge, protect that direction with a cushion or with your body while keeping clear of the mouth.

3. 3

   Lower the stimulation

   Turn off bright lights, lower sounds, ask for quiet. Less stimulation shortens the perceived duration and helps the recovery phase, which is often disoriented and sensitive to noise.

4. 4

   Put nothing in the mouth

   The idea that an animal can swallow its tongue during a seizure is false. Hands near the teeth risk a deep involuntary bite, and any object between the jaws can break or block the airway.

5. 5

   Do not move it unless you must

   Lifting or dragging a seizing animal agitates it and exposes you to a bite. Move it only if it is in a dangerous spot, and then move it by the scruff or on a blanket used as a stretcher, never near the head.

6. 6

   Reduce the heat

   A prolonged seizure raises body temperature. If it drags on or the room is warm, ventilate the space. Overheating is one of the most serious complications of a seizure that does not end.

Not every seizure carries the same urgency, but some situations mean reaching a veterinary facility without waiting. The main difference is made by duration and repetition: a seizure that will not stop or that fires in clusters is a life threatening picture, not just an episode to report at the next check.

The precise duration thresholds, the number of seizures that should trigger alarm and any medication to keep at home are clinical decisions that belong to the vet who knows the animal. If you live with an already diagnosed animal, ask your vet for a written plan with your reference numbers and what to do in each scenario, so you do not have to improvise in the moment.

When the rhythmic movements stop, the animal is not immediately itself again. The recovery phase can be brief or last hours, and it is often the part that frightens most those who do not expect it: the animal staggers, seems blind or deaf, circles, is ravenously hungry or seeks water, and in some cases appears temporarily aggressive because it is disoriented. This is not a worsening, it is the brain gradually regaining control.

• Give the animal a quiet space, dark or dim, away from stairs and other animals.
• Avoid insistent cuddling: in recovery, contact can be read as a threat and provoke a defensive reaction.
• Do not offer food or water until it walks steadily and is fully awake, so nothing goes down the wrong way.
• Watch the breathing and gum colour, which should return to pink: pale or bluish gums are an emergency signal.
• Stay nearby and keep timing: if a second seizure comes before full recovery, the urgency rises.
• Once the animal is lucid again, check it did not injure itself during the fall.

The quality of the appointment that follows a seizure depends largely on how accurate the owner's account is. A diary of episodes, kept consistently, reveals patterns that memory misses: intervals between seizures, recurring times, possible triggers. This information guides the tests and, for an animal on treatment, helps show whether the plan is working.

1. Date and start time and the timed duration, not one estimated from memory.
2. What the animal was doing in the minutes before and whether there were warning signs.
3. Appearance of the seizure: which side it fell on, whether all limbs or only part of the body were involved, whether there was loss of urine or faeces.
4. Duration and features of the recovery phase.
5. Any substances, unusual foods, medicines or plants the animal had access to in the preceding hours.
6. Total number of seizures in the period and the interval since the previous one.
7. A video, if someone could film it without putting themselves in danger.

Recording all of this on paper in the middle of a panic is hard. A tool that lets you quickly note date, duration and remarks and keep a video linked to the animal makes the account reliable even weeks later, when the details blur. Consistency in recording is often what separates a well followed case from one managed from memory.