Cat seizures caused by clicking sounds or other sharp sounds appears to be linked to old age which may indicate a change in brain function brought about by old age as the cause. Further, although unlikely, there may also be an underlying condition such as toxoplasmosis which is present in about 45% of all cats but usually asymptomatic (no signs of it). Hearing loss may also be a factor or a cause.
The seizures vary in type from dilated eyes and twitching to lying on the floor with all legs flaying around.
The sounds are sharp. Sometimes they are rustling sounds such as plastic being scrunched up, candy wrappers, ‘kissy’ sounds or tapping on a bowl with a spoon These sounds are can be made in the home in day-to-day activities – all very normal which makes the cat’s response all the more shocking. The fact that sharp sounds are involved indicates that the condition is related to sound frequency. There may be an age-related loss of hearing of high frequency sounds
Deafness may make a cat hypersensitive to sound waves. There are various reasons for deafness on of which is a loss of sensitivity in the cochlea of the inner ear. Although a deaf cat can’t hear or has poor hearing, the sound waves could still be transmitted via the auditory nerves to the brain. Perhaps the cat compensates for deafness by becoming hypersensitive to sound (the sound waves in the air) and this may result in overcompensation leading to an over-stimulation of the brain by the auditory nerve resulting in seizures. Perhaps the part of the brain processing auditory nerve input has degenerated and malfunctions leading to seizures.
My gut feeling is that the cause is due to dementia. The dementia might be mild and not obvious but the brain has changed and degraded which causes it to malfunction – a wild guess. I am saying that this condition is one possible symptom of feline dementia.
I felt a need to readdress this upsetting and strange condition to try and shed some light on the causes. It is rare and it is not referred to in the books that I have (and they are good) and it is hardly mentioned on the internet.
Fortunately, there are currently 25 comments from visitors on the original page about this condition written by a visitor in England (the linked page has many more useful comments from visitors). Running through the comments I noticed that the ages of the cats with the condition were: 18 (this cat also seemed to have dementia), 18, 12+, 17, 18, 17, 13, 19, 18.5, 10.
Most of these ages are advanced. A cat of 18 is very geriatric. On one occasion the elderly cat was given a pain relief injection which appears to have set off the seizures on hearing sharp sounds.
On another occasion an elderly cat lost his cat companion which appears to have been a emotional ‘knock back’ which in turn seemed to have been linked to the onset of seizures due to sharp sounds.
If anyone has experiences of this please add your valuable knowledge to the page in a comment so we can build up a database of information to plug this gap in our knowledge. Thanks in advance.
I have an 18 year old female cat (Burmese X) in Australia.
About 5 months ago, she twice had a full seizure in front of the gas heater (think fan may have been on). On both occasions she firstly tried licking her tail that developed into the seizure that lasted for about 30 secs but seemed a lot longer.
Then on the 3rd occasion, I was pressing the gas heater electric starter (has a fast clicking sound) and saw her about to go into another fit, so stopped & she was OK.
Since then I have found any repeated clicking sounds or even human kissing sounds can cause a few fast twitches. The twitches also can happen when she is trying to sleep but aren’t as noticeable being more like a slight tremor.
I think this is age related as she also has;
* Kidney disease for 3 years & now drinks heaps of water. I changed her litter tray to 49cm x 40cm internal size, as her aim was a bit off. To reduce the amount of cat litter, I found any Murdoch owned tabloids are great for lining the tray (when I get them for free & unread), with a dry soil/silica gel mix on top.
* In some light her eyes seem a bit cloudy but she seems to still navigate well.
* She now has become very vocal from other rooms, with the intensity & frequency increasing if I ignore her. She will finally come to my location if I totally ignore her (or make the same noises). To help calm her down, I have given 50-100 mg L-Theanine that seems to help. It has no taste, so can be easily added to food. I also use this if her tremors seem worse. I also add 1/2 a 500 mg green-lipped mussel powder capsule for joints.
* Gets bad breath. Can be controlled by food choices such as adding finely chopped chuck steak that is still interconnected so it requires some chewing. Sometimes I mix it with a 1/8 tspn Hawaiian Spirulina powder (not the Indian or Chinese as they smell too much) or 1/2 tspn natural yogurt.
* Gets constipated. I now add chia seeds to wet cat food, sometimes some inulin & add a little extra water if texture too thick.
Hi Rosemarie. This sounds like the same health problem but less severe. Can I ask how old your cat is? It would help to know as it would build up a larger record. Thanks for commenting.
My 14 year old cat has just started twitching to sounds. In particular the clicking of the gas heater igniting and cutlery on dishes. The first time I saw it happen with the gas heater clicking it was distressing to watch as she seemed quite frightened and crouched down and hissed as if she didn’t know what it was. She hasn’t had a seizure as such, just the twitching.
Thanks for sharing Charlotte. I am convinced it is caused by a alteration to brain function due to old age. A bit like dementia.
Our cat (Baby Girl – Age 13-14) is going through the same thing. She also, jerks with noises, like the kissy sound or any type of clicking. With each kiss, she jerks too – which leads me to believe it definitely, somehow, has something to do with her hearing. But what I don’t know. We’ve had her at the vet twice and he evidently also has no idea. She has NEVER had a seizure to my knowledge and I pray I don’t have to see something like that. She does, though have scabby, pimple-like growths on her ears. I have two other cats that had this at the same time (Leading me to believe this was something contagious). Our vet said it was from flies biting on her ears. He’s crazy – I know for a fact that’s not what that is. I’ve been thinking too that these bumps might have something associated with her jerking movements. I just don’t know. Someone out there has to know something! I think I’m fixing to go online to look for a vet specializing in neurology and email them to see if they have any idea what’s going on. I’m as concerned as the rest of you. Good luck to you all; and if I find out anything, I’ll post again.
Thank you very much for contributing very useful information about this rare condition. Your information all adds to the overall knowledge we have. Your cat is old which supports my theory that this is age related. Love and hugs to you too. I live in London and visited Sweden.