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.
Hello,
Like everyone, so relieved to have found this thread. We have a 16 year old male Persian cat who is in the end stages of kidney failure. We have been doing at-home hospice care for him, including administering daily subcutaneous fluids for over seven months. The only other medication he takes is a phosphorous binding agent in his food and occasional an antacid. He does not have any signs of hearing loss or dementia.
A few days ago he got very sick, and the vet gave him an appetite stimulant, anti-nausea meds, and a med to control diarrhea/vomiting. Around the same time, but possibly slightly before he got so sick and went to the vet, he has been noticibly sensitive to silverware on plates, bags crinkling, kissy noises, etc. Almost verbatim to what others have listed.
Today he was sitting outside in his favorite spot, sunning on the patio furniture, when it suddenly started to rain large droplets of water. The effect of the thousands of plopping sounds against the furniture cushions immediately sent him into an extreme seizure-like reaction. After about a half hour after that he was walking around normally, eating and drinking. Our vet thinks it may be syncopy, a reaction that looks like a seizure but is actually more like a faint. If you google it, there are many causes listed, but nothing directly related to sound other than the animal being startled. He is going to look into it more for us and call in the morning so I will report back anything useful from him.
We are trying so very hard to keep our sweet boy comfortable during his last days, but now with this extreme sensitivity it is even more difficult. Even the sound of a baby squirrel running up a nearby tree causes him to twitch. Thank you for taking the time to collect all these personal stories, I hope this condition will get some good research.
Thanks Gary. The fact that your cat is 16 yrs old supports my theory this condition is linked to old and probably early dementia.
My Elderly cat 16 years old also has this exact same symptom. clicking noise when i click the food bowl scraping out the food. Has done this seizure twice and last’s just a couple of minutes. It’s very scary to witness but once it’s over he returns to his normal self. I have to be careful when feeding to not click the bowl..
Thanks Michael for sharing. My current thoughts on this are that this condition is due to a form of dementia brought on by old age.
my cat of 17 yrs. is displaying twitching to sounds as well. visit to vet four months prior indicated normal blood labs but urinalysis indicated elevated blood urea/ nitrogen. vet said cat has age related kidney disease. I declined any treatment due to exorbitant costs. Very sad but I knew my cat’s health would decline.
Thanks Nigel for your comprehensive and very useful comment. Your story does indeed support the view that these seizures are linked to a change in brain function due to old age.