fits

Question
Hi Norman, I have a 14mth old Somali neuter boy who has done well at shows/is very relaxed but who has had 4 "fits" all in his carry basket - 2 at a show/1 as we were about to leave for a show and 1 when taking him to the vets. The vets can find nothing wrong with him and have put down "idiopathic epilepsy" whereas i query whether this is behavioural as he has had no other fits/health problems, but does now cower a little if strangers come to the house (especially men).  At the show where the fits started, all of the cats were upset because of an overhead tannoy (male voice).  have you heard of this before please? Obviously I'm not keen to take him out of the house ever again!

Answer
Lorraine,

Yes, unfortunately, this is not uncommon.  I would not call them fits.  Cat shows are very chaotic, and, unless the cat has been exposed to a certain amount of chaos, a cat of a high strung line or breed can have problems coping with the noise, the smells, and all the chaos associated with a cat show.  If the show hall is especially noisy, this can be problematic.

We keep a radio playing raucous music going all the time where our cats are.  We have also bred, specifically, for show temperament.

You might try giving your Somali vitamin B1 (50 mg twice a day, starting Wednesday evening and 3 times each show day) to see if that helps.  Sometimes when such an incident happens you may be able to use the vitamin B1 to mellow the cat out enough for it to relax in the show hall.

Good luck and best regards... Norm.