cat seized during professional grooming?

Question

15 y/o cat, regularly groomed, seized Thurs 9/20
during bath. all natural detergent free shampoo. same always used. He is the third cat to seize at bath recently. Can improper mixing of natural ingredients cause seizures? Could product be contaminated? Cat vet treated. Still clumsy 9/24, inner eyelid covering eye, treated with steroid & valium. Vet expected improvement in a few days. Any info, comments, help appreciated.

Answer 1

From my experience, I would say its highly unlikely that the shampoo caused it, unless the cat ingest a large quantity of it. Unfortunately, for a 15 yr old cat to start having seizures usually means there is a brain tumor (as opposed to epilepsy which usually sets in at 2-5 yrs of age). Highly stressful situations can sometimes bring on seizures, if say the blood glucose level drops very low, or goes very high, but the vet would have been able to see this on bloodwork. You may want to consider seeing a veterinary neurologist if you want an actual diagnosis. But it will cost a bit to do a MRI or myelogram. Good luck.

Answer 2

A lot of pet shampoos have tea tree oil in them which is very toxic to cats but doesn't affect dogs. Ask for a list of ingredients in the shampoo and see if that's the cause. ANYTHING with tea tree oil should NOT be used on or around a cat.

There's something going on if cats are going into seizures at that place.

Answer 3

I agree with your first answer. More then likely the stress of going to the groomer.
We have 4 cats and 4 pups and we bath and groom all ours at home. They never did well with any groomer.
Since they know their family better...they always feel safer in your arms.
I would ask your vet this same question....I do hope that your kitten is doing terrifice very soon. Blessings, Patti