Expert: Jessica - 7/15/2009

Question
I have a male cat that I rescued about a year ago that was
living in the crawl space of our last home. He turned out to
be approximately 5 years old and neutered per the vet. He
was under-nourished to the point you could feel every
vertebrae in his backbone but with him long hair you
couldn't tell by looking at him. He had tape worms which
have been taken care of and was given a clean bill of
health.

Since I took him in he has been an absolute sweetheart aside
from his nibbling which got him his name of Nibbler. He is
pure black, but from his side and the long hair reminds me a
lot of the Mainecoon I had years ago. My question is this:
Since I got him he has been a very vocal cat and sometimes
it sounds like he's complaining and other times more like
he's singing. He doesn't have the same "meow" of my other
cats, which is another reason I wonder if he's a Mainecoon
or at least part Mainecoon. He also will randomly start
walking in circles. At first I thought he was just chasing
his tail but it doesn't seem like he's "chasing" anything
when he starts doing this. If you call his name when he's
walking/running in circles he will stop but start back up
the minute you move your attention elsewhere. Some days he
does this more than others and it doesn't seem to have any
particular time-frame. He interacts with my other animals
just fine and plays full out with my dog (Schnoodle rescue)
anytime he can. He also eats like he's starving which I
attributed to being homeless but after a year it hasn't
changed. I feed the cats twice per day (once in the morning
and once at night) and sometimes even give them a little in
between if the bowl runs dry. He will eat so fast sometimes
that within minutes it comes right back up. As soon as he
throws up he goes right back to the food bowl and eats more.

He is a very affectionate cat and is definitely not a loner
type like so many other cats I've had throughout the years.
I am just wondering if this is something I should worry
about with no other symptoms evident or if it's just
something to live with and giggle at when he starts running
in his circles.

Thank you in advance for your advice :)

Jeannette

Answer
Hi Jeannette.  You may want to ask your vet about complex partial seizures.  Vocalization and walking in circles are a couple of the behaviors that can be seen during these types of seizures, and victims do maintain a level of consciousness.  They often respond to voices when they are spoken to but aren’t quite “all there” during episodes.  Many people don’t recognize these seizures because unlike generalized convulsions, they can mimic normal behavior, albeit altered.  You might want to start keeping a journal of what goes on surrounding these bouts.  Seizure patients very often become extremely hungry immediately following episodes, and also very sleepy.  These observations can be helpful when discussing with the vet.  I think that it's definitely far more likely that he’s just entertaining himself with some imaginary friend, but this is the one other possibility that comes to my mind.  

Good luck!

Jessica