The cat is shivering in his sleep as if he were freezing

Rabies. If the cat has been bitten by another animal, is foaming at the mouth and is exhibiting convulsions, then rabies should be suspected. The animal is immediately closed in a cage and monitored for at least 10 days. You should know that the pet may not have been bitten, but the saliva containing the virus could have come in contact with a sick animal to the mucous membranes, such as the eyes, which is also fraught with infection.

Why cats twitch in their sleep. When is it worth worrying about?

How often have you noticed that your furry pet, who was just sleeping sweetly, suddenly started twitching, snorting, twitching his paws, tail and ears? Is this behavior normal and what causes it? Is it worth worrying about? Let's find out in this article.

Scientists say that cats spend more than half of their lives sleeping. Our furry friends do love to sleep, but have you ever paid attention to how cats sleep and how their sleep differs from human sleep? Cats are very sensitive sleepers. Cats usually wake up at the slightest rustle. They do not have a transition period from sleep to wakefulness, they are immediately ready for action. This indicates that the animal's brain does not "turn off" completely and even in sleep is in a state of "reception", reacting to the external environment. In order for the animal's body to fully recover its strength, a deep sleep is necessary. Then the brain can "switch off" from external stimuli and rest.

Although cats are predators in the wild, but they are very small in size, so they run the risk of becoming prey to larger predators. That is why they sleep very sensitively and fall into a deep sleep is not so easy.

Yes, our four-legged friends also dream. There is an assumption that cats' dreams are even more dynamic and vivid than those of humans. By the way, it is thanks to cats, scientists proved that animals too are immersed in the world of dreams.

To confirm the theory of animal dreaming, scientists removed a small part of the brain, which is responsible for the degree of muscle tension during sleep, in a group of cats. After this procedure, the observed cats, while in a deep sleep, stood up on their paws, walked and behaved as they would in reality when faced with certain situations, such as hunting or stalking prey. The cats not only sensed the outside world, but also made decisions that were natural for them. The experiment confirmed that animals can hear, see and touch dreams.

How cat tremors manifest themselves

Tremors in cats manifest themselves in different ways. Most often, the pet trembles the entire body, but the symptom can affect individual body parts. Sometimes the pet trembles while awake or while sleeping. In the latter case, the muscle activity is accompanied by rapid eye movements, the animal meows, its tail twitches.

The trembling is in most cases shallow and comes in fits and starts. If the cat shakes violently, we may be talking about spasms. They occur with pathologies and injuries.

The most common causes of trembling in healthy cats

Trembling occurs even in healthy animals. The most common causes of its appearance are:

Conditionally safe factors include stress. It can be associated with a visit to the vet or hygiene procedures. A brief attack of tremor in such cases is the norm.

The pet is cold

A simple cold can provoke a shiver. With chills, the cat curls up, looking for a warmer place or tries to lie down on a bed or couch.

The animal may be cold not only because of the low temperature in the room, but also after bathing, because the wet hair does not help to retain heat.

After hygienic procedures, the coat of the pet should be dried, if possible with a hair dryer in a gentle mode. It is important to avoid drafts, raise the temperature in the room beforehand if necessary, because the pet may get cold and get sick.

Nervous overexcitation, emotional outburst or stressful situation

A pet may be twitching as if overcooled, due to strong emotions or stress. To determine the pet's mood, you need to analyze the situation. When irritated, the pet is tense and only the tip of the tail trembles. The pet may tremble with pleasure when meeting the owner, who has been away from home for a long time.

Heifer or sexual excitement

During the heat and sex drive, the animal is in constant tension. This provokes muscle spasms and trembling, and a shaking tail is often observed. Only spaying or neutering can solve the problem.

Older age.

Tremors are more commonly seen in older animals. It occurs due to age-related changes. Blood circulation in such pets is worse, so they freeze more easily, especially in their sleep. However, if they have frequent attacks and severe twitching, a visit to the veterinarian is recommended.

Diagnosis

A consultation with a general practitioner or neurologist is needed to make a diagnosis . The doctor will clarify the disturbing symptoms, conduct an examination, examine the medical history and medications taken, and prescribe the necessary examinations. Blood iron level tests are among the mandatory ones.

• Uncontrollable desire to move your legs due to discomfort or strange sensations in them;
• relief of symptoms while moving;
• intensification of symptoms in the evening or at night;
• lack of objective reasons (tickling, touching the skin) for the onset of symptoms.

How to treat ANS

There is no single method. Everything depends on the causes and severity of the condition, and treatment tactics may change in the course of therapy. So, if you're pregnant it will go away on its own after delivery, with hypovitaminosis recommends taking vitamins.

• sleep in comfortable conditions (on a moderately firm mattress, in a cool room with access to fresh air);
• reduce the use of caffeine and smoking;
• try relaxation and meditation techniques;
• do a light massage before going to bed, contrast showers to relieve fatigue and tension from the legs.

Additionally, the doctor may adjust the list and dosage of drugs taken, prescribe supplements with iron, folic acid or other elements. Therapy is also possible with a number of medications – anticonvulsants, with dopamine and others. Their prescription, dosage and duration of administration is the task of the doctor. Self-treatment with such drugs is dangerous.

Which of the means will be the most effective, it is difficult to say: treatment is carried out under the supervision of a doctor and may vary. We recommend that you make an appointment if you are experiencing restless legs syndrome. Sleep disturbances will not be good for your health, but it is possible to improve the situation.

Factors

• Another possible factor in cat tremors may be Uncomfortable posture . The cat's muscles and joints can react to being in an uncomfortable position for a long time.
• Equally significant can be Stress, previous experience of fright . . Possible causes are excessive activity of the animal during hunting, games. As well as the presence of trauma or contusion.

Associated symptomatology

Subclinical form of panleukopenia

In the subclinical form of panleukopenia, the cat becomes lethargic and has a fever.

• The subclinical form of panleukopenia often does not show pronounced symptoms, so timely diagnosis is particularly important.
• The latent period of this disease lasts about ten days, then there is lethargy and fever.
• Cat refuses food and water and is very thirsty.
• Vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal bloating are possible.

The latent period of rhinotracheitis

• The first signs are manifested by apathy, decreased appetite, fever.
• Serum nasal and eye discharge.
• Eventually turn into pus-mucous effusions, increased salivation.
• Ulcers develop on the tongue, parenchymatous keratitis sets in.

Calcivirus infection.

• In healthy and strong animals can proceed in a latent form, and appear only as a slight tremor.
• However, escalating into the chronic stage, it causes irreparable harm to the pet's body.
• It may be expressed by small discharge from the nose and eyes, lameness, apathy, lethargy.
• A slight fluctuation in the body's defenses and the disease progresses to an acute form.
• The danger is the rapid course of the acute form and the development of secondary pathologies.

When to see a doctor

If the tremor in a cat is accompanied by fever, digestive distress or pain syndrome, the animal must be immediately taken to a clinic or call a veterinary specialist at home.

Also requiring immediate hospitalization is a cat whose tremors turn into seizures or seizures of epilepsy.

Sometimes the owner cannot understand why a kitten or adult cat shakes violently, and at the same time it archs its back, meows softly, and tries to regurgitate. Such signs usually indicate swallowing a foreign object, which causes pain or discomfort. In this case, the animal can be saved only in the conditions of the clinic, if the object is surgically removed in a timely manner.

Diagnosis

Decide what to do if a kitten or adult cat trembles, you can only after determining the causes of the tremor. To do this on your own at home in most cases is impossible. However, you should monitor the animal's behavior closely to answer the following questions to the veterinarian:

The following tests may be ordered to make an accurate diagnosis:

• A general and clinical blood test;
• urinalysis;
• Stool analysis for helminths;
• X-rays of the head, spine, chest and abdomen;
• MRI or CT scan of the brain;
• myelography – to detect spinal tumors and intervertebral disc abnormalities;
• electromyography.

A puncture of cerebrospinal fluid may be taken to confirm encephalitis.

Concomitant symptomatology

Subclinical form of panleukopenia

In the subclinical form of panleukopenia, the cat becomes lethargic and has a fever.

• The subclinical form of panleukopenia often does not show pronounced symptoms, so timely diagnosis is particularly important.
• The latent period of this disease lasts about ten days, then appears lethargy, fever.
• The cat refuses food and water, and is very thirsty.
• Vomiting, diarrhea, bloating of the abdomen is possible.

The latent period of rhinotracheitis

• The first signs are manifested by apathy, decreased appetite, fever.
• Serum nasal and eye discharge.
• Eventually turn into pus-mucous effusions, increased salivation.
• Ulcers develop on the tongue, parenchymatous keratitis sets in.

Calcivirus infection.

• In healthy and strong animals can proceed in a latent form, and appear only as a slight tremor.
• However, escalating into the chronic stage, it causes irreparable harm to the pet's body.
• It may be expressed by small discharge from the nose and eyes, lameness, apathy, lethargy.
• A slight fluctuation in the body's defenses and the disease progresses to an acute form.
• The danger is the rapid course of the acute form and the development of secondary pathologies.

In this case the prognosis is unfavorable and cautious prognosis.

Puberty in cats

One of the underlying causes is puberty in the cat or the period of heat.

When is there cause for concern?

The owner should be worried, and it is better to immediately contact the doctor, If The twitching in his sleep resembles a cramp. When in the slightest doubt, wake the cat and observe the speed at which it wakes up. A healthy cat, even in a completely relaxed state, will wake up completely within 10-15 seconds. If the half-asleep state seems suspicious to you, you observe that the cat has difficulty breathing, raising its head or swallowing saliva – call a doctor.

If you cannot wake up your cat or if he loses consciousness – call the doctor immediately, because the seizure is likely to happen again. After a severe seizure (depending on its cause), the cat may lose consciousness and never recover. Seizures are a very serious condition, indicating that the brain cannot control the central nervous system.

Important! There are occasional videos on the web of a sleeping cat jumping up and running, maybe crashing into obstacles, etc. It may look funny, but such behavior indicates a severe disorder of the central nervous system.

A separate risk group is pregnant and recently delivered cats. Immediately after delivery, when the cat is resting, a seizure may indicate postpartum pre-eclampsia – a very dangerous condition that will result in the pet's deathif she is not treated immediately. Constant, increasing shaking that turns into convulsions is a sign of hypoglycemia, which quickly turns into a coma and can be fatal.

A seizure or violent twitching can be explained by a number of events that are not related to illness. After severe stress or fright, a move, a fight, an experience of danger, it is very likely that the cat will twitch in its sleep – this is not quite normal, but no special measures need to be taken. Decreased control of the central nervous system, indicates that the cat's brain and neural connections are temporarily "canned". Everything will return to normal when the cat's body recovers. If the cat was not stressed and looked healthy all day, you need to exclude: