Once-a-day oral treatment with phenobarbital in cats with presumptive idiopathic epilepsy

Abstract

Objectives: Phenobarbital (PB) q12h is the most common treatment recommendation for cats with recurrent epileptic seizures. Medicating cats may be challenging and result in decreased quality of life for both cat and owner. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate treatment with oral PB q24h in cats with presumptive idiopathic epilepsy. Methods: Nine cats with presumptive idiopathic epilepsy, receiving oral PB q24h, were included in a retrospective descriptive study. Results: Seizure remission was achieved in 88% (8/9) of the cats and good seizure control in 12% (1/9) of the cats, treated with a mean dose of oral PB of 2.6 mg/kg q24h (range 1.4–3.8 mg/kg). No cats required an increase of their PB frequency at any time during a mean follow-up period of 3.5 years (range 1.1–8.0 years). No cats displayed side effects or issues with compliance at the last recorded follow-up. Conclusions and relevance: Once-a-day administration of PB for feline epilepsy was safe and resulted in satisfactory seizure control for the nine cats included in this study. The results of this study justify exploring this topic further in larger prospective studies.