Seizure log for dogs and cats
Why a written log matters
When a dog or cat has epilepsy, the decisions your vet makes — whether to start medication, whether a dose is working, whether to change it — rest largely on what you saw at home. A seizure rarely happens in the clinic. Your vet has to work from your description, and memory is a poor witness: almost everyone who times a seizure for the first time finds it was shorter or much longer than it felt, and after a few weeks the dates blur together.
A log turns “she has one every now and then” into “four seizures in March, each under two minutes, two of them in the early morning, one the day after a missed dose”. That is information a vet can act on.
What to write down for each seizure
- Date and time it started. Many pets seize at rest or in their sleep; a pattern by time of day is common and worth seeing.
- How long it lasted. Start a timer as soon as you notice it, and stop it when the shaking or stiffness ends. The recovery afterwards is counted separately.
- What it looked like. The whole body or one part — a leg, the face? Paddling, stiffening, jaw chomping, drooling, loss of bladder or bowel control? Did your pet seem aware of you?
- What came before. Sleep, excitement, a missed or late dose, a new food, a long day — anything you noticed in the hours before.
- Recovery. How long until your pet was back to normal, and what it did meanwhile: pacing, seeming not to see, unusual hunger or thirst, wobbling.
- Medication. What was given that day and when, and any rescue medication your vet prescribed.
If you can, film the seizure on your phone. A thirty-second video often tells a vet more than any description.
During the seizure
Stay calm and keep your hands away from your pet's mouth — dogs and cats do not swallow their tongues, and a seizing animal can bite without meaning to. Move it away from stairs, water or sharp corners if you can do so safely, or move the furniture instead. Dim the lights and keep the room quiet. Then watch, time and, if you can, record.
When not to wait
Vets generally ask owners to call them or go straight to an emergency clinic when a seizure lasts longer than five minutes, when seizures come one after another without full recovery in between, or when there is more than one seizure in a day. Your own vet may give you different instructions for your pet — write them at the top of the log so that anyone looking after the animal can see them.
How to use the printable log
Print a few copies and keep one where the pet spends most of its time, with a pen. Fill in one row per seizure, as soon after it as you can. Write the vet's phone number and current medications in the boxes at the top, so a pet sitter has them too. Bring the sheets to every appointment; a vet can read a month of seizures from a page in under a minute.
Questions owners ask
Is it a seizure or something else?
Fainting, a dream in deep sleep, a back spasm or a vestibular episode can all look like a seizure. A video and a written description are the best way to help your vet tell them apart, which is one more reason to keep the log even before there is a diagnosis.
How many seizures is “too many”?
There is no single number that fits every pet, and it is your vet's call. What helps them decide is exactly what the log shows: how often, how long, whether they cluster, and whether that is changing.
Should I log the small ones too?
Yes. Short focal seizures — a twitching face, one leg jerking, staring and not responding — count, and they often change before the large ones do. Note them with the same detail.
The same log, on your iPhone
Petwellio times a seizure with one tap — or say “Time a seizure in Petwellio” to Siri, or press the Action button — warns you at five minutes, and puts every seizure, with its length, in the report for your vet.
This page is general information for pet owners, not veterinary advice. Your own vet knows your pet and its history; follow what they tell you, and call them whenever you're worried.