In recent years, some cat parents noticed a strange phenomenon: certain sounds triggered seizures in their elderly cats. After enough owners reported the problem, a study was born.

Two researchers in London have confirmed that certain geriatric cats suffer from seizures brought on by high-pitched sounds. These feline audiogenic reflex seizures, or FARS, can vary from relatively harmless fine muscle twitching to serious full-blown convulsions, sometimes lasting several minutes. Depending on the cat, they might be triggered by sounds as loud as hammering a nail to those as soft as clicking the tongue. The same researchers are now studying possible treatments for FARS.

In many ways, the discovery of FARS is owed to the observations of vigilant pet parents. Sometimes you just have to see (and hear) something to believe it.