My cat goes into a coma when he sleeps

[sonnyvincent]

My cat Sonny (almost 14) does this too only you can tell he's in a super deep sleep because he's doing the "dream shaking" so I know he's alive. But I can play with his paws and head like that and have him not come out of it for awhile.  Even though he's not very active, he still gets in these deep deep sleeps.  Maybe your cat just doesn't do the "dream shaking" like most cats and instead still. If he's normal in other ways, like someone else said, then this probably isn't a big deal but if he shows other signs of neurological issues I'd get him in to be looked at.

 

[mammaes]

I also have a cat that sometimes when she is sleeping she really goes into a deep sleep coma like thing and sometimes it scares me. I live with my husband and my brother in law I tell them to leave her alone and to not be scaring or even making her mad cause on those days that the do that that is when she really moves and jerks a lot while she sleeps and sometimes goes into that coma like thing

 

[sandyskitties]

My 1 year old male cat...Buddy has an incredibly deep sleep. There are 3 instances where I actually thought he was not breathing & dying right of front of me. I even called our vet at 2:30 a.m. the 1st time this happened. Buddys last episode (well that I personally witnessed) was about 2 weeks ago. I was sitting in my living room & looked over on my couch and Buddy was sleeping with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. I thought that he must be in a very deep sleep but I got up to check on him. When I went over to him all of his limbs and his head and whole body seemed completely lifeless. But he was also very cold to the touch and wouldn't move. I picked him up very gently and held him in my arms and he was shedding so much fur that it seemed like he had went through some type of traumatic event. But I know he hadn't been because I was with him all night. I brought him up to my husband and we looked at him and he seemed to come out of it very slowly....it took him about 15 to 20 minutes to eventually come out of it and finally start to eat a bit. Like I said this is the third time it's happened but it was the worst. When I talked to my vet they had no idea of why but I have seen this happen many times with my cat now and have read what has happened to other cats as well. It is so scary but all I can do when it happens is be there by Buddy. I try to stay calm, which is hard but I talk softly to buddy and let him know that I am nearby. I do try to gently wake him but sometimes he's in such a deep sleep that its impossible to wake him. But it seems like once I talk to him then he slowly starts to come out of it. It makes me wonder how many times he does this when I don't see...if I've caught him 3 times doing it. Once he wakes up...he goes about his business as if he never knew anything happened to him. I wish I knew more but I do not. I just dread the next time I find him in that state because it is so scary for me.

 

[zemari]

Clyde occasionally goes into a deep sleep like this - the other morning (about 2:30am !) I woke up to use the facilities (its an age thing) and he was stretched out at the bottom of the bed - totally still

I was terrified as I couldnt see his chest move so I stroked him a and played with his feet. After a what seemed an age (but was only proabbly a couple of minutes) he moved his head and gave me a really filthy look as if to reprimand me for waking him up.  !!!

He doesnt sleep much during the day - I think he doesn't want to miss out on anything that is happening.... - so I assumed he catches up on his sleep at night

Bonnie on theother hand couldnt care less what is happening around her - if she wants to sleep then she will ! The only thing that will cause her to move is the opening of the fridge door !!

 

[georgial]

My cat does the same thing....He has several issues though...he is going to the vet monday...will see what she says...

 

[speeedy01]

My cat did this to me for the first time last night. She's probably a little over 2 years old now maybe. It was a hot night. I had a fleece blanket on my bed, which she slept on. She was behind my legs. She was dead still and very hot. She felt exactly like my guinea pigs when they died. I jiggled her and she didn't wake up or move. I touched her face and she didn't wake up or move. It took her like 3 seconds from being picked up for her to wake up. I thought she had died! I damn near died myself! After the mini heart attack I gave myself, I got up and turned the fan on quite high for her poor darling. After that she was fine. 

She has always been a "noisy" cat though. She breathes quite heavy, you can always hear her when she's nearby. She also chokes on her saliva fair bit. Also when she is sleeping she twitches a lot. Sometimes quite strongly. It scares me a lot. So I am thinking in the very near future I am going to have to take her to the vet to check her out. She's had all these issues since the day I got her (and I had her checked out by the vet when I first got her and they didn't think anything was wrong. 

 

[puddykat]

Remember that our pets came from a wild desert cat so for them to deal with the heat they simply go into a deep sleep to heal and get vital rest before the next kill. In the wild the flight or fight part of the brain never goes to sleep, our pets have the same program so to speak but it is operating at a lower level as they feel no threat from us. Where do you think the saying "cat nap" came from?

 

[siamesebetty]

I have a 16 year old female, spayed. Siamese and she does this at least 4 times a week. It's such a deep sleep it's very scary!! I also can move paws like that and her head and I've even got to open her mouth. Her breathing appears perfectly normal and she isn't too hot or cold. When she's about to go to the deep sleep I do notice that she kinda snores. When she finally wakes up after I have to push her around she usual hisses and snarls at me. But sometimes she just wakes up, readjusts herself and goes back to a "normal" sleep.

 

[jemtinks]

My 17 year old cat just did this to me. He's done it a few times before but this time took longer to wake him up. He was sat spread out on me. I curled him up so I could see his face. His eyes were twitching, rolled and not opening properly. Wasn't till I lifted his head up higher that he hissed and woke up. So scary. Relief to see that it's not just his old age that's causing this.

 

[ellag]

 
GIRRRRLLLLL take advantage and clip your kitties nails and file them. Thats the only thing i'm thinking when i see this video. My charlie used to fall dead asleep like that too and oh how i miss those days!

If you really feel concerned definitely take your kitty to a vet, but cats sleep a lot

i was thinking the exact same thing, lol!

 

[the perfesser]

My cat did this tonight - for the first time I've ever noticed - and I was terrified.

She started twitching, and then stopped moving completely and her eyes rolled back.

I may have misread the signs, but I was convinced she also stopped breathing.

It may be normal, and I was very glad to find this thread, but I'm still calling the vet in the morning.

I've had pretty much straight through since 1980, and I've never noticed this before.

I'm still recovering!

 

[wendellbear]

Oh my god this just happened to me and I thought he was dead, I started crying. First he was twitching in his sleep although he was dreaming and then he was limp and his eyes were half open and rolling to the back of his head. I was so terrified. Then finally he woke up, jumped up and went to eat some food! It last probably less than a minute but felt like an eternity.

He's just over 1yr and we just moved, I think he's stressed and exhausted. I'm doing everything I can to make him feel better. Reading these posts makes me feel that it is a fairly normal thing and not to worry about him being sick.

 

[wendellbear]

Oh my god this just happened to me and I thought he was dead, I started crying. First he was twitching in his sleep like he was dreaming and then he was limp and his eyes were half open and rolling to the back of his head. I was so terrified. Then finally he woke up, jumped up and went to eat some food! It lasted probably less than a minute but felt like an eternity.

He's just over 1yr and we just moved, I think he's stressed and exhausted. I'm doing everything I can to make him feel better. Reading these posts makes me feel that it is a fairly normal thing and not to worry about him being sick.

 

[peachpie]

Hi! Did your vet give you any helpful info on this sort of thing? My 3y/o female has started doing this at night recently and it's got me very, very freaked out because I lost my last cat to a freakish condition at just 5y/o before I got Peaches and I just don't think I can handle that again this soon. Peaches is totally fine during the day but at night she goes totally limp while she's asleep and has glazed looking eyes until she fully wakes up, which takes a few minutes of gentle shaking. I want to take her to the vet but my dad thinks she's fine if she's normal during the day and I don't have enough money to take her myself. 

 

[smeep]

Found this thread from googling it. My cat did this twice last year when he was ill (I ended up taking him to the vet and he stayed 3 days, almost died). I was concerned about him and would check on him throughout the night whenever I woke up. He was on the pillow next to me. I put my hand under his head and lifted it and instead of lifting his head himself the rest of the way it just flopped down when I let go. I freaked out grabbed him, cradled him like a baby and called his name. He just looked at me like "yes??" lol And he did it again tonight....and I've been worried bc he's eating less today (he's an old cat so he probably doesn't have many years left). I've had him 2.5 years so I thought for sure he hadn't done it before, now I'm wondering if he does on occasion but I haven't noticed before because I generally didn't feel the need to check on him a lot at night before. Reading this makes me a little less worried at least. Glad I'm not alone. Mine I don't think twitches or moves at all, but it's always been dark so I can't say for sure.

 

[jessem10]

My cat Jesse [boy] is approximately 10 y.o. It already happened 2-3 times: he sleeps so deep, that I get scared when I look at him, I don't see any breathing movement, nothing. I go and start to call his name, move his head, move all of him ...it took me like 1 minute to wake him up last time....I was so scared...But he did open his eyes, looked at me, I took him in my arms, baby him for a while....and he was fine.

 

[gareth]

Both mine do this and it scares the crap out of me. My heart stops when I pick up their limp head. I burst into tears the first time Mia did it because I was sure she had just died in her sleep

 

[Suzie Cruz]

I have to ask you guys about something, cuz I really need some help!

This is very strange and I have no idea why it is happening. When my cat is sleeping, he sometimes goes into a "deep sleeping coma". He can fall asleep as a normal cat, but suddenly it can seem like he is dead or something. I can poke him, shake his head, lift his legs up and shake his whole body without him reacting to it.. It sounds strange, I know, and it is very hard to describe.. Therefore I've uploaded a video of it to show you exactly what I mean. Check it out here. This is what happens during the "coma". Strange, right? Almost funny..



The first time it happend, I seriously though he was head. He was not reacting to anything, and I almost started crying. I had to slap his face or make a very high sound to make him wake up. Is this normal? At first, it didn't happend very often, but now he goes into this "deep sleeping coma" almost every day.. It would be comforting to hear about other cats doing this to, and it would be even more comforting to hear WHY they do it. Does someone know anything? Should I take him to a vet or something?

- TK

OMG.... My 12 year old cat does the exact same thing and has been doing it for years. I can tell he is "under the spell" when he twitches… so that’s my cue to step in and save him. I assume he is dreaming because when I finally wake him up, he looks around and is not sure of his surroundings. Sometimes he even looks scared, trying to figure out what just happened. I hate the fact that he must be doing this while I’m asleep and I’m unable to rescue him, but I guess he gets through it without me. The first time it happened I called his name, thinking he was having a bad dream… but no response. I lifted his paws and picked up his head, he just laid in my hands like a stuffed animal, or just like you said… Dead! I screamed for my husband to help. “There is something wrong, he is not waking up”. Of course my husband woke up quickly, watching and waiting until he finally came to. That cat looked at us as if we were completely nuts and went right back to sleep. So he continues to do this, and I continue to save him (gently, of course) but each and every time, even though I know he is ok, my heart still stops for just a minute.

 

[petjewelry]

My 7 year old Female cat sometimes does this...last night was the worse yet...no matter what she would not wake up...must have been 5-10 minutes, I was actually getting ready to take her to emergency and she suddenly, on her own, woke up...this is very scary? why is this happening? when I spoke to the emergency animal hospital the lady had never even heard of this...