Why does my cat meow, hyperventilate, and collapse then recover?

Hello and thank you very much for your inquiry. Right off the bat, I began to think of your cat as having mild seizure activity where he loses consciousness and thus control of his bowels. There are also some diseases that cats can get which causes irregular heartbeats or irregular blood flow to the rest of the body which temporarily knocks them unconscious and then they lose control of their bowels also. You need to take your cat to a veterinarian to have a complete cardiac and neurologic work up performed. Some of the test that the vet may want to run is a full CBC chemistry panel, chest x-ray’s, ECG, etc. Thanks a lot for your question. I hope I’ve helped you today.

This very concerning. Your kitty could have had an epileptic seizure or a so-called syncope. Syncopes are caused by the brain not getting enough oxygenized blood, which in turn causes the cat to get unconscious, or a seizure like episode. These syncopes are often caused by heart disease or, in a case of a young animal, it could be a sign of a congenital defect. I suggest you make an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam, and do mention this episode to your vet. You may want to write down the particulars, so your vet gets as accurate a description as possible from you. This said, it also may have just been a one-time occurrence, with unknown cause.

Hi there. Sorry about Tom-these episodes you are describing make me worried he may have either seizure episodes or heart problems-causing him to pass out from time to time. If it has happened multiple times, it is definitely time to take him in to your vet for an exam. They will likely recommend bloodwork and x rays to check him out and make sure nothing else is going on so that they can come up with a treatment plan. I hope this helps!

That sounds scary! Henry needs to be examined by his veterinarian within the next 24 hours. Symptoms like this can be a few things but syncope and seizures are most common. Syncope is a sign of a bad heart. Pets can have seizures for many reasons including liver disease, idiopathic, electrolyte imbalance, infections, inner ear problems, cancer or epilepsy. He will need a physical exam and bloodwork to begin to narrow down and appropriately address the cause. Seizures are serious and are best addressed early. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Poor Ginger! His abnormal breathing could be a result of an upper airway obstruction (i.e. foreign material stuck in his airways), heart disease, asthma, pneumonia, etc., any of which could lead to decreased oxygen supply and a fainting episode. Underlying heart disease could also cause him to fall over if an arrhythmia is present. At this point, this sounds like an emergency condition that should be evaluated by an emergency vet immediately. I hope that all goes well!

There is a possibility that your kitty had a seizure, or fell unconscious due to a heart condition. When you were cuddling with him, he got really excited which could have triggered a seizure or a syncope (unconsciousness due to not enough oxygen getting to the brain). I strongly suggest you have Scooter examined by your veterinarian.

I've never had a cat overstimulate due to petting before. I would be concerned about a primary seizure disorder. I would want to rule out an infectious cause versus epilepsy and evaluate organ functions as well. I would recommend having a veterinarian examine the cat so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps!