dumb question maybe...?

but well, i'm a meowmy...

my five month old kuan yin sometimes plays until she is panting like a dog (there are always three bowls of water available around the house) and sometimes she gets what looks like the hiccups...
is it possible for a kitty to play too hard? i'm glad she's rambunctious cuz that means she's healthy but i just don't want the little thing to have a heart attack

Kuan Yin is adorable!
Kittens are like perpetually on the move. Some more than others. I would not worry.

Next time you have her to the vet, get her checked for possible heart murmer.

My 2yo gets winded sometimes when he plays too much then plops down and rests for a minute and gets right back to it... as long as it isn't affecting her general activity level it's probably fine... do you have dogs? Maybe she's imitating them?

It's normal for cats to pant when they exert themselves. They aren't designed for a lot of running and jumping. Jaffa did it when he was a kitten and Mosi did it too (still does but less than when he was a small kitten). I panicked a bit when Jaffa first did it (he did it for the first time when I bought him a cat dancer toy) but the vet told me it was normal. I'd only worry if he's panting when he's not been exercising or his gums look blue. Next time you're at the vet ask about it if you're worried. When he pants stop playing for a while and let him get his breath back.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Next time you have her to the vet, get her checked for possible heart murmer.

Click to expand...

This is what I was thinking too... there's been quite a few people that have mentioned losing their young cats to heart problems.

Tomas gets worked up and pants, but only over one toy. He gets no more then 10 minutes of play with that one, then I put it up. Nothing else causing that reaction, no matter how much he runs around so it's obviously partly his excitement over it.

Kittens have only two modes; on and off. They have to learn to pace themselves. Just like toddlers who cry from tiredness but won't go to sleep, they have to learn.

If the kitty checks out okay (I'm sure she will!) then just look for these signs over playing too hard and switch toys, or bring out a tiny treat to distract them.

My RJ is six months old and sometimes winds himself up too much at bedtime. I pick him up and his little heart is pounding! I take him to bed with me and pet him and make soothing sounds to get him wound down, and soon he'll drop off to sleep.