2nd weird midnight choking

waltjpickle

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In the middle of the night, my playful and extremely furry calico Oaful was scratching and bucking, violently choking on the floor. My hubby stuck his finger down her throat and breathed into her mouth. He didn't feel any obstruction, just her throat completey clamped up. She spit up a little and started breathing; she was really scared; she urinated on the floor. This is the second time she's choked like this in about 5-6 months. She's an indoor cat in a small apartment. She hasn't showed any signs of producing a hairball in the last two weeks. I feed her hairball formula food and treats; she's otherwise very healthy and extremely well behaved--not into things she's not supposed to. I'm worried that it will happen when we're not home. Any thoughts?
 

xocats

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Please take Oaful to a vet right away to rule our anything that is life threatening.
 

karmasmom

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What you described sounds like the same thing a human gets when suffering anaphalactic shock from an allergy attack. A trip to the vet is in order to rule out any health issues but in the meantime untill the appointment think about what you have been feeding her. Also consider insects. I don't know for sure if cats suffer allergies the way a human does but it did remind me of what my DH goes through if her eats a nut.

Have the vet rule out any heath issues but also discuss allergies. She may be allergic to a certain food or she could have had a run in with a bug that caused the reaction.

Have you changed anything in her diet, treats, food or even water(it sounds weird I know but some companies add things to bottled water)? Do you live in an area that has certain insects that are know to be poisonous? Did you change any cleaning products?

No matter what though a trip to the vet is in order. Set up an appointment and put together a list of questions to ask. Alos try to be able to give a full report of what she ate and did all day leading up to the attack.
 

kittkatt

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I agree w/ the others: a vet trip is in order.
I have 2 cats that have these choking/gagging/coughing spells, and it turns out that they have the dry form of the FIP virus. I'm not saying that that's what's wrong w/ your furbaby; only a vet can determine what's causing your furbaby's attacks. But if it's a reoccurring thing, it should be checked out to rule out anything serious.

I hope it's nothing serious!

~KK~
 

silvias14

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Originally Posted by waltjpickle

In the middle of the night, my playful and extremely furry calico Oaful was scratching and bucking, violently choking on the floor. My hubby stuck his finger down her throat and breathed into her mouth. He didn't feel any obstruction, just her throat completey clamped up. She spit up a little and started breathing; she was really scared; she urinated on the floor. This is the second time she's choked like this in about 5-6 months. She's an indoor cat in a small apartment. She hasn't showed any signs of producing a hairball in the last two weeks. I feed her hairball formula food and treats; she's otherwise very healthy and extremely well behaved--not into things she's not supposed to. I'm worried that it will happen when we're not home. Any thoughts?
As everyone has stated, please take her to the vet. Thats the only way you'll know what is exactly wrong. I do understand why you are hesitant due to the fact that it's not every night.

IMO... see if she is chewing on anything around the house that she might be choking on (I.E. paper). It seems like you have been keeping up with the furball snacks, so you may rule that as a low possiblility.

Good luck and keep us informed.
 
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waltjpickle

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Thanks for responding, I'm really feelin the love
I'm going to make her an appointment. I bought a tube of Laxatone for hairballs, and Oaful seems to like it. Today we had another strange incident; she came out of the litterbox with...something connected to her behind. She passed one of my long hairs; poor Oaful, she was bewildered! I'll sleep better after her appointment; I wake up to every sound she makes.
 

xocats

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I would get her into your vet asap...
take along notes about when and what her behavior is that is of concern to you.
It is so easy to leave important info out at the vets.
The more info you can give your vet the better.
Please let us know what you find out.

More vibes on the way for Oaful.
 

katz4life

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We hope everything is okay with your cat

Update us all on whats happening with her!
 

saya

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oh poor baby!

hope you figure it all out soon.
anaphylactic shock is definitely a possibilty. My throat closes up if I eat almonds...

vet should be able to shed some light... I wonder, do you have any new houseplants kitty could be chewing on?
 

studio224

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To me your description reminds me of epilepsy, you really must take her to the vet as quickly as possible.
 
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waltjpickle

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Okay, I just got back from the vet. These two episodes were seizures--easy to tell because she was laying on her side and her whole body convulsing. Oaful seemed to be conscious, her eyes were extremely dilated-another sign that it was a seizure. What happens at the beginning is called the aura-lasts only a minute or less-the cat will become suddenly anxious, eyes dilate, they scramble off furniture to the floor. Then the seizure happens, laying on her side, all her legs shake, her head and her back. These normally last between a minute up to five minutes (hers lasted probably only a minute or two-it's hard to remember we were so scared
). After the seizure, she'll be confused, exhausted, lethargic, and this can last from an hour to a day. The bloodwork will come back tomorrow morning-this was to rule out possible liver or kidney trouble. They won't treat the seizures as long as they're infrequent and relatively mild-they did give me a syringe of valium to inject anally during the next seizure. If they become more frequent or stronger, they'll treat her with medicine. I'm glad I came on here and that everyone urged me so strongly to take her to get checked
. I feel a bit better knowing what's wrong, and that she wasn't in a great deal of danger, and now I know how to deal with these episodes with a bit more confidence. Poor Oafie
I love her so darn much
 

xocats

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I am glad that you found out what the problem is with your sweetie pie...
Please keep us dated about the blood work.
Here are some calming vibes for you and Oaful.
 
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