Going limp while napping?

Hello,

My cat (3 y.o boy) was napping in my lap just now, and all of a sudden something just didn't seem quite right. So I nudged him a bit, but nothing. I lifted his head a little, and it just flopped like a rag doll. His breathing was *extremely* shallow. Of course, my heart was in my throat by this point, so I tried one more thing -- I clapped a couple times very loudly. That did it; he came to, and after maybe 20 seconds he was totally alert as usual.

I'm just curious if anyone else has ever seen this? If I was terribly concerned, I'd take him to the vet, naturally.
I should mention that he is a little delicate flower. He's had a couple seizures before, has an easily upset stomach, has seasonal allergies, etc. (I've never had a cat like this, and my other cat (his grandma) has no symptoms like those.) He's at the vet a lot, sadly. I almost wonder if his allergies-caused congestion is causing a kind of kitty-sleep-apnea. Thoughts?

Thank you for any and all comments. I love reading this site, and just wish I could meaningfully contribute more.

Thanks!

My old cat sometimes sleeps so very soundly that it's scary. I have to start petting her and talking very softly to her before she'll wake up. I wonder if your little guy was just really sleeping soundly.

My three do that when their in a really deep sleep. Infact i filmed Rosie just last week while she was in one. She would give the odd twitch because she was dreaming, and i could lift her paw a little and drop it and she wouldn't move.

I remember the first time she did it when she was about a year old. She was lying on my lap asleep, and like you've described her breathing was shallow. I called her name a few times, lifted and dropped her paw, then i panicked and shook her. But i gave her such a scare that she woke up, jumped back and hissed at me

When their like that i usually gently shake them slowly and call their name softly so as not to scare them, because i learnt after the first episode.

If you think about it, it's like us if where in a deep sleep and someone wakes you up sharply or the phone rings, and for a few seconds you don't know where you are?.

Next time your at the vet though just mention it to put your mind at rest, but i'd say it was normal.

My Ginger does this as well. Not often as she is a light sleeper, but she will get into full on sleep mode, and the building could fall down around her and she would not wake up. I just let her be, or pet her feet, giggle. She has the cutest paws and won't let me touch them! She will wake up and roll onto her back for a belly rub when I do this, anoher thing she really does not like when fully awake.

Thank you to each of you for these replies! I feel much better now. Thanks!!

I'll download that video of Rosie tomorrow and put it up here so you can see that she's the same

Is she not talking in the vid??? LOL!

I think my husband may just be mean... Our cats are all very heavy sleepers and his favorite thing to do is open their mouths and pull out their tongues, then he places a paw on the tongue as if they fell asleep mid lick. They usually wake up in a bit with a confused look on their faces. I told him one day they are going to be having a bad dream and will bite your finger off and then I will laugh at him.

Originally Posted by Tempestade

Thank you for any and all comments. I love reading this site, and just wish I could meaningfully contribute more.

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I can't offer any more advise than what was contributed, but will say that just coming in here and sharing your story will help others learn about this phenomena. I don't have cats that sleep that sound and would probably freak if this happened to me. So you just educated me and you probably didn't even realize it. This is how we all learn here. Thank you for sharing your question.

Originally Posted by DragulescuGirl

I think my husband may just be mean... Our cats are all very heavy sleepers and his favorite thing to do is open their mouths and pull out their tongues, then he places a paw on the tongue as if they fell asleep mid lick. They usually wake up in a bit with a confused look on their faces. I told him one day they are going to be having a bad dream and will bite your finger off and then I will laugh at him.

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My former doggie, Magic, fell asleep into full on sleep mode and we put smiley face stickers all over her. Now, why two grown up reasonably intellegent people would do this is still beyond me, lol. They didn't hurt coming off, pretty light on the sticky factor. I have pics of this somewhere, oh yea, can't cover a dog with smiley faces and not take a pic!