Cat "Dreams"

We have had our cat for 6 yrs now and the Vet guesses he is about 7 yrs old. He does have some medical conditions (mild stomatits), and has had a femoral head excision from an unknown accident (he is a rescue). It is also suspected he had a herpes infection in his eye or at a minimum a damanged pupil (it is there but serverly distorted and he is blind in the eye).

My concern is over the past year he has been having violent night spasms. Not just twitches but full body thrashing that wakes me up and when he "jack rabbits" me with his hind legs it really hurts! He doesn't drool or growl but I have noticed on some occasions he has some bladder issues... not full out...but a small wet spot on his blanket. I can wake him up if I rub his back after 3-5 seconds...but he wont wake up if I just call his name. Lately he has gotten so violent he has thrown himself off whatever he is sleeping on. Last night he fell off the bed and landed flat on his back. When I comprehended what I heard, I looked over and he was lying on his back (still), eyes open, not stiff, and it took him about 5 seconds to recover and move. (This is not the first time)

I dont think he is having seizures ...is he just a really deep sleeper with really really busy dreams? He has these almost nightly, and when he naps daily...no specific timeframe. I am just worried he is going to hurt himself.

There is a mechanism in people (and animals) that causes them to "disconnect" the brain from the body when they enter REM sleep stages. This prevents the body from reacting and carrying out instructions from a brain that is rampaging through a vivid dream. This is one of the reasons why people who wake up suddenly may find themselves paralyzed for a few moments. It takes a little time for the brain to reconnect to the body. There is a condition, and I can't remember the name, in which this mechanism fails to work correctly. In these cases the body thrashes and moves in unison with the dreams of the brain. It can have very bad results sometimes. I think they developed a drug to treat this, I don't remember. Some married people had to actually sleep in separate rooms with the extra room having everything removed except the bed so as to help prevent injury.

I just noticed that the one who asked the question has not been around since 2013. Oh well maybe it can benefit someone else.