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Maukwa · Jan 7, 2003, 12:21 AM

?My cat gets completely out of it after vomiting a fur ball. He has lost control of his bladder and pants and drools... his eyes dialate and he is just not himself. My daughter found him on his back with his mouth wide open - it is very frightening, and the vet can find nothing wrong with him. I am wondering if anyone has ever heard of such a thing, and if I should consider further neurological testing or what. We love this cat, and he is only 6 years old. He is healthy otherwise, and seems to eat, drink and eliminate just fine. It is just when he vomits, which is very infrequently, that he goes into this syndrome.

Thank you

Dominique · Jan 19, 2003, 04:20 PM

What do you feed him? Do you give him furball meds? Oily foods?

Brush him daily so there will be few hairs.

Feed oily fish as a supplement, or codliver oil or other fishoil.

It is not normal, and I have no idea what would cause this.

The above should get rid of the furballs. Then you'll see if the behavior remains.

cher11 · Jan 25, 2003, 03:18 AM

Hi,

I've never encountered this type of behavior following vomiting, but from the symptoms you describe, it sounds like he's having a seizure. More neurological testing is definitely in order, and blood/urine tests should have been done by the vet. If the vet had no answers for you after your detailed description of his behavior after the vomiting, perhaps you should seek a second opinion, or get a referral to a feline neurologist in your area. If you have an 'Emergency Animal Hospital' near you, that's where you should find animal 'specialists'.

I hope you find a correct diagnosis and subsequent treatment. Keep me posted, as I'd like to know how it goes for you and your cat.

Good luck!

Cher : )

crazyaboutmypets · Feb 1, 2003, 02:59 PM

Have you tried a second opinion from another vet? I would suggest doing the blood testing! It eliminates several things as well as lets you know if anythign strange is going on that you wouldn't have known without doing the blood testing.

Guest · Apr 3, 2008, 07:16 AM

I have the same thing and all urine and blood tests are fine. It is always hairball related, but the vet thinks it is seizures- but because they are infrequent and seizure medication has incredibly negative side-effects, they directed me to just monitor her. However, I am convinced that it is because of the hairball and now that I see someone else has the same thing, maybe someone can find the real reason. Could a hairball, or coughing up a hairball, actually cause a seizure? Because although the vet thinks she starts to vomit because of the seizure, I am convinced that she is having the seizure because she is trying to vomit up the hairball. Maukwa, if you get any other info, please share!

morgaine300 · Apr 3, 2008, 04:45 PM

This is kind of weird, and no I've never seen this before. The only part of it that makes sense without worrying me is losing control of his bladder. A bad vomit could probably cause that. But the other stuff does sound neurological. Now "guest" is correct that the meds for that kind of thing can cause other problems, although sometimes put on these meds tempoarily and slowly weaned off can work.

I agree with the bloodwork too. You didn't mention whether it was done or not.

I could see a cat vomiting due to a seizure. (Although if a cat were on the verge of a seizure, I guess I could also see puking setting one off.) The reason I say this is cause not all cats will puke up hairballs, so you can't assume that "came first." I had one cat who shed like crazy and I know darn well he was getting a lot of fur in him, but he rarely puked up hairballs -- they just didn't seem to bother him. My other cat has a fur that doesn't shed a lot, but he's very sensitive to the hairballs and pukes them up all the time. (And it's difficult to get hairball gunk in him, and I've been meaning to get some cod liver oil... ) So all cats are not created equal in this.

This would scare the carp out of me. (And I don't really scare easily cause I've seen too much.) I do hope you find out what's wrong.

nicc · Nov 29, 2009, 05:09 AM

I found this post when searching for information on a seizure I witnessed my cat take the other night. At first I thought he was coughing up a hairball because he had his mouth wide open and was making a coughing noise - but he fell to his side and rolled on his back - his limbs seized and he began convulsing. His pupils were dialated and he was terrified. I rang the vet and they told me it sounded like a furball and he'd gotten a fright. I was not convinced and after reading this thread I am definitely taking him in for tests! To the original writer, I hope your cat is OK!

sarrissa · Mar 29, 2010, 09:12 AM

I was informed by my vet because my cat does the same thing after throwing up, she said it was caused from her blood pressure rising during the process much like how when we vomit too hard we feel faint, lightheaded and dizzy. She told me not to worry about it unless it became really critical like my cat stopped breathing or would not regain consciousness afterward. My cat still has a mini-fit after throwing up but about 15-20 seconds after her fit she gets up and starts playing like nothing happened.

melle · Mar 10, 2012, 12:30 PM

Glad I found this thread. I just saw my kitty coughing up a hairball ( It DID come up) and then she went stiff, plopped over on her side with her paws splayed. It only lasted a few seconds, then she got up and pranced off like nothing had happened. Scared me to be sure. She is 14 yo. I found her and her sister one night, patiently sitting out in the open, in the SPCA driveway where they were still waiting for whomever tossed them out there, to come back. Got her sister easily. But she ( seizure baby) was very feral and hard to trap. SPCA was able to find her under a car 3 days later on the verge of death (I left food and water for her every night but she didn't eat it) She was a found feral kitten at 4-5 weeks,and because of this difficult start, was on IV fluids for a month at SPCA, refusing to eat. She was almost euthanized. I prayed for her as a last resort, and turned out, she started eating solid food that day. (Ya never know) She has a bit of scoliosis, is smaller than her sister, Hx of rodent ulcers on lips in younger years and a large precancerous one removed from her tongue about 5 yrs ago with no recurrence. A flea allergy seems to be the cause of the ulcers. Treated for a severe ear infection with staggering gait 18 months ago. That's her medical history.

LadySam · Mar 10, 2012, 04:58 PM

Hello Melle,
This a really old thread, in order to get more response to your question you should start a new one. But I will say this.
Given your cats age and extensive medical history if I were you I would contact her vet not only to rule out any major medical issues she may have developed in her golden years, but to give her a good thorough geriatric exam and if he/she offers blood work I would take 'em up on it.
It sounds as if you have taken very good care of her thus far.
Keep up the good work.

n1dolbabe83 · Jun 11, 2014, 10:30 AM

My Cat just did this, this morning. She vomited and then passed out on the floor. I immediately started rubbing her and yelled her name over and over until she came too. She looked lifeless. When she came to, her eyes were going back and forth and she was breathing weird. She tried to walk but you could tell she was dizzy and she laid back down. She started drooling and this lasted several minutes. I stayed with her until she got back to normal and started eating. The symptoms lasted about a 1/2 hour.

This happened one other time because she swallowed a balloon string and strained trying to vomit it back up. My room mate rushed her to the Vet since I was at work and was told this is actually quite normal in cats but we usually do not see them do this because they usually hide. The vet says the cause is that when a cat strains to vomit, they cause less blood circulation to the brain and this causes them to lose consciousness. If they do it often, you should take them to the vet for further testing because there could be something else wrong but my vet told me to just keep an eye on her.

She is ten years old now and has only done this twice within the last 6 years. It is very scary to witness and extremely alarming. I have been around a number of cats in my life and this is the first time I have ever seen a cat go through this. The Vet said it can also occur in dogs.