Pet Forum / Miscellaneous / Animal Health / July 2007

I think my cat went unconscious yesterday, for not apparent reason.  I
actually thought that she was dead.  Here's the story.

She is 20 years old, with no major medical problems except some
arthritis (she gets glucosamine, though she was on meloxicam for a
while) and the beginnings of kidney failure (she gets fluids about
once a week).  I think she's going deaf, so she doesn't always respond
right away.  When I go to wake her up, she usually jolts awake.

Yesterday, I went to wake her up, where she was sleeping on her
heating pad (actually, only half on it).  And she didn't wake up.  I
patted her side which usually wakes her up, and that didn't work.  I
stroked her head and that didn't do it either,  I slid my hand under
her head and lifted it, and she seemed completely boneless.  I twisted
her head toward me to look into her eyes.  They were half-open and did
not move.  I set her head down, went to tell my husband she was dead,
and bawled my eyes out for 10 minutes or so.  I did not tell him that
I THOUGHT she was dead.  There was no doubt in my mind (at the time)
that she was dead.  I did not check her pulse or anything, but that
boneless feeling when I lifted her head, coupled with her complete
lack of response of me shaking her to wake her, made me sure she was
dead.

We walked back into the room, and I saw her head twitch.  Then she
opened her eyes and looked at me, as if nothing had happened.

So the question is, what the hell happened to her?  I figure now that
she must have been completely unconscious, as if she had been sedated
or something.  She's completely an indoor cat so I don't think she was
poisoned or anything.  And she seemed perfectly fine when she did wake
up.  Is there any medical condition that might have caused this, that
I can ask my vet about?  I am still freaked out about this.  On one
hand, I feel like a fool, for upsetting both myself and my husband.
On the other hand, that was definitely not your normal sleeping cat
feeling.  Something was definitely wrong with her.  Any thoughts?