Ragdoll Cat Forums

Have your kittens ever played so hard they became ill?

We played with da bird for a really long time this afternoon, and both boys were very excited, especially Bubba. We must have overdone it, because he began sticking his little tongue out and panting. Then he flopped on his back on the wood floor. He doesn't do that "flat on the back" flop normally. He lay there for about 15 minutes, and when he did get up, he was moving really slowly. He's still pretty quite.
I feel like a total idiot. If something happens to this baby as a result of my stupidity, I want someone to shoot me.

Hahaha... Dun worry too much about it... I know what you mean.. Haha.. You should see how my Twinkle and Star plays with the feather toy similar to Da Bird... They would chase and jump after the toy at top speed like kittens being possessed... After 15mins or so, they would be lying on the floor, literarily panting (can hear the panting sound very clearly) with tongues sticking out... When I see that, I would stop, and let them rest... This is a good time to stroke them and groom them, and build up the bond... Normally, they will go and drink the water, lots of water, and after that, they will lie down and rest for a while, before meowing to me for more! Hahaha...

I don't think shooting you is necessary! it sounds like a good play session to me. Did you have any luck getting more sleep now?

Sounds like that's the kind of play you want right before bedtime! LOL I had Simone panting the first time I used da bird with her. Scared me to death! I'm with Jo, don't think there's any reason to shoot you!

Da Bird can cause panting and the like, but your case seems extreme. What worries me about it is the slow recovery. Recovery from high cardio should be faster. I would not repeat it and I would tell the vet at the next vet visit. If the recovery is even more delayed, I would get a vet check.

Thanks for your input. Bubba has been diagnosed with asthma and I'm thinking an asthmatic child has to take it easier than a child without that problem, but I didn't know if it applied in the case of cats.

There have been several threads about kittens panting during play and our Sage did as well when he was young. He is 4 now and while he still runs and plays quite a bit, he does not pant anymore. I agree with Jan that the slow recovery is something to look into. I have a theory that because Ragdoll kittens are very large for their ages they probably tire more quickly during play as a result. My Mom's moggie kitten was an absolute dynamo with play and that little guy never panted. Of course it was a small kitten and even full grown weighs only 6 lbs or so.

Monkey gets stressed when we drive to the vet and starts panting, but he's fine as soon as we get in the house. I would definitely worry about how long Bubba took to feel alright again I'm not sure how asthma works in cats but that definitely sounds like the culprit to me!

Coco only played so hard, and panted alot the first couple of times she played with it! This was before she became ill, and her breathing is still strange from time to time. She still plays with Da bird but we don't let her get to that stage any more, especially as the vet mentioned that heart failure, in relation to Coco's possible FIP diagnosis.

Poor Bubba maybe he just has to take it easy and not get too excited about Da Bird... if thats possible!