have been suspecting my cat to have been suffering for this for a while, have started the process of seeing a vet + process of exclusion. Multiple check overs with anaesthesia, X-RAY, medication trials with her currently on gabapantine and lexicom which I'm sure is a muscleo-skeletal medication. Urine tests have been done. The back rippling and growling, and random aggressiveness, has been going on for a while but we had no idea what to think of it. She violently attacked my partner (they own her and have had her since a kitten) for the first time during an episode that looks similar to these - tail twitching and rippling and growing at seemingly the pain. Next step is an MRI for four thousand pounds or a specialist for similar money which is simply impossible, in UK just now too and vets are being looked into for wildly overcharging. The medication seems to be helping but just so difficult to keep up with the costs and adding more necessary meds on top, I see the stress on her face and just feel awful. Just want my happy cat back :(
I’m looking into this for my baby Jane. She doesn’t have fleas, is perfectly healthy, but the past couple months has started to stare into the corner of my bedroom, then switch her tail, bite her front legs, back end & seriously jumpy. Then she runs around acting just not like herself.
I’ve found that cuddling with her when she exhibits those behaviors helps her to calm down. She LOVES face massages. So I cuddle & give a massage. About 20mins later she will calm down.
As the video notes, you'll need to work with your veterinarian to rule out itching and pain as those are incredibly common causes of the behavior you are noting. I wish you all the best in sorting out the underlying cause of your cat's symptoms.
@@VetMedCornerI think my cat has this. Can I get in touch with you? My vet just said she had fleas, but she didn't. That was last December. She's still doing it. Twitching, acting like she's bitten, getting angry, suddenly jumps up and runs away and then stops to lick more and more. She even licks the sofa, my pillow, or actually anything she can lick. I first thought it was sort of OCD but now I found this, and I'm pretty sure she has it. Edit: if I pet her, she's also licking something like the sofa, my hand (until it really hurts) etcetera I made a video today of it...
Hi Doc, Thank you for sharing. I think this may be an underlying issue for our 4 y/o male. He's had some urinary issues for the last year, crystals that went to cystitis/trouble urinating/bouts of incontinence. He's on the RX C/D multi-stress food, 80/20 wet/kibble. His urinalysis, blood work, ultra sound and xray are all good. He's exhibited the exact spasms/behavior shown at 1:25 since he was about 1 y/o, 2 years preceeding any of the urinary issues. He'd get those spasms and then get very upset at his tail and attack it for 5-20 minutes or however long it takes us to calm him down. Also very prevalent around 9pm at night, almost like clock work. Also sometimes in the morning around 6-7am when he wakes up. Currently on Prozac and gabapentin but we think the prolonged gaba use could be a contributing factor for the incontinence. Switching him to pregabalin to see if it manages the pain well enough and hopefully removes the incontinence. In any case, bringing up FHS to my vet to see if she feels maybe it's worth adjusting treatment.
I was looking for more discussion from other vets on this condition when I came across your video. The neurologist vet just diagnosed my girl as having feline hyperesthesia based on all the symptoms I told her. MRI was quoted at $4k-$8k! WHO has that kind of money? Vet said I didn’t have to do that since, from her experience, 99% of past cat patients turned out normal. We did do some bloodwork. Right now, we are figuring out what combination of meds will work for her as every cat is different. She acknowledged that this condition is a difficult and challenging to owners and cats because there's still so much unknown.
I hope that a successful treatment can be sorted out and implemented for your cat! I'm so glad you are working with a veterinary neurologist on this 🐾💪
That's a good question! Zoomies are different than this as the cat will appear to be playing/having fun instead of being bothered/upset if the behavior is secondary to hyperesthesia.
Oh god same with us and our cat. We thought that he was just extremely bored by being an indoor cat and were planning on moving and giving him the option to go outside. But he's actually permanently medically suffering. I feel so bad for not giving him the help he needed until now.
My cat has this and just had a several minutes long where he was gasping for air but couldn’t hold himself from running Im tired of seeing him suffer and I want to cry everytime I see this so I want to help him
Glad I found this video, my cat recently started showing these symptoms. Thought it had something to do with her recently being spayed. So I took her to the vet for an exam/physical and a fully body blood work exam. Vet said they only found traces of parasite cells but everything else was normal, she has been dealing with fleas recently, as my roommate brought their cat over from a different state and she had fleas. I've been applying a topical, constantly vacuuming and grooming them with a flea comb. I've dealt with fleas before and have gotten rid of them so hoping for the same result and do hope that this is just from the fleas. Was hard to tell if she was acting this way the last time she had fleas because she was also in heat a lot and those symptoms were more noticeable / frequent.
I'm so glad you found the video too! Welcome to VMC! Remember that it takes 3mo of diligently cleaning the environment plus having all animals in the household on prescription flea prevention to fully get rid of the fleas. But if the symptoms continue beyond that, then you will need to pursue the next steps of an appropriate medical workup.
@@VetMedCornerI have a picture of my deceased cat who went from totally sweet and enjoying petting her to a video of the result of my wounds after her mood swing in less than a split second. She goes for a full attack and also comes back when you push her away.
It's one of my *pet peeves* that people jump to 'it's a behavioral issue' out of the gate. This happens more often to cats than it does to dogs in vet med and I get so angry about it because so many animals suffer with untreated (often painful) issues. It's completely irresponsible to do that to patients, no matter what species they are!!!
I truly understand having to do the work up. You can mistreat if you don’t know. I was just curious of the expense of all the different test. I think someone might decide not to take their pet to the vet if they think it would be very expensive. That would be awful as well.
I've suspected my 7 yr old has had it for a while. He twitches back ,starts to chew his back or tail then runs away. He also chews on his front legs a lot and gets scared easily . I'd like to try to rule some stuff at home . He does get flea treatments. So idt that's the issue. I try to play with him ,but he just seems uninterested. I have taught him tricks which he seems to enjoy ,but finding snacks has been a pain bc he's very picky.
This is really useful. My boyfriend and I rescued a kitten from the street back in 2020. She was really lovely, cuddly, until she's about 2 years old, then she turned into this "demon zombie" we would call. Symptoms are exactly as mentioned in the video... We can no longer pet her, carry her without being attacked. It gets so bad that she would just grab our leg and attack it when we walk past her We notice she would just have intense shaking tails that doesn't feel like the ordinary "angry tail swing". With all thise aggressive grooming and biting behavior.. And the back skin is always twitching and we thought it's what cats do.. (our very first cat) I feel so guilty and ashamed for handling her when she might be in pain or discomfort all this time. I just found out this disorder existed yesterday 😢
I'm so sorry that your cat is going through all of this. You definitely need to work with a veterinarian to do an appropriate medical work up. I wish you all the best, and am so glad you found VMC. Welcome.
Same here. I got my golden eyed orange cutie from a local shelter. I never in my life got a cat from a shelter, ever. They told me he was 8 years old yet I couldn't figure out how or why an 8 year old cat was SO very jumpy ( literally jumping straight up in the air, like an upwards arrow) He states blankly off into space & just hisses for no reason & grooms excessively. I wondered why, whenever l petted him, his back would twitch & he didn't like it so I stopped doing it, thinking he just wasn't affectionate. My sister looked up the symptoms & l almost cried when I realized what he's been going through. ( I've had him 3 months. He's probably been through many owners.) So I understand how you feel. I'm taking him to the vet soon & I'm hoping she can help me.
Thank you very much for your very informative video. I have a question still: do symptoms like twitching ears and twitching tongue mean it's a focal seizure?
Thank you so very much for asking! From this description it's not possible for me to tell, it will be best to take video of it and show it to a veterinary neurologist. I'm so glad you found VMC - welcome!
Is this syndrome harmful and necessary to diagnosis? I’ve noticed the symptoms happen about three times. First time was when he was obviously stressed by a neighbors dog. Next time, I did some aggressive petting. Third time seemed somewhat random. He twitches but not to the point of hurting himself. Can reducing stress and not petting the back be enough?
For some cats, yes, addressing the environment and management aspects of things can be enough to manage the issue. Also, some skin rippling can be a normal part of feline behavior. There's a difference between occasionally seeing symptoms that don't last long and that have an obvious trigger (like being petted in a manner that is too rough) versus a cat who is dealing with more frequent or more severe symptoms that requires intervention. I hope this helps clarify things - thanks for the question!
We adopted a three month old kitten who was already exhibiting this. Her tail had been broken at some point and the tip healed crookedly. My husband and I think this caused some lower back damage and started this up in her.
In this situation, chronic pain is the most likely cause and so you need to work with your veterinarian and possibly a veterinary orthopedic or neurological specialist to get this figured out and treated/managed.
We are undergoing this with our vet. My cat only has these extreme episodes during and after she has a bowel movement. She runs frantically while pooping and after her back ripples while she harshly grooms her back and under her tail. We have finished antibiotics and finishing steroids. Also taking gabapenton but just half because it sedates her. She is only 1.5 years old and it just came on. She also had urinary crystals so it’s a complex diagnosis. The cat in your video looks exactly like ours. Shes identical to the beige cat with stripes and blue eyes. (Aka lynx point Siamese). Have you ever seen this connected with voiding?? Please I’d love your feedback.
I'm so sorry to hear that you are having a tough time with your cat. From your description, this most closely fits with your cat having untreated pain of some sort (orthopedic? Neurologic? GI related?) that is worst during bowel movements. Your cat needs imaging (we often start with x-rays, and if those appear to be normal then get your veterinarian to send you to a veterinary neurologist). All the best to you and your cat.
@@VetMedCorner Thank you so much for your response. We have had imaging and next step is neurologist. It's just so odd. She just started doing this. You can tell when she is going to need to poop because she croutches and does little fast runs. Then gets zoomies and twitches. Followed by little sits to poop and keeps running. Recently, I was able to catch her before it started, put her in her litter box and held her there while calmly petting her and softly telling her what a good girl she is. She acted so disgusted by her potty. I helped her back scratch over it, which she then continued on her own. Shes on a strict perscription hills diet (both dry and canned) for urinary crystals so the only treat reward I can do now is making a 'gravy' out of her canned food. It was interesting because she didnt have the agitation afterward. I had given her a 1/2 of a gabapenton about an hour before so I'm wondering if it helped. I have noticed sometimes when she is aggitated and running around with the rippling back and washing under her tail and hind quarters I am able to pick her up and put my hand on her back which seems to stop the 'attack' sooner. I havn't come across anyone else seeing the link with the process of pooping and FHS as of yet.
Hello, I adopted my cat last year and she was being caged and mistreated in her past 9 years of life… She used to have these symptoms, and sometime ear and head twitching (like focal seizures), and the vets and I also thought that would be some psychological issues, and she got better from time to time… Until now, she got serious gastroenteritis two weeks ago, and was having cerinia, cyproheptadine/ mirtazapine for more than a week, and even have to give her gabapentin if I bring her to the vet. After having the med I found her always being very tired and those FHS symptoms getting significantly worse, I have told my vet she seems to have focal seizures with the med and if it this because of the med and he just asked me to reduce the dosage of the med… I have stopped giving her the medicines for two days, her energy level is much better but those FHS symptoms are still quite serious… Should I be worried?
I have seen that type of grooming and leg twitching in My cat. Recently i noticed the twitching in her back as well. She's turned one not too long ago. She's partial Birman. I've been to the vet several times cuz she coughs after she drinks water. Could this also have something to do with this syndrom?
Thank you for the question! Over UA-cam it's tough to say much, but coughing isn't generally associated with this. Coughing generally needs a respiratory and cardiac work up (this usually means x-rays of the neck/chest and am ultrasound of the heart). I hope you are successful working with your veterinarian to sort out what's going on!
My cat has this but she doesn’t have fleas, our house is really clean, and she’s only one years old. Her skin doesn’t ripple but she bites at her tail and runs away or jumps on the couch. She also looks at her tail and hits it on the floor and runs away. What do we do? We took her to the vet twice and she’s still doing it!
As is noted in the video, a proper pain medication trial and consulting a veterinary neurologist are both a necessary part of the medical work up that you don't mention having done yet. Keep advocating for your cat! 💪
Would back twitching and excessive rubbing on person's legs to the point he works himself up to being agitated be considered a behavioral problem of this issue?
Great question! From this description, I'm not sure. It sounds like it could be that your cat wants something from you (what does the daily enrichment look like? Do you have play sessions morning and evening? Daily training sessions? Food puzzles? Etc?) or this could be related to something like pain where your cat is trying to relieve something that's bothering them... When you see your veterinarian, bring them some video of what your cat is doing as that will likely be helpful. All the best!
My cat is just 2, he's also doing so but our vet said it might be acidity, even after vaccine for the same hes still behaving in the same way ! He hiss and even strach us if we touch around his tail. Can you please help me with this !
my cat has been having issues that are the symptoms described in this video her whole life verbatim, and steroids, flea treatments, and worm treatments all failed. Now it's too the point that she will overgroom the same three areas on her body until she is bleeding/raw from it. This gives me a lot more information to bring to my new vet about this, so thank you so so much! Quick question, is this any more/less common in cats who are also deaf? My cat is white with blue eyes and has been deaf from birth.
A pain management medication trial sounds like it still needs to be done, and you may also need to consult a veterinary neurologist. To the best of my knowledge, I don't think it is more common in deaf cats. Good question!
Does this look like zoomies?? My cat chases it's tale rarely like today. Or when he wants to poop, he he will run around and start yowling at the roof, go under the bed and do pull ups and then run to the litterbox later…. He does have a ticklish tail when I touch his tail base.. Can you please help? Haven't found anything so far in bloodwork
Hi, my cat was I was diagnosed with FHS , doctors gave injections of neurobion and calcium muscle and anti allergy, b complex, my cat is still twitching and running around:( what am I supposed to do?
@qatarakg just a tip from me... If you can't afford the complete trial like me, you could also work together with a good holistic vet, your own vet and (if you can find a good one) a reader. I did it years ago when we were searching for a diagnosis for my horse for 1,5 years. Finally we found it although we first had a false negative test, but he has Lyme and needed an IV to get his blood levels back up to normal. Because of the Lyme he also developed fasciola hepatica which horses normally do not get because their resistance is good. At the time of the fasciola hepatica his blood was almost perfect. Just a little bit of signs of an infection. Liver results were good. But both the holistic vet and the reader were saying that he had something not good with his liver. The holistic vet can also detect with the Lecher Antenna for (food-) reactions and also for the correct medicine.
Hi! did u said the anencephaly cat?? My cat has a disease He took a mri 2month after was born Doctor said that he had a anencephaly but he has a good attitude for defecating sometimes mistake , smelling feed and working stance um.. he walks with a little drag on its hind legs Symtoms are seizure among 2 minute that is he cant control body and jump to the side , he cant see the everything but alive pupil reaction Recommend it he is a years old He is been 14 months since he was born
This describes my cat to a Perfect T. He just put his paw under my eye. His claws werent fully extended but they were out. Thank God he didn't scratch my eye but he could have, very easily.
I adopted my cat when she was about 6 months. She’s had it since then, she’s 2 years…I thought she was just a bit crazy 😢 I feel bad I never though it could be something else
Please don't feel bad. Cats do also sometimes do 'the zoomies' and many people don't know there's a difference between that normal behavior and some medical issues that can look somewhat similar. What's important is that you came across this video and watched it. I hope it's given you the information you needed so that you can bring video of symptoms to your veterinarian, and start discussing a proper medical work up for your cat 💜
Thank you, still not sure, she has all the symptoms, the vet looked no fleas present, felt around her, and looked in her eyes, she got the all clear of everything, so I suspect this condition. She gets very agitated with this, and wants to be near me, the scariest thing is her staring at the corner, seems since my dog passed away, she does it a lot when she has her episode, also her eyes widen and she stares for some time.😢
Sounds like it's time to do the next steps in the diagnostic work up to rule in/out the other possibilities that cause similar symptoms. If your GP veterinarian has done what they can, you may need to consult a veterinary neurologist.
Hi I visited my vet as my cat was very itchy and restless. She was acting exact same way which is shown in the video. My vet did spot on but still she was facing same issue so i took her to another vet and he asked me about her medical history. I told him that we neutered our cat in September 2023 and now she is 6 years old. He told us that maybe some part of her ovary is left inside of her. I was not able to trust that doctor. Can you please tell me if it can be one of the reasons?
Thank you for the question! Without examining your cat it's impossible for me to diagnose anything, however in general cats with an ovarian remnant act like they are in heat.
If that's your take away from the video, you may need to watch it again. There are a number of potential causes for the symptoms described in the video so a proper medical work up to rule those potential causes in/out is required. ETA just like there are dozens of potential causes for a cat who is vomiting... Or who is losing weight... Etc
Zoomies during play are very different from the bolting, frantic type behavior noted in cats that have hyperesthesia or another medical issue that causes similar symptoms. It's a good thing if your cat has zoomies!
I have 2 cats with this. She always had an issue being pet too much and noticed the ripple when she gets pet. Sometimes it does it on its own and she also over grooms. Then I adopted an older cat that attacks her tail and I noticed the ripple, think it’s linked to when she’s stressed
usually fhs symptoms are so obvious knowing that cat is healthy and if seizures come right after huge stress.. there is no point in spending tons of money on kt, mri and testing different meds on your cat! when my cat was diagnosed with fhs, it took him 3 days to develop crazy symptoms, without gabapentin treatment it would just get insane! thankfully one of the doctors just told me to send a video of full episode. now my cat is treated and happy for 5 years already
This is completely wrong. Currently it's contraindicated to give cats CBD. I have a video covering the research. Your veterinarian simply has your cat's best interest at heart.
Bro FINALLY i can start figuring out why my orange mutt cat is so twitchy. I'll have to save up for a vet visit but I'm 99% he has this and maybe hip pain that sets it off. I used to have him in a much smaller apartment and his episodes were much worse, and i always thought it was maybe something seizure adjacent. He's never really had skin issues or fleas and the twitching/rolling itself is centered like, below his shoulder blades around his ribs instead of near the tail, he grooms that spot like CRAZY when it's acting up. sometimes he'll calm down and come lay with me and he's just soaking wet on both sides 😭but the clip of the little tortie cat freaking out you used is literally exactly what he does, down to the 'seeing ghosts' face and way she bounces around after nothing. fingers crossed it's just this and not a tumor or other seizure disorder!
I hope that your veterinarian can help with doing things like x-rays and a trial of pain medication, and moving on through the medical work up after that, if needed. All the best to you and your cat!
Gotcha! If your GP veterinarian has done what they can to help you then it's time to see a veterinary dermatologist for additional help in managing the allergies. All the best!
have been suspecting my cat to have been suffering for this for a while, have started the process of seeing a vet + process of exclusion. Multiple check overs with anaesthesia, X-RAY, medication trials with her currently on gabapantine and lexicom which I'm sure is a muscleo-skeletal medication. Urine tests have been done. The back rippling and growling, and random aggressiveness, has been going on for a while but we had no idea what to think of it. She violently attacked my partner (they own her and have had her since a kitten) for the first time during an episode that looks similar to these - tail twitching and rippling and growing at seemingly the pain. Next step is an MRI for four thousand pounds or a specialist for similar money which is simply impossible, in UK just now too and vets are being looked into for wildly overcharging. The medication seems to be helping but just so difficult to keep up with the costs and adding more necessary meds on top, I see the stress on her face and just feel awful. Just want my happy cat back :(
Thank you for your emphasis on doing a proper work up! Also I like the new graphics :)
I appreciate that you took the time to watch the video! ☺️
this is the best video on youtube about Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome. Thank you so much for doing it.
Wow, thank you! This just made my day, and I'm very appreciative that you took the time to leave this comment 🐾💜
I’m looking into this for my baby Jane. She doesn’t have fleas, is perfectly healthy, but the past couple months has started to stare into the corner of my bedroom, then switch her tail, bite her front legs, back end & seriously jumpy. Then she runs around acting just not like herself.
I’ve found that cuddling with her when she exhibits those behaviors helps her to calm down. She LOVES face massages. So I cuddle & give a massage. About 20mins later she will calm down.
As the video notes, you'll need to work with your veterinarian to rule out itching and pain as those are incredibly common causes of the behavior you are noting. I wish you all the best in sorting out the underlying cause of your cat's symptoms.
@@VetMedCornerI think my cat has this. Can I get in touch with you? My vet just said she had fleas, but she didn't. That was last December. She's still doing it. Twitching, acting like she's bitten, getting angry, suddenly jumps up and runs away and then stops to lick more and more. She even licks the sofa, my pillow, or actually anything she can lick. I first thought it was sort of OCD but now I found this, and I'm pretty sure she has it.
Edit: if I pet her, she's also licking something like the sofa, my hand (until it really hurts) etcetera
I made a video today of it...
Thank you so much!! Can't wait to learn more from you.
You're welcome! I'm so glad you found VMC 🐾💜
Hi Doc,
Thank you for sharing. I think this may be an underlying issue for our 4 y/o male. He's had some urinary issues for the last year, crystals that went to cystitis/trouble urinating/bouts of incontinence. He's on the RX C/D multi-stress food, 80/20 wet/kibble. His urinalysis, blood work, ultra sound and xray are all good.
He's exhibited the exact spasms/behavior shown at 1:25 since he was about 1 y/o, 2 years preceeding any of the urinary issues. He'd get those spasms and then get very upset at his tail and attack it for 5-20 minutes or however long it takes us to calm him down. Also very prevalent around 9pm at night, almost like clock work. Also sometimes in the morning around 6-7am when he wakes up.
Currently on Prozac and gabapentin but we think the prolonged gaba use could be a contributing factor for the incontinence. Switching him to pregabalin to see if it manages the pain well enough and hopefully removes the incontinence.
In any case, bringing up FHS to my vet to see if she feels maybe it's worth adjusting treatment.
I was looking for more discussion from other vets on this condition when I came across your video.
The neurologist vet just diagnosed my girl as having feline hyperesthesia based on all the symptoms I told her. MRI was quoted at $4k-$8k! WHO has that kind of money? Vet said I didn’t have to do that since, from her experience, 99% of past cat patients turned out normal. We did do some bloodwork. Right now, we are figuring out what combination of meds will work for her as every cat is different. She acknowledged that this condition is a difficult and challenging to owners and cats because there's still so much unknown.
I hope that a successful treatment can be sorted out and implemented for your cat! I'm so glad you are working with a veterinary neurologist on this 🐾💪
DUDE I thought this is how cats act?? My cat is like this and I thought it was Zoomies
That's a good question! Zoomies are different than this as the cat will appear to be playing/having fun instead of being bothered/upset if the behavior is secondary to hyperesthesia.
Oh god same with us and our cat. We thought that he was just extremely bored by being an indoor cat and were planning on moving and giving him the option to go outside. But he's actually permanently medically suffering. I feel so bad for not giving him the help he needed until now.
My Baby cat had this. Horrible to watch an episode. She has now passed. Miss her. Her father was a type of Siamese.
My cat has this and just had a several minutes long where he was gasping for air but couldn’t hold himself from running
Im tired of seeing him suffer and I want to cry everytime I see this so I want to help him
You definitely need to work with your veterinarian and go through an appropriate medical work up for your cat.
@@VetMedCorner Planning to do so. Thank you, your video was useful aswell, I got to learn about his conditions, words cannot express how grateful I am
This kind comment just made my day, thank you ☺️
I hope that an effective treatment plan can be figured out for your cat.
@@shipsabilitywhat did the treatment plan look like
Glad I found this video, my cat recently started showing these symptoms. Thought it had something to do with her recently being spayed. So I took her to the vet for an exam/physical and a fully body blood work exam. Vet said they only found traces of parasite cells but everything else was normal, she has been dealing with fleas recently, as my roommate brought their cat over from a different state and she had fleas. I've been applying a topical, constantly vacuuming and grooming them with a flea comb. I've dealt with fleas before and have gotten rid of them so hoping for the same result and do hope that this is just from the fleas. Was hard to tell if she was acting this way the last time she had fleas because she was also in heat a lot and those symptoms were more noticeable / frequent.
I'm so glad you found the video too! Welcome to VMC!
Remember that it takes 3mo of diligently cleaning the environment plus having all animals in the household on prescription flea prevention to fully get rid of the fleas.
But if the symptoms continue beyond that, then you will need to pursue the next steps of an appropriate medical workup.
Love the new intro graphics!
Oh thank you!!! I appreciate your attention to detail 💜
Would love to see a video on "petting induced aggression" in cats.
Excellent suggestion, and it wasn't on my list yet, I will add it 😊
@@VetMedCornerI have a picture of my deceased cat who went from totally sweet and enjoying petting her to a video of the result of my wounds after her mood swing in less than a split second.
She goes for a full attack and also comes back when you push her away.
Thank you so very much.
As a human doctor, I very much appreciate your explanation of the work up before arriving at a diagnosis of exclusion.
It's one of my *pet peeves* that people jump to 'it's a behavioral issue' out of the gate. This happens more often to cats than it does to dogs in vet med and I get so angry about it because so many animals suffer with untreated (often painful) issues. It's completely irresponsible to do that to patients, no matter what species they are!!!
I truly understand having to do the work up. You can mistreat if you don’t know. I was just curious of the expense of all the different test. I think someone might decide not to take their pet to the vet if they think it would be very expensive. That would be awful as well.
I've suspected my 7 yr old has had it for a while. He twitches back ,starts to chew his back or tail then runs away. He also chews on his front legs a lot and gets scared easily . I'd like to try to rule some stuff at home . He does get flea treatments. So idt that's the issue. I try to play with him ,but he just seems uninterested. I have taught him tricks which he seems to enjoy ,but finding snacks has been a pain bc he's very picky.
Sounds like it's time to see your veterinarian to start giving your cat medication to start addressing what's going on. All the best!
Hi
How is he now? Even my cat is suffering from this since one month. I hope she gets well soon🙂
Thank you for this! This wad very informative❤
I'm so glad you found it helpful - that makes my day 😊
This is really useful. My boyfriend and I rescued a kitten from the street back in 2020.
She was really lovely, cuddly, until she's about 2 years old, then she turned into this "demon zombie" we would call.
Symptoms are exactly as mentioned in the video...
We can no longer pet her, carry her without being attacked. It gets so bad that she would just grab our leg and attack it when we walk past her
We notice she would just have intense shaking tails that doesn't feel like the ordinary "angry tail swing". With all thise aggressive grooming and biting behavior.. And the back skin is always twitching and we thought it's what cats do.. (our very first cat)
I feel so guilty and ashamed for handling her when she might be in pain or discomfort all this time. I just found out this disorder existed yesterday 😢
I'm so sorry that your cat is going through all of this. You definitely need to work with a veterinarian to do an appropriate medical work up.
I wish you all the best, and am so glad you found VMC. Welcome.
Same here. I got my golden eyed orange cutie from a local shelter. I never in my life got a cat from a shelter, ever. They told me he was 8 years old yet I couldn't figure out how or why an 8 year old cat was SO very jumpy ( literally jumping straight up in the air, like an upwards arrow) He states blankly off into space & just hisses for no reason & grooms excessively. I wondered why, whenever l petted him, his back would twitch & he didn't like it so I stopped doing it, thinking he just wasn't affectionate. My sister looked up the symptoms & l almost cried when I realized what he's been going through. ( I've had him 3 months. He's probably been through many owners.) So I understand how you feel. I'm taking him to the vet soon & I'm hoping she can help me.
Thank you very much for your very informative video. I have a question still: do symptoms like twitching ears and twitching tongue mean it's a focal seizure?
Thank you so very much for asking! From this description it's not possible for me to tell, it will be best to take video of it and show it to a veterinary neurologist. I'm so glad you found VMC - welcome!
Is this syndrome harmful and necessary to diagnosis? I’ve noticed the symptoms happen about three times. First time was when he was obviously stressed by a neighbors dog. Next time, I did some aggressive petting. Third time seemed somewhat random. He twitches but not to the point of hurting himself. Can reducing stress and not petting the back be enough?
For some cats, yes, addressing the environment and management aspects of things can be enough to manage the issue.
Also, some skin rippling can be a normal part of feline behavior.
There's a difference between occasionally seeing symptoms that don't last long and that have an obvious trigger (like being petted in a manner that is too rough) versus a cat who is dealing with more frequent or more severe symptoms that requires intervention.
I hope this helps clarify things - thanks for the question!
We adopted a three month old kitten who was already exhibiting this. Her tail had been broken at some point and the tip healed crookedly. My husband and I think this caused some lower back damage and started this up in her.
In this situation, chronic pain is the most likely cause and so you need to work with your veterinarian and possibly a veterinary orthopedic or neurological specialist to get this figured out and treated/managed.
We are undergoing this with our vet. My cat only has these extreme episodes during and after she has a bowel movement. She runs frantically while pooping and after her back ripples while she harshly grooms her back and under her tail. We have finished antibiotics and finishing steroids. Also taking gabapenton but just half because it sedates her. She is only 1.5 years old and it just came on. She also had urinary crystals so it’s a complex diagnosis. The cat in your video looks exactly like ours. Shes identical to the beige cat with stripes and blue eyes. (Aka lynx point Siamese). Have you ever seen this connected with voiding?? Please I’d love your feedback.
I'm so sorry to hear that you are having a tough time with your cat. From your description, this most closely fits with your cat having untreated pain of some sort (orthopedic? Neurologic? GI related?) that is worst during bowel movements. Your cat needs imaging (we often start with x-rays, and if those appear to be normal then get your veterinarian to send you to a veterinary neurologist).
All the best to you and your cat.
@@VetMedCorner Thank you so much for your response. We have had imaging and next step is neurologist. It's just so odd. She just started doing this. You can tell when she is going to need to poop because she croutches and does little fast runs. Then gets zoomies and twitches. Followed by little sits to poop and keeps running. Recently, I was able to catch her before it started, put her in her litter box and held her there while calmly petting her and softly telling her what a good girl she is. She acted so disgusted by her potty. I helped her back scratch over it, which she then continued on her own. Shes on a strict perscription hills diet (both dry and canned) for urinary crystals so the only treat reward I can do now is making a 'gravy' out of her canned food. It was interesting because she didnt have the agitation afterward. I had given her a 1/2 of a gabapenton about an hour before so I'm wondering if it helped. I have noticed sometimes when she is aggitated and running around with the rippling back and washing under her tail and hind quarters I am able to pick her up and put my hand on her back which seems to stop the 'attack' sooner. I havn't come across anyone else seeing the link with the process of pooping and FHS as of yet.
Hello, I adopted my cat last year and she was being caged and mistreated in her past 9 years of life… She used to have these symptoms, and sometime ear and head twitching (like focal seizures), and the vets and I also thought that would be some psychological issues, and she got better from time to time…
Until now, she got serious gastroenteritis two weeks ago, and was having cerinia, cyproheptadine/ mirtazapine for more than a week, and even have to give her gabapentin if I bring her to the vet. After having the med I found her always being very tired and those FHS symptoms getting significantly worse, I have told my vet she seems to have focal seizures with the med and if it this because of the med and he just asked me to reduce the dosage of the med… I have stopped giving her the medicines for two days, her energy level is much better but those FHS symptoms are still quite serious… Should I be worried?
Did you happen to watch the video? As it describes, an appropriate medical work up/medication trial is required.
I have seen that type of grooming and leg twitching in My cat. Recently i noticed the twitching in her back as well. She's turned one not too long ago. She's partial Birman. I've been to the vet several times cuz she coughs after she drinks water. Could this also have something to do with this syndrom?
Thank you for the question! Over UA-cam it's tough to say much, but coughing isn't generally associated with this. Coughing generally needs a respiratory and cardiac work up (this usually means x-rays of the neck/chest and am ultrasound of the heart). I hope you are successful working with your veterinarian to sort out what's going on!
My cat has this but she doesn’t have fleas, our house is really clean, and she’s only one years old. Her skin doesn’t ripple but she bites at her tail and runs away or jumps on the couch. She also looks at her tail and hits it on the floor and runs away. What do we do? We took her to the vet twice and she’s still doing it!
As is noted in the video, a proper pain medication trial and consulting a veterinary neurologist are both a necessary part of the medical work up that you don't mention having done yet. Keep advocating for your cat! 💪
Would back twitching and excessive rubbing on person's legs to the point he works himself up to being agitated be considered a behavioral problem of this issue?
Great question! From this description, I'm not sure. It sounds like it could be that your cat wants something from you (what does the daily enrichment look like? Do you have play sessions morning and evening? Daily training sessions? Food puzzles? Etc?) or this could be related to something like pain where your cat is trying to relieve something that's bothering them... When you see your veterinarian, bring them some video of what your cat is doing as that will likely be helpful.
All the best!
My cat is just 2, he's also doing so but our vet said it might be acidity, even after vaccine for the same hes still behaving in the same way ! He hiss and even strach us if we touch around his tail.
Can you please help me with this !
Did you happen to watch the video? You'll need to see a veterinarian who will do a proper medical work up, as is described in the video.
my cat has been having issues that are the symptoms described in this video her whole life verbatim, and steroids, flea treatments, and worm treatments all failed. Now it's too the point that she will overgroom the same three areas on her body until she is bleeding/raw from it. This gives me a lot more information to bring to my new vet about this, so thank you so so much! Quick question, is this any more/less common in cats who are also deaf? My cat is white with blue eyes and has been deaf from birth.
A pain management medication trial sounds like it still needs to be done, and you may also need to consult a veterinary neurologist.
To the best of my knowledge, I don't think it is more common in deaf cats. Good question!
@@VetMedCorner ill discuss a pain management plan with my vet and mention neurology. Thank you!
I think one of our ferrel cats has this. I think it is also a post axial extra toes.
Does this look like zoomies?? My cat chases it's tale rarely like today. Or when he wants to poop, he he will run around and start yowling at the roof, go under the bed and do pull ups and then run to the litterbox later….
He does have a ticklish tail when I touch his tail base.. Can you please help? Haven't found anything so far in bloodwork
It can, you'll need to work with your veterinarian to do an appropriate medical work up, including a trial of pain medication.
Hi, my cat was I was diagnosed with FHS , doctors gave injections of neurobion and calcium muscle and anti allergy, b complex, my cat is still twitching and running around:( what am I supposed to do?
Did your cat go through the diagnostic and medication trials outlined in the video? If not, that's the place to start.
@qatarakg just a tip from me... If you can't afford the complete trial like me, you could also work together with a good holistic vet, your own vet and (if you can find a good one) a reader.
I did it years ago when we were searching for a diagnosis for my horse for 1,5 years. Finally we found it although we first had a false negative test, but he has Lyme and needed an IV to get his blood levels back up to normal. Because of the Lyme he also developed fasciola hepatica which horses normally do not get because their resistance is good.
At the time of the fasciola hepatica his blood was almost perfect. Just a little bit of signs of an infection. Liver results were good. But both the holistic vet and the reader were saying that he had something not good with his liver.
The holistic vet can also detect with the Lecher Antenna for (food-) reactions and also for the correct medicine.
Hi! did u said the anencephaly cat?? My cat has a disease
He took a mri 2month after was born
Doctor said that he had a anencephaly but he has a good attitude for defecating sometimes mistake
, smelling feed and working stance um.. he walks with a little drag on its hind legs
Symtoms are seizure among 2 minute that is he cant control body and jump to the side
, he cant see the everything but alive pupil reaction
Recommend it he is a years old
He is been 14 months since he was born
I haven't covered anencephaly yet; I will add it to my list of future video topics. I wish you and your cat all the best.
This describes my cat to a Perfect T. He just put his paw under my eye. His claws werent fully extended but they were out. Thank God he didn't scratch my eye but he could have, very easily.
I know you said that a complete check of everything should be done before jumping straight to one diagnose. Isn’t that very expensive?
It's less expensive than treating the wrong thing and potentially causing harm.
My cat literally when she wants food
I adopted my cat when she was about 6 months. She’s had it since then, she’s 2 years…I thought she was just a bit crazy 😢 I feel bad I never though it could be something else
Please don't feel bad. Cats do also sometimes do 'the zoomies' and many people don't know there's a difference between that normal behavior and some medical issues that can look somewhat similar.
What's important is that you came across this video and watched it. I hope it's given you the information you needed so that you can bring video of symptoms to your veterinarian, and start discussing a proper medical work up for your cat 💜
Thank you for this, very informative 🖤 Is there a way to distinguish this from “the zoomies”? 🤔
Thank you, still not sure, she has all the symptoms, the vet looked no fleas present, felt around her, and looked in her eyes, she got the all clear of everything, so I suspect this condition.
She gets very agitated with this, and wants to be near me, the scariest thing is her staring at the corner, seems since my dog passed away, she does it a lot when she has her episode, also her eyes widen and she stares for some time.😢
Sounds like it's time to do the next steps in the diagnostic work up to rule in/out the other possibilities that cause similar symptoms. If your GP veterinarian has done what they can, you may need to consult a veterinary neurologist.
Hi
I visited my vet as my cat was very itchy and restless. She was acting exact same way which is shown in the video. My vet did spot on but still she was facing same issue so i took her to another vet and he asked me about her medical history. I told him that we neutered our cat in September 2023 and now she is 6 years old. He told us that maybe some part of her ovary is left inside of her. I was not able to trust that doctor.
Can you please tell me if it can be one of the reasons?
Thank you for the question! Without examining your cat it's impossible for me to diagnose anything, however in general cats with an ovarian remnant act like they are in heat.
I think my cat has this. I watched the video and it sounds like vets don’t have any clue what it really is and how to treat it.
If that's your take away from the video, you may need to watch it again. There are a number of potential causes for the symptoms described in the video so a proper medical work up to rule those potential causes in/out is required.
ETA just like there are dozens of potential causes for a cat who is vomiting... Or who is losing weight... Etc
My cat gets crazy zoomies
Zoomies during play are very different from the bolting, frantic type behavior noted in cats that have hyperesthesia or another medical issue that causes similar symptoms.
It's a good thing if your cat has zoomies!
I have 2 cats with this. She always had an issue being pet too much and noticed the ripple when she gets pet. Sometimes it does it on its own and she also over grooms. Then I adopted an older cat that attacks her tail and I noticed the ripple, think it’s linked to when she’s stressed
usually fhs symptoms are so obvious knowing that cat is healthy and if seizures come right after huge stress.. there is no point in spending tons of money on kt, mri and testing different meds on your cat! when my cat was diagnosed with fhs, it took him 3 days to develop crazy symptoms, without gabapentin treatment it would just get insane! thankfully one of the doctors just told me to send a video of full episode. now my cat is treated and happy for 5 years already
Oh! Are you a veterinarian? If not, then remember that you should not be giving veterinary advice.
This is completely wrong. Currently it's contraindicated to give cats CBD. I have a video covering the research. Your veterinarian simply has your cat's best interest at heart.
People can afford an MRI for their cat??? We don’t even have these vet specialties. Definitely not in my budget. I can just about do an X-ray.
Bro FINALLY i can start figuring out why my orange mutt cat is so twitchy. I'll have to save up for a vet visit but I'm 99% he has this and maybe hip pain that sets it off. I used to have him in a much smaller apartment and his episodes were much worse, and i always thought it was maybe something seizure adjacent. He's never really had skin issues or fleas and the twitching/rolling itself is centered like, below his shoulder blades around his ribs instead of near the tail, he grooms that spot like CRAZY when it's acting up. sometimes he'll calm down and come lay with me and he's just soaking wet on both sides 😭but the clip of the little tortie cat freaking out you used is literally exactly what he does, down to the 'seeing ghosts' face and way she bounces around after nothing. fingers crossed it's just this and not a tumor or other seizure disorder!
I hope that your veterinarian can help with doing things like x-rays and a trial of pain medication, and moving on through the medical work up after that, if needed.
All the best to you and your cat!
@@VetMedCorner Oh absolutely! Really hopeful about getting him scanned and just Checking for everything else. 😊 Thank you!
My cat way over grooms
A cat won't overgroom because of hunger so it's necessary to see your veterinarian for a medical work up!
@VetMedCorner my cat does not groom do to hunger. She is well fed. The vet said she has allergies
Gotcha! If your GP veterinarian has done what they can to help you then it's time to see a veterinary dermatologist for additional help in managing the allergies. All the best!
I’m really tired of UA-camrs saying things like “you’re not going to want to miss this”. 🙄. Also, why is she whispering?
Boo hoo cry about it