For kitty lovers; please help!

[judynlee]

Has anyone had any experience with feline hyperesthesia? It is (supposedly) a rare condition and mysterious enough that many vets have not heard of it or have no experience with it. There are some videos on You Tube which show what it looks like, posted by some owners of afflicted kitties.
Our 2-yr old black cat, Cricket, who had been one of the happiest and most active and lovable kitties ever, seemed to have a switch pulled on Easter morning and now behaves as if he is terrorized and trying to run away from his own rear end. He now spends most of the day under a bed, coming out to eat and use the litter box. There are no specific tests to diagnose it and he has begun some testing to eliminate several other conditions. We'll be starting him on Prozac shortly, which may or may not help. Although most cats have spells of symptoms, he has them 24 hours a day when he is not eating or sleeping, dashing away in apparent terror-no quality of life at all.

We are devastated!

[quirky3]

So sorry to hear about this - here is a link to an article that has a few ideas. Good nutrition (especially lack of additives) is one factor; exposure to pollutants or allergans (installing new carpeting; strong cleaning solutions, cigarette smoke) is another. I wish you all the best in getting this resolved for kitty.
Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome (http://www.purelypets.com/articles/felinehyperesthesia.htm)

[judynlee]

Thank you for caring, quirky; yes, I have researched to exhaustion all that I could find on the internet. Wish I had access to a vet library and I may contact the animal science college in Gainesville to see if there is any ongoing research.
Just cannot accept that this little kitty has to suffer like this if nothing helps. And we won't let that happen for too long...........

[skyguy79]

Has anyone had any experience with feline hyperesthesia? It is (supposedly) a rare condition and mysterious enough that many vets have not heard of it or have no experience with it. There are some videos on You Tube which show what it looks like, posted by some owners of afflicted kitties.
Our 2-yr old black cat, Cricket, who had been one of the happiest and most active and lovable kitties ever, seemed to have a switch pulled on Easter morning and now behaves as if he is terrorized and trying to run away from his own rear end. He now spends most of the day under a bed, coming out to eat and use the litter box. There are no specific tests to diagnose it and he has begun some testing to eliminate several other conditions. We'll be starting him on Prozac shortly, which may or may not help. Although most cats have spells of symptoms, he has them 24 hours a day when he is not eating or sleeping, dashing away in apparent terror-no quality of life at all.

We are devastated!You didn't mention if you have seen a Vet yet or not. I'm not going to presume that you have or have not, but if you haven't it would be advisable to do so as there are tests that can be run to help determine if it is actually medical causes rather than the possibility of behavioral.

At Feline Hyperesthesia (http://www.cathealth.com/skin-and-fur/feline-hyperesthesia) I especially noticed that it was recommended to take a video of the cats behavior if possible so it can be shown to the vet and help them to try and detect what the problem may be.

Having had several cats from 1969 to the present, I can only imagine how I would feel if one or more of them developed the problem your facing, but it does sadden me to hear what's happening to your little dear. I wish you the best in finding a solution to the problem and please keep us informed if you will as you seek the solution. My fingers are crossed for a happy ending!

[jnieman]

Haven't heard of it before but we just had our cat put down this week because of strange behavior. He has had strange behavior for years. Twitches and running around like crazy. Hiding under the bed, biting at himself. His eyes would get huge and all black and he would look at me like he hated me. In the past 6 months he has bitten me 6 or 7 times. Most times I would be lying in the bed reading and he would come up and lay down by me. Then I would pet him and things would be fine. Then out of the blue he would stand up and look at me and bite me and run. This past week he was the most vicious. He opened his mouth as big as he could and bit down on my arm. He punctured my skin almost to the bone. And as much as I loved him I couldn't have that happen again. Good luck with your kitty. I miss mine. P.S. My cat was a beautiful flame point siamese and looks very similar to yours.

[duffysmom]

Judynlee this is such a sad and mysterious story. I hope and pray that you will find the answer soon. I do admire your love and dedication to you kitty.Your story got me to thinking about the use of pesticides in Florida. I have not allowed the inside of my home to be sprayed, just the exterior and that has been sufficent with the exception of palmetto bugs in my bathroom. I learned that they come in through the air vent so we are having screens placed inside the vent to prevent another episode of my bathing in the tub with a palmetto. Please don't misconstrue my comments about pesticides being the cause of your kitty's problem but it prompted me to mention them since I have a very sick puppy and I'm vigilent about his enviornment.
Good luck and please keep us informed.

[judynlee]

Yes, sorry I didn't make that clear, but the testing I mentioned is at the vet's, starting with complete blood work and they just called and said the results were normal but they now want a stool sample. I am sure enough this is hyperesthesia that I will be surprised if any test is other than normal. I am going to pick up the Prozac and start it today. Crossing my fingers....................

[judynlee]

jnieman, I am so, so sorry about your kitty. I am almost certain this is what he had, also. I assume you had been to the vet, so I am interested in what they said and how he ws treated over the years. If you look at some of the feline hypersthesia videos on You Tube I think you will recognize your kitty. Some of them are quite vicious, even biting themselves and doing a lot of vocalizing and growling. It's a horrible condition; they are so tortured.

To be clear, it is my little black rescue kitty who is affected, not my lilac Siamese. However, it is the Oriental breeds who are most often affected.

[judynlee]

After 5 heart-wrenching days of watching our kitty suffer, Friday the 13th turned out to be a lucky day! We saw a slight sign of improvement and that evening he began the Prozac. Every day since then has been a little better, until today, when his recovery seems almost complete. Also today I have consulted with Dr. Fox and she agreed we should try weaning him back off the Prozac after a time, since he had already shown improvement the day it was started. We are ecstatic!

I do hope this is the end of our story but still intend to research this nasty condition (it could return!) and hope none of you ever experience it. (jnieman, I still hope that you can give me some more details on your kitty's sad time)

Thanks again for all the kind words and caring!

[VillageSitter]

Dear Judy-n-Lee, I am so happy for you and especially Kitty. My heart was breaking just reading your story. Hopefully, you're on the right road and things will turn out just fine.

[Posh 08]

Glad to hear about the improvement. Our guy recently was diagnosed with diabetes. Two insulin injections a day for him and monthly grips to the vet for blood readings. Sometimes he is lethargic and other times running and playing like a kitten. He is 13.